Last week they said the opposite Whoever Mclaren deserve to keep will deserve it. It would be extremely harsh if Button's not on the grid next season when he hasn't done much wrong though.
But he hasn't done much special either. If McLaren are looking to the future, then Kmag alongside Alonso is the way to go. Kevin just looks the better racer of the two and in the second half of this season has shown why McLaren chose to sign him. With one season under his belt, I would expect him to be much more consistent next year. He's also probably a lot cheaper than Button too. Button & Alonso together would be a sold partnership, but both are in their mid-30's so haven't got forever.
Why not pay to put K Mag in the Lotus for a year, keep Button on for a season, and then put Magnussen back in the McLaren in 2016 after he's had a bit of seasoning in the midfield?
May not be far off, Lauda said we have to renegotiate Lewis's contract now, after confirming that he had a fixed contract for 2016
I think that's an interesting point and it's tempting just to say that little in F1 has ever been fair; however, I would venture that Felipe is an asset to any team due to his cohesive charm as a person and a team player. I'd also put Massa and Button pretty much on a level in terms of talent. I don't think the same can be said for Kimi but he is a fans' favourite and we don't, as yet, know his future. I wouldn't be surprised if he's out too as he has not performed well this year; on the other hand, Ferrari are a conservative lot and may wish to retain some continuity. Also, there's the past record of Kimi plus James Allison to consider...
I'd love to hear more about this because, although I find it hard to believe, I don't find it so easy to dismiss either. Intriguing!
Better off having Kmag in the McLaren so he can take forward the development of it from the start. It's all academic really, as there is never a guarantee their young drivers will hang around. Look at Hamilton & Vettel, selfish ungrateful twats.........(joke)
Fernando Alonso says he has engineered himself in a position to decide his own future and believes Sebastian Vettel's departure from Red Bull is a consequence of his work. Vettel announced he would be leaving Red Bull at the end of the season on Saturday morning, with Christian Horner confirming it was to join Ferrari. With Alonso set to leave the team it was put to him that Vettel's arrival would mean he would be forced to leave, Alonso said he is not being forced in to anything and is actually the man pulling the strings. “Let's say that I have a very unique position,” Alonso said. “Thanks to so many years and so much respected work that I did on the track, I decide where to go, what I do and when I do it. Probably some of the things that are happening are a consequence of my thinking. “I have my mind set. I have a plan very clear. For the last two or three months I know what I want to do, everything is moving in the right direction but at the moment it's still not 100% complete. But everything's moving in the right direction. As I said, I'm the decision maker and whatever I do will have some consequences but I have the privileged position that I'm lucky right now. “Whatever I want to do I will do in the moment that I want to do it, and I will race more or less in whatever place I want. After that the others will move their position probably. When I finally make my decision we'll see what it is.” And having said he has spoken to a few other teams, Alonso cryptically said it should be clear to observers what he is doing but that nobody has noticed yet. “[Teams] are curious because there are so many rumours and they call or they get in touch just to know more about your position or your possibilities for next year. As I said, I have the opportunity to do whatever I want and I will do what I think is the best thing for me and my career right now. “It's a combination of hunger for success, I want to win, I want to become champion, want to be happy, want to have a good life… there are many things that when I put them together some months ago showed me a direction to go in. I've been following that direction with some movements, everything has been going to plan and hopefully I can tell you soon. “The thing that you need to understand is that from the outside you see one thing but from the inside it's very different. For the last two or three months you should understand already in which direction I'm moving but you didn't get it. When I tell you you will understand: 'Right, we should have known it'.”
Surely they don't want to try Alonso Vs Hamilton again... Tobias Grüner F1 ‏@tgruener 1m1 minute ago McLaren was contacting Hamilton & making him an offer. Lauda went to Dennis telling him: "Hands off our Loisl!" Means: Stay away from Lewis!
Massa interrupting Alonso's interview: [video=youtube;YPQkYxxftfU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPQkYxxftfU[/video]
It's hard to see Ferrari rejecting Hamilton, but I think they'd do it if it meant keeping Alonso out of Mercedes. Alonso would obviously be pissed and might have leaked the story to Lobato. It will interesting to see if any other journalists say the same thing, at the moment they're saying Mercedes were never interested in Alonso.
@tgruener: Get out clause in Red Bull contract made move to Ferrari possible. It says: Vettel had to be worse than 3rd in drivers table on 30th Sep. @tgruener: According to Christian Horner Red Bull and Vettel agreed on winter test schedule and 2015 merchandising program on Thursday. All sounds abut shotgun wedding to me! Also has Alonso taken this into account....... @tgruener: #F1 New McLaren MP4-30 for 2015 not ready for first Jerez test? AMuS: http://t.co/XZr0954uum and Hulk quoted as saying..... @pitlanetalk: Nico Hulkenberg: "After Vettel's switch I don't have other options I'm staying where I am. Vettel is going to Ferrari and Alonso to McLaren"
What will be will be...I am sure it is pretty much finalized. I would just say Alonso is gambling either way and ditching Kimi and Alonso keeping his options open for a year longer is better bet for Alonso and Ferrari.
Mclaren won't be appearing at the first pre-season test with a 2015 car, taking a development car instead. Can anyone think of a single example since Brawn where skipping the first test turned out to be a good idea? Really doesn't bode well when they have fundamental aero/mechanical issues to deal with on top of the engine.
Red bull did it once. Everyone was getting excited they may have a bad car and struggle..... Nope they walked both championships
@pitlanetalk: La Gazzetta: Sebastian Vettel signed a 3+2 year deal with Ferrari on Friday and will have a €25 mill./year salary. #F1 #Formula1
It depends what's gone on behind closed doors with Alonso. If it's a case of Ferrari signing Vettel because Alonso has said he wants out he'd be better off taking a sabbatical than crawling back to them. The team will be rallying around Vettel in that case and I don't think it would be wise for Alonso to stay. If it's a case of Ferrari pouncing for Vettel while he's able to leave Red Bull and it's up to Alonso whether he wants to stay or not, then yeah it's probably better for Alonso to stay at Ferrari. If he beats Vettel it obviously strengthens his reputation further, but even if he loses, if he takes it well it could make him even more desirable to other teams because it's his abrasive personality which is the only real thing counting against him right now. I suspect he's burnt his bridges at Ferrari though. Williams would be the best bet for him in my opinion. They'll be able to better integrate the Mercedes engine next season and probably won't be too far off the pace.
