Very good. I tried to give you rep for that but the computer said no I can't help wondering about the "regardless of results" bit though...
I think they want KMag long term, and even if JB was to outscore Alonso I can't see them keeping him on much longer, now, if he wins the WDC, he could.. Quit at the top, or Take his pick from other top teams.. Assuming McLaren doesn't keep him...
Yeah, I agree that it's probably his last year and I doubt he'll out-drive Alonso, if I'm honest. It is interesting that Ken has decided to stay on as reserve, which can be read as either Hobson's Choice or jam tomorrow; I suspect it's the latter.
Delighted with the decision, the absolute concrete, stone wall correct decision, both in terms of the two drivers and keeping KMag for testing. The kid is 22 for goodness sake, he has potentially 15 more years in the sport to come, he is working alongside Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso, and is going to learn Honda inside out. He is far from done, in fact this year could end up the making of him for when he returns into a race seat.
I'd have just kept the wage bill down and kept the same driver line-up for 2015. There's a lot to be done to make that car competitive again that a Honda engine alone can't fix. Glad to hear Jenson is around for another year at least though.
Ron has said both drivers contracts are "plural". So Jensons contract at least has an option for 2016.
Ron Dennis says decision to offer Button two-year deal was his. JB says he wants to be around for long-term.
Nothing to do with not pandering to Alonso's demands for being #1, having a Haynes manual for a Ferrari, and generally being hopeless at being able to manage the situation between the pair of them, Ron?
Agreed. 2007 was totally Rons fault. I wonder if the mystery stories of that year will come about in 2015
I was reading an article (I'll try and upload it) that gave a breakdown on what happened in 2007. In brief: Alonso had No1 status but Ron went back on it. Max Mosley already new about the email trails because Flavio had already told him and it was due to be investigated. Ron called Max himself and confessed what he had before Alonso leaked it. At an initial hearing by governing body the FIA, McLaren were found guilty of breaking the rules, but escaped punishment on the grounds there was no evidence the information had benefited the team. That seemed to be that until a few weeks later when, in the course of a bitter row with Dennis over the weekend of the Hungarian Grand Prix, Alonso threatened to reveal to the FIA potentially incriminating email conversations with McLaren test driver Pedro De La Rosa on the subject of the Ferrari information. A little while later, Alonso's adviser came back and apologised, explaining the Spaniard had been upset and wanted to take back the threat. But rather than wait for Alonso to calm down and talk it over again, Dennis had panicked and phoned FIA president Max Mosley to tell him of the existence of the emails, while assuring him there was "no information, nothing to come out". It was a miscalculation, albeit an understandable one in the context of the febrile, paranoid atmosphere at the time and Dennis's antagonistic personal relationship with Mosley. And despite Dennis's reassurances, the case was reopened and McLaren were hit by the aforementioned punishment. As it turned out, Dennis's phone call made no difference. Mosley already knew about the emails and was planning to re-open the case. The point, though, is that Dennis's actions were a reflection of how bad his relationship with Alonso had become, in the context of the knowledge that Alonso's manager was Flavio Briatore, then the team principal of Renault. Briatore was a close friend of F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone and - like Mosley and Ecclestone - no fan of Dennis on a personal level. Whether or not Alonso's threat was real did not really matter. Once he made it, the result was inevitable. If Alonso knew, Dennis figured, so did Briatore - and, given the relationships involved, it was asking too much for that information not to make it to Mosley one way or another. And Dennis was right - Mosley says now that he knew about the emails because Alonso had told Briatore about them, and Briatore had blabbed. Courtesy of Benson via Allen.
The relationship problem between Ron and Alonso was Ron's fault but if Alonso didn't get #1 written into his contract then he was stupid! But when Alonso threatens to blackmail Ron, Ron did the best thing he could do and remove any hold Alonso though he had over Ron by telling Mosley. Blackmail can only happen if the 'secret' is kept. Once it's out the blackmailer has nothing!!! I think Alonso has matured and has learned a lot more about contract negotiations. Hopefully it's going to be a great year.
View attachment 34379 Guess where he secreted the evidence? Sorry. I hope that won't get us banned from Google.
