McLaren seat vacant - who fills it?
Discussion
GavinPearson said:
Oh come on....
Can anybody honestly say that they think that Button is any good?
Button is another Derek Warwick. Was good in the lower formulae, showed a glimmer of talent, but his F1 career was woulda shoulda coulda.
In the case of Wheldon and Franchitti they at least have top league experience and wins at that level. F1 would not be a stretch.
Er...I'll put my hand up. Button is the real deal - fast, smooth...deceptively fast actually. Much as I liked Derek's character, he was a man who worked very hard to maximise his limited potential.Can anybody honestly say that they think that Button is any good?
Button is another Derek Warwick. Was good in the lower formulae, showed a glimmer of talent, but his F1 career was woulda shoulda coulda.
In the case of Wheldon and Franchitti they at least have top league experience and wins at that level. F1 would not be a stretch.
I'd say that if Alonso leaves McLaren, RD might take a look at Button, assuming his contract can be broken a year early.
I saw Franchitti's woeful Jaguar test - God was he ordinary....in contrast, Wilson drove the wheels off the car.
I don't know enough about Dan Wheldon to comment, but RD has had poor experience in taking drivers from the US open wheeled series and is unlikely to go that route again, although Marco Andretti, still very rough around the edge, would be a sponsor-magnet....if we ever se a US GP....
rubystone said:
GavinPearson said:
Oh come on....
Can anybody honestly say that they think that Button is any good?
Button is another Derek Warwick. Was good in the lower formulae, showed a glimmer of talent, but his F1 career was woulda shoulda coulda.
In the case of Wheldon and Franchitti they at least have top league experience and wins at that level. F1 would not be a stretch.
Er...I'll put my hand up. Button is the real deal - fast, smooth...deceptively fast actually. Much as I liked Derek's character, he was a man who worked very hard to maximise his limited potential.Can anybody honestly say that they think that Button is any good?
Button is another Derek Warwick. Was good in the lower formulae, showed a glimmer of talent, but his F1 career was woulda shoulda coulda.
In the case of Wheldon and Franchitti they at least have top league experience and wins at that level. F1 would not be a stretch.
I'd say that if Alonso leaves McLaren, RD might take a look at Button, assuming his contract can be broken a year early.
I saw Franchitti's woeful Jaguar test - God was he ordinary....in contrast, Wilson drove the wheels off the car.
I don't know enough about Dan Wheldon to comment, but RD has had poor experience in taking drivers from the US open wheeled series and is unlikely to go that route again, although Marco Andretti, still very rough around the edge, would be a sponsor-magnet....if we ever se a US GP....
i too am of the opinion that rd might take a look when fa does leave.
Can't see an international brand like Mercedes wanting too Brits somehow.
Button IS better than Warwick was but not that good. What he has in his favour is experience and I also wonder if MacMerc would want another rookie (let's not forget that lewis is new to F1 unbelievably).
He is a serial contract breaker so that would be no prob presumably!
Wheldon is brought up on UK motorsport so won't have quite the same cultural background (an apparent hangups)as Michael Andretti.
MA didnt seem to want to give his heart and soul like McLaren require and seemed to think all he had to do was turn up and race and then fly back home.
Whether Wheldon needs to do F1 now and whether it would give him the salary he probably now commands is also another thing.
Sutil is highly rated and as a German might fit the bill.
BTW don't overlook Gary Paffett!
Button IS better than Warwick was but not that good. What he has in his favour is experience and I also wonder if MacMerc would want another rookie (let's not forget that lewis is new to F1 unbelievably).
He is a serial contract breaker so that would be no prob presumably!
Wheldon is brought up on UK motorsport so won't have quite the same cultural background (an apparent hangups)as Michael Andretti.
MA didnt seem to want to give his heart and soul like McLaren require and seemed to think all he had to do was turn up and race and then fly back home.
Whether Wheldon needs to do F1 now and whether it would give him the salary he probably now commands is also another thing.
Sutil is highly rated and as a German might fit the bill.
BTW don't overlook Gary Paffett!
Franchetti's off to NASCAR and I reckon that's where Wheldon will end up too.
Schumacher in a Mclaren is as likely as me coming home to find that I have a job as a Grand Prix writer on Autosport with an R8 as a company car, my mortgage paid off, my licence given back to me and Jennifer Aniston naked on my bed covered in chocolate.
That'll be not very then...
Oh and The Pretty Boy hasn't spoken to Ron since Hungary.... read into that what you will.
Schumacher in a Mclaren is as likely as me coming home to find that I have a job as a Grand Prix writer on Autosport with an R8 as a company car, my mortgage paid off, my licence given back to me and Jennifer Aniston naked on my bed covered in chocolate.
That'll be not very then...
Oh and The Pretty Boy hasn't spoken to Ron since Hungary.... read into that what you will.
Edited by The Hypno-Toad on Sunday 16th September 12:14
The Hypno-Toad said:
Schumacher in a Mclaren is as likely as me coming home to find that I have a job as a Grand Prix writer on Autosport with an R8 as a company car, my mortgage paid off, my licence given back to me and Jennifer Aniston naked on my bed covered in chocolate.
That'll be not very then...
That'll be not very then...
The chocolate part is pushing it
Whoever it is....they will have their work cut out !
Lewis is a rare talent, having followed him through karting to date, he has always been able to brake so late into the bend and control his slide. Although he is not sure how he does it.
His move on Kimi last week is what he has been doing for years.
Having followed Button aswell, I would say he is 2/10 slower than Lewis, which is good enough for a last shot at it with Ron, but feel it is unlikely.
We will see.
Lewis is a rare talent, having followed him through karting to date, he has always been able to brake so late into the bend and control his slide. Although he is not sure how he does it.
His move on Kimi last week is what he has been doing for years.
Having followed Button aswell, I would say he is 2/10 slower than Lewis, which is good enough for a last shot at it with Ron, but feel it is unlikely.
We will see.
This could well tied up with what sort of relationship they will have with prodrive and their driver line up.
Mercedes may want to give their F3 driver a try , I think the guys name is Niko Hulkenberg or simular, matched with a seasoned driver to aid him ,and if prooves to be good slide him in to partner Lewis.
Mercedes may want to give their F3 driver a try , I think the guys name is Niko Hulkenberg or simular, matched with a seasoned driver to aid him ,and if prooves to be good slide him in to partner Lewis.
Scuffers said:
kenthardy said:
BTW don't overlook Gary Paffett!
I would like to see al
so put on the bench and Gary drafted in for the rest of this year...McLaren don't need to penalise either Alonso or De La Rosa.
McLaren need Alonso to help them get 1-2 finishes. But Alonso is in a precarious position, he needs McLaren as much as they need him, because without a good team he won't win Championship #3. If he did try to blackmail RD then that was not smart.
A substitute driver needs to be championship material - and very few are in the championship, let alone those who are actually available.
De La Rosa can be supplemented with any other test driver at any time, if the other driver is as good then De La Rosa gets his seat time restricted to the most boring of activities and for very little in-car time.
McLaren need Alonso to help them get 1-2 finishes. But Alonso is in a precarious position, he needs McLaren as much as they need him, because without a good team he won't win Championship #3. If he did try to blackmail RD then that was not smart.
A substitute driver needs to be championship material - and very few are in the championship, let alone those who are actually available.
De La Rosa can be supplemented with any other test driver at any time, if the other driver is as good then De La Rosa gets his seat time restricted to the most boring of activities and for very little in-car time.
I don't think Fernando's going anywhere. Would you give up that car?
Doesn't anyone remember the bitter rivalry between Ayrton and Alain ?
Taking each other out at subsequent GP's ?
McLaren managed then, with World Championships won.
Ron is living a very interesting life, just as he likes it.
On the Button vein, I just get the feeling he's stuck, and has somehow to break out of the rut he's put himself in. The most badly managed and advised driver in British history.
Lots of angles were examined in the "Button for WC2007 thread", and he's got plenty of knockers, but I just feel he needs something to snap him out of it.
What are his options?
He's powerless at Honda, who look as clueless as Toyota.
The land of the rising sun is not the place to look as the big cultural difference within the boardroom stretches the time needed to produce change quickly within F1. Maybe he'll return to Frank once Wurz goes back to testing, which is inevitable.
My advice, get rid of that beard, get a haircut,lose some weight and start looking like a contender, not a kwik fit fitter. At the moment he looks like a bum, and getting to grips with his self image is where he should start, change comes from within, and he needs to get focussed.
As for Yank series racers , Michael Andrettis form really is hard to forget.
I remember him once saying he just couldn't keep his foot off the brake when entering the big corners, it was too terrifying, you'd brake at 100 metres, instead of 175-200. The yanks are just club racers really.
When Mansell spat the dummy there were quotes of "its the equivalent of the Heavyweight World Boxing Champion competing at country fairs taking on all comers"
As good as they look, its all relative to their substrate.
Doesn't anyone remember the bitter rivalry between Ayrton and Alain ?
Taking each other out at subsequent GP's ?
McLaren managed then, with World Championships won.
Ron is living a very interesting life, just as he likes it.
On the Button vein, I just get the feeling he's stuck, and has somehow to break out of the rut he's put himself in. The most badly managed and advised driver in British history.
Lots of angles were examined in the "Button for WC2007 thread", and he's got plenty of knockers, but I just feel he needs something to snap him out of it.
What are his options?
He's powerless at Honda, who look as clueless as Toyota.
The land of the rising sun is not the place to look as the big cultural difference within the boardroom stretches the time needed to produce change quickly within F1. Maybe he'll return to Frank once Wurz goes back to testing, which is inevitable.
My advice, get rid of that beard, get a haircut,lose some weight and start looking like a contender, not a kwik fit fitter. At the moment he looks like a bum, and getting to grips with his self image is where he should start, change comes from within, and he needs to get focussed.
As for Yank series racers , Michael Andrettis form really is hard to forget.
I remember him once saying he just couldn't keep his foot off the brake when entering the big corners, it was too terrifying, you'd brake at 100 metres, instead of 175-200. The yanks are just club racers really.
When Mansell spat the dummy there were quotes of "its the equivalent of the Heavyweight World Boxing Champion competing at country fairs taking on all comers"
As good as they look, its all relative to their substrate.
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