I would imagine JB is waiting to see if Hamilton jumps ship before maming a decession. If Hamilton did, based on the driver market JB would probably become the team leader, and bank on Mclaren giving him one more shot at the title (they are bound to produce the fastest car at siome point over the next 3 years). If Hamilton stays, I could see him going to Ferrari with a contract that protects him up until they back a driver for WDC, probably around Sep/Oct in the calander! I think Alonso would be fine with that (he probably thinks he will beat him anyway) and JB appears to be able to balance team dynamics without being an out and out No2! Cant see Vettle having anyone next to him other than a rookie!
Mclaren have been playing catch up since 2009 and only have there drivers to thank for the results they have pulled in. They havnt had a dominant start to finish car for a long time and it will be 12 years since the last WCC
True, but you would fancy them to get the car right for at least 1 season over the next 3, especially with the new engines in 2014. At least you would hope so and lets face it, Mclaren would have picked a few more WDC if they had No1 and No 2 drivers like Ferrari did through the noughties. They should have won a WDC with Kimi and one with either Hammilton or Alonso in 2007 aswell!
MCLAREN Review since last title 1998 - Last success 1999 - Ferrari win even with MS out with a broken leg (left with Irvine and Salo) 2000 - Ferrari had a very strong car. Hakkinan and coulthard did well in 2nd and 3rd though 2001 - Dominant Ferrari. Mclaren starting to flake 2002 - Again dominant Ferrari. Kimi did a good job against coulthard in a poor mclaren 2003 - Coulthard was very poor, Raikkonan should of won WDC but lost out to Ferrari and williams 2004 - Mclaren beat by Ferrari, BAR, Renault and williams. Worst year 2005 - Mclaren had the fastest car but really bad reliability again Kimi should be WDC 2006 - Mclaren move down below ferrari again 2007 - Best Car, silly management 2008 - Equal to Ferrari but came 2nd 2009 - Bad car made to look good by LH 2010 - bad start and bad end 2011 - good start, slumped in the middle... To be continued Good Car Bad Car
Fair point, and I think reliability has probably taken 2 potential wdc from them. However we are looking at an era that hopefully won't be repeated in that the fastest driver/car combo had total reliability!
According to BBC gossip page Button wants to sign a 1 year extension at Mclaren so he can keep the door open for a Ferrari drive in 2013, Alonso is meant to be keen on having him as a team mate. This rumour certainly will not go away. I think it is over here
"Jenson Button wants to sign a one-year contract with McLaren for 2012 rather than a long-term deal so he can keep the door open to a potential Ferrari drive in 2013. Fernando Alonso is said to be keen on having the 2009 world champion as a future team-mate." This is very interesting. Hamilton and Button are known to get along very well at McLaren which begs the question. If Button leaves who will be the next riser at McLaren? He won't be the only contender for that Ferrari seat though. Webber, Perez and (possibly) Kubica would be having a good look as well but if they can't get it they'll (well, Webber and Kubica will) aim for that McLaren seat vacated by Button. I don't think Di Resta should go to that seat because if he does, I could see him becoming another Kovalainen. But a Button/Alonso partnership could be exactly what Ferrari need. For all we know now, this could be the teams in 2013: McLaren - Hamilton, Webber/Kubica/Di Resta Ferrari - Alonso, Button Red Bull - Vettel, Ricciardo (it'll definetley be a Red Bull junior)
I think the rumour's credible. Money is of course a big part of it, but JB strikes me as the type of person who is bothered about his legacy. His route to the World Championship is a story that won't be quickly forgotten, and nobody is talking about Lewis Hamilton as being the undisputed best British driver as they were even as recently as the start of last year. But the surest way of being remembered forever beyond these shores is to win races for Ferrari. If he can do it in Italy, so much the better.
As remote a possibility as it seems (considering Alonso's keenness, he wasn't especially friendly towards Button before the podium in Italy... then again, he had just been beaten by him) it's the coda to Button's career that I hope comes off and that I think he deserves.
I'm glad you noticed Alonso's apparent unwillingness to acknowledge Button's friendly approach Genji. I'd begun to think only I'd noticed. - It took several efforts from Button to get any return of eye-contact; and at one point, I almost felt embarrassed for him!
anything is possible in F1. Both Hamilton and Button must be pretty fed up with the failures at McLaren.
I hope a Moderator can merge this with the existing thread: http://www.not606.com/showthread.php/49358-Jenson-Button-to-Ferrari I have reported this duplication to them in the hope that it can be done quickly.
Not particularly. It looked more like a snub at Button, who was clearly making an effort to be friendly.
I was reading an article recently, suggesting that the current stumbling block between McLaren and Button closing a long term deal is down to Button trying to negotiate fewer corporate appearances... If so, I can't say I blame him.
