If Magnussen goes then that's a joke, I don't think we'll see any major changes though. I think Alonso will give it one more year and wait to see how the Ferrari has developed as well as seeing the quality of the Mclaren Honda and if Hamilton leaves Mercedes.
Speculation surrounding Fernando Alonso's future has gotten wilder as the days pass. The Spaniard has now been linked with a return to Lotus - some have even suggested he is set to invest in the team - but one thing is for sure...he holds the key to the driver market. Once his position for 2015 has been settled, the remaining dominoes should begin to fall in place and it's likely they'll fall exactly where they stand if he remains at the prancing horse. However should at least one of the rumours prove to be true, be that McLaren, Red Bull, Mercedes or even Lotus, then the driver market could be set for a major reshuffle. According to journalist Adam Cooper via a source close to the Italian team, Ferrari are preparing for Alonso's departure and are actively seeking a replacement in the form of Lewis Hamilton rather than the more likely Sebastian Vettel. "Hamilton now figures high on Maranello’s wish list, and indeed the Briton might be more easily able to walk away from Mercedes in 2015 than some might believe," writes Cooper. "He's certainly less tied down than Vettel." Why would Ferrari want to rid themselves of one of if not the most highly regarded driver on the grid though? Marco Mattiacci is believed to have implemented a five year plan to turn things around and Alonso simply doesn't fit because of his age. He'll be 38 by the time Mattiacci's plan is in full swing and that's considered 'over the hill' in F1 terms. Hamilton however will still be in his prime and some in the paddock reckon he would happily leave the strained-relationship between him and Nico Rosberg at Mercedes if he can at least add another world championship to his tally. The 'source' however could simply be sending the media on a wild goose chase as the 'silly season' continues in full swing. We're likely to know more - much more if some are to be believed - within the next couple of races. It's either going to be a year of major change, or one of stability. - See more at: http://www.f1times.co.uk/news/display/09386#sthash.Y4OVGpry.dpuf
If Mclaren replace KMag they'd better be loaning him out somewhere. Would make no sense to ditch him completely and leave yourself with an ageing line-up.
Magnussen has been out-pointed by Button, a driver regarded by many over the last three seasons as past it, by a degree of almost two-to-one. Sometimes due to poor luck but he does have a tendency to make things difficult for himself. The first lap in Singapore was a classic example, he was so focussed on defending against his team-mate that he compromised his exit from turn 7 and ended up dropping other unnecessary places as a result. And I've made my position clear on his defence against Bottas at Italy. I can perfectly understand why Mclaren would be frustrated with him. Especially when they also have Vandoorne who is tearing up GP2 right now, which I don't think can be discounted here - I think they'll want him on the grid in 2016. Button is clearly not a long-term option here. (Incidentally, that's about the only thing that's still keeping me dubious on this deal - Mclaren have a number of good young drivers they want to come up into the sport and the rumours, especially given the salary -$100m over three years - offered to Alonso, suggest that possibly he has first choice of team-mate a la Schumacher. And as much as he's matured and buried the hatchet I can't see him being especially keen on another young Mclaren upstart) As for Magnussen, he's got a lot of pace and I think he deserves a seat on the grid next season, definitely more than some of the midfield runners. Give him a year at a lower team on the promise of good behaviour, give him a shoot-out with Vandoorne, whatever they do, he's a very quick driver, and I'd like to see him given a chance at race wins. But his racecraft could really use improvement and he won't be a top driver until then.
Its possible that if they really feel they'll have a title shot next year then maximising points may be more important than preparing for the future. I doubt it though, so even as a Jenson fan i'd find it odd. That said if this is true then i think that loaning Kevin out to improve his racecraft somewhere with a little less pressure could be good for him. For all his potential his race results this year haven't been great.
I honestly think Alonso is joining McLaren for 2015, Alonso's comments at the weekend were very much one of a man in a "f*** this, i'm off" mood., criticised pretty much everybody, bigged himself up as the man keeping the whole outfit afloat and saying what needed to be said to motivate the team, threatening to dish the dirt on them etc.Not really the mark of somebody that is convincing everybody he is staying, even Matiacci is starting to waver at the same time all this is coming from Alonso. That was before Briatore (his former? manager) tipped him to join Lotus for 2015... which certainly suggests he has a get out clause from Ferrari. As said before, there's also no way McLaren are holding off on both drivers to decide on them both as team mates, seeing if there is a better option than both etc, no chance, They are 100% waiting on somebody else as a first pick and deciding who of the current 2 will partner "him". Their fall back is to stay with what they have. The McLaren heritige change is very telling as was Buttons mood... not saying he's out, but i reckon he's a bit pissed that they are delaying choosing who will partner their new driver considering he's a WDC and ran Hamilton very close for his whole time there and has fairly comfortably outscored Kmag....as well as hardly getting embarrassed by this supposed phenomenal pace which has not really been evident too often, it's been pretty even and Button has got the points, not got involved in incidents etc etc. As much potential as Kmag has, to dump Button late on would be a very harsh way to end his McLaren (and probably F1) Career. I'd be pissed too if i were him.
I don't think Alonso's salary would be a financial issue, given that it would be funded by Santander - It's not like they would be losing a title sponsor in the process. Button is probably one if the few drivers (like Webber) who would take a year on year contract and if Alonso is run close by Button it would not be as detrimental as being run close by a Kmag or similar.
Well, with Jenson's girlfriend and love of Japan it would make sense to keep him from Honda's perspective.
Well Ferrari may take on hulk leaving a seat at FI for Kmag ? But he is though more of a McLaren driver than a Mercedes so it's doubtful.... I've just raised a question then answered it... I'll grab my coat
So.. they could all start a mother of all Docey Doe's at Suzuka.. or it could be much-a-do about nothing?
If they don't take him they need to move him to a better team, you can only learn so much several seconds off the pace.
Bianchi could definitely make the step up, the question though is whether Ferrari would want him to. They were very conservative when it came to promoting Massa as well. I think promoting him is the only thing that makes sense if Alonso leaves though.
Unless they bag Vettel? Can't see Ferrari losing Alonso and not (wanting to) replace him with another top tier driver.
It definitely feels like one big move could trigger several more. I think Ferrari would have been a good fit for Vettel 10 years ago, but not so much now. Post-Schumacher the atmosphere there seems like it's lost something, and that Vettel would be better in the more meticulous environments of Red Bull, Mercedes or arguably Ron Dennis' Mclaren. I could see him quickly becoming frustrated at Ferrari. Of the current top drivers, Hamilton would probably be the best fit for Ferrari I'd think, but it'd take a serious fall-out with Rosberg and/or Mercedes for him to consider it.
I'd hope Ferrari would learn the lesson of Red Bull (humorously enough) and promote Bianchi rather than throwing millions at Vettel.
