I think people are making a bit of a meal of
that picture at Spa.
Hamilton's already said he wants to keep his trophies, surely this is an indication that he is primarily concerned with racing. I do wish we would hear some real news of the subject now though, we're past Monza and all we hear is that both parties are in 'critical talks', slightly worrying...
Seeing as Hamilton is out of the subject I think the best candidates for the Macca seat are Perez, di Resta, Hulkenburg or maybe Rosberg (is he tied into a contract?).
Perez is the most appealing candidate on the list, yet he is in the Ferrari driver academy and I wouldn't be surprised if there is already a pre-contract signed (in which Ferrari have all the power).
The next best and most likely candidate (IMO) would be di Resta. He's young, has shown he can peform, has a level head and he's British. Force India have also said they won't stop their drivers from leaving at the end of the season and if he has a strong finish to the season (finish in the WDC top 10) then I think he would stand a strong chance. I also think di Resta has been unfortunate this season, he's seemed a lot more consistent than Hulkenburg (even though he only has one more points finish) but just hasn't had the luck in the races in which Force India has shown real pace. Hulkenburg also still has that pole position from 2010, people remember something like a pole position even though other qualifying performances could have beem relatively better.
Hulkenburg is similar to di Resta. He's German so that's going to please the Mercedes board back in Stuttgart, has shown he has speed, has a great junior record and he also seems to have a sensible head on his shoulders. The only downside is that McLaren have become accustomed to being an 'all-British' team the last few seasons, I'm sure this wouldn't rule out a foreign driver but why not just hire di Resta and keep the PR slant.
If McLaren are consigned to losing Hamilton perhaps they would try a straight swap for Rosberg. He's been touted as a possible WDC by many, he's consistent if unspectacular, German again (Mercedes), he's now had experience in a frontrunning team and I seem to remember his name being thrown around as a replacement for Alonso after 2007.
I've discounted Raikkonen because he wanted a truckload of money in 2009, Massa because he's crap, Grosjean is still to inexperienced, Pastor
Crashonado Maldonado (do I really need to say more?
), Glock has gone off the boil and Kovalainen had his chance there.
so it looks like he may be off the menu!
