That Seat At McLaren

[Il_leone]

the noises are getting louder that

1) Hamilton will leave for Mercedes
2) If he stays at Mclaren this would be at a pay cut from his current wages and some suggest even less than Button's so clearly the team needs money to develop

The longer this drags the more likely it seems Lewis will leave

If Mclaren want to have a good relationship with Mercedes

they will go with DI Resta who is rated by the team and that may cut the engine bill as well

Perez' s stock keeps increasing and I feel therefore Ferrari may offer him the second seat to ward off Mclaren unless they get a huge pay off

the only problem is the Ferrari seat is only available for 1 season if Vettel rumour is true

Which opens further questions about the seat at Red Bull

-----------------------
I thought Lewis ' attitude at Monza was similar to Alonso's in 2007 of someone who knew there were thinking about driving for someone else

 

[Slyboogy]

Not sure why Hamilton would/should get paid less than Button, despite McLaren and Button signing the contract just last year, obviously they knew they would have to pay for the Mercedes engines in 2013 when they made that deal.

Although you are getting paid millions to do the job you love, so shouldn't be much of a problem either.

 

[Chad Stewarthill]

I don't know why I didn't see this before.

Luca di Montezemolo's protestations of: "It's too soon for Perez to take a Ferrari seat" are more likely to mean, "Perez could be uncomfortably close to Alonso. If he can beat him in a Sauber, what might he do in equal machinery? We want a solid number two driver for the next four or five years, not someone who would upset the team equilibrium by challenging Fernando for wins."

Which could mean that a Mclaren seat would be quite feasible if they were interested, and a story in the Daily Mail (ok, ok) today suggests that Mclaren have been in contact with the Mexican as they tire of XIX Entertainment's negotiating tactics.

Expect a joint announcement at next Thursday's press conference?

 

[Kewee]

Chad Stewarthill.......It seems to have gone unnoticed, and this is not intended to take anything away from Perez, but in Italy Alonso was fighting with the other top drivers in the sport for the first third of the race and had to lean on his tyres far more than Perez, especially during his battle with Vettel, which led to Alonso having to pit sooner than Perez which left Perez on much fresher rubber late in the race. Another factor of course was the pass on Vettel damaged the floor of the Ferrari affecting its handling. He was told to nurse it at the end in case there was suspension damage. Perez is very good but I'm sure Ferrari realize he wouldn't beat Alonso in equal cars. Tyres were the major factor in Italy.

 

[teabagyokel]

Kewee

 

[Kewee]

teabagyokel......The number of overtakes is irrelevant, it was the effort required during the opening stint, hence the stress on their tyres that impacted on all the drivers in the leading group. They all pitted well before Perez which is why he was so much quicker during the closing stages of the race. Alonso threw everything at that first stint with nothing but a podium in his mind. Perez had a much easier path early in the race than any of the front runners.

 

[Kewee]

You'll notice from your lap chart Perez passed four cars in the opening laps, cars far less competitive the him, after which he only needed to make one pass before he pitted. As I said he was able to look after his tyres, the front runners didn't have that luxury.

 

[Chad Stewarthill]

Point taken Kewee, but it's not just Perez' performance in Monza that I'm thinking about. He also beat Alonso in Canada (tyre strategy or not, he still beat him fair and square) and ran him very close in Malaysia. All in all, I think he's done enough to cause concern at Ferrari that he might just potentially be a bit too good.

 

[Wombcat]

Also Alonso qualified on his tyres (just as the other frontrunners), while Perez started with new tyres.

 

[teabagyokel]

Kewee - As is obvious to most people, Perez pitted later simply because he started on the primes.

 

[Kewee]

teabagyokel....which were good enough for him to make places during the first stint and as is also obvious it left him on the mediums for the final laps.

 

[teabagyokel]

Kewee - Yes. But do we have to find an excuse for everyone who finished ahead of Alonso every week?

 

[The Artist.....]

Kewee

In monza, the combination of strategy driving and car from Perez and Sauber was better than that on Alonso's Ferrari! There was nothing to force Alonso from running in Q3 - especially with the suspension problem. He could have chosen to start from 10th with a set of the hard tyres. He (and the team) chose not to! Perez did a better job - period!!!

 

[no-FIAt-please]

How about that seat at McLaren eh? I hear that's interesting...

 

[FB]

Thanks no-FIAt-please - any further off topic post will be deleted.

Cheers

FB

 

[Il_leone]

Apparent rumours

Force India have been not been approached by top teams about wanting Hulkenberg or Di Resta althougth if they do they want to be compensated

an interesting one is to hear even Kovalainen is being considered for the second seat at Mclaren...now that would smack humble pie for Martin Whitmarsh who said he wanted world class drivers not solid drivers in reference to Heikki's postion in 2009 and considering Button


Raikkonen has got his Renault clause activated which meant it requires a pay off to get him

apart from Perez I don't see anyone else on the current grid Mclaren would happily take a punt apart from Nico Rosberg...unless they sign

BRUNO SENNA ....yes SENNA in a MCLAREN again if Williams did it why not Mclaren ...I know Bruno#'s results don;t justify it but that has something worth looking at given his uncle's past with the team


I don't see the STR drivers considered and I don;t see how Mclaren would take a risk on Sam Bird or Oliver Turvey

Mclaren swooped for Button only after the 2009 season ended so this saga with Hamilton may drag on a bit especially if it the Merc deal is true and it would have to tie in with when Schumacher announces his plans you would think

It does appear Hamilton will leave Mclaren judging by the stance his management team have been taken in the last few weeks and his relations with the team has taken a dive after his twitter blunder

 

[sushifiesta]

If McLaren let Hamilton go and replace him with Bruno Senna I'm not sure I could bring myself to support them ever again....

 

[The Artist.....]

sushifiesta

What if McLaren replaced Hamilton with Bruno Senna, and they then went and won the WDC and WCC next season?.....

 

[Chad Stewarthill]

 

[sushifiesta]

sushifiesta

What if McLaren replaced Hamilton with Bruno Senna, and they then went and won the WDC and WCC next season?.....

I'd jump off a cliff because everything I believe in is obviously a lie!

Disclaimer: I am under no obligation to do this when the inevitable happens and Bruno Senna wins the 2013 drivers championship.