That Seat At McLaren

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If it were my team and my decision I would put Massa in the seat ... knows how to play No 2.
:sick: Gah, no!! Apparently he doesn't know how to be No 2, he's been a pretty poor backup and that's why he's likely out. He should always be in the top 6, or 8 at a push, and he hasn't been. Nice guy to be sure, but I think there are better prospects.
 
Bit early to say this but I get the feeling that the 2013 / 2014 off season is going to be epic in the driver market.
 
Contracts are only worth the paper they're written on Viscount, as we have seen in the past many times.

Raikkonen himself was famously paid off from Ferrari not that long ago.
 
Sly-

Buemi and Algasauras???!!! Why not include Badoer and Speed and let the "Fast 4" duke it out?
 
Were assuming that Rosberg is watertight at Mercedes so therefore a simple swap with Hamilton is not on the cards
then since Mclaren have always rated Rosberg and tried to sign him in 2008

As for other candidates the only two I see are Hulkenberg and Di Resta.

Hulkenburg is the next big thing the sort of driver Mclaren wanted given their history with signing Hakkinen, Raikkonen and Hamilton - drivers who are world class

Di Resta - I don't think its an issue that he is managed by Button's management given he split with Anthony Hamilton ..it does appear to be somewhat related to tensions apparently between him and Lewis Hamilton

Di Resta is ideal given he has tested with Mclaren before so they know his ability and were impressed and also he is a Mercedes driver and maybe MClaren can use some bargaining or trade off when signing Di Resta with the engine deal
 
Maldonado!!! Just kidding. Schumacher!!!!! Kidding again. Seriously though I'd love to see Heidfeld maybe even Sutil, di Resta and Hulkenberg aren't bad options either and are safe hands with potential. Also possibly Alguersuari. I don't really see any of these options being better than the others they just seem to be the drivers who would be available. If they could get Raikkonen though its a whole different story. What about one Juan Pablo Montoya?:crazy: Or has he forgotten how to turn right? LOL
 
This is a multi-faceted question, teabagyokel with some assumptions thrown in that (a) Lewis will leave McLaren, (b) for Mercedes and (c) for the 2013 season. I think (a) is almost certain but I will leave my doubts aside about (b) and (c) and how it hinges on Vettel to Ferrari (in 2014 or 2015). Perez's future is also determined by Vettel to Ferrari, I think :D

This is really important for me because I think Sergio has a good claim to the McLaren drive, and would be McLaren's choice without Perez's 'ties' to Ferrari - whatever those ties mean :unsure: .

If Vettel and Alonso are at Ferrari in 2014, Perez needs to be in a McLaren or a Red Bull. If that is really going to happen then going there for 2013 if when Lewis leaves for Mercedes, is a really good option. Or he could wait for Seb's seat in Adrian Newey's car. If Vettel isn't going, then Sergio will be at Ferrari in 2014 and maybe even 2013. His future is bright - as long as he keeps having races like Malaysia / Monza occasionally.

Leaving that aside, I think Perez would pair well with Button and allow McLaren to design a car that suited both drivers and allow them to go a particular direction with tyres for example that didn't compromise one or other driver. Commercially, I think Sergio is probably also McLaren's best bet with the Americas a decent place to start looking for new sponsors.

The other driver who would make a good team with Button would be Rosberg but I cannot see him running away from a confrontation at Mercedes with Lewis and Mercedes have already made it very clear he will drive for them next year. I don't think Rosberg is available for 2013. Neither are Vettel, Alonso or Webber of course :)

Kimi is a possibility, especially based on talent alone, but with Kimi and Jenson, I feel that the team might struggle to find something both drivers like. Because of that, and because we all know that Kimi would hate the McLaren corporate BS all over again, I don't think that will happen.

Then there is the Force India pair. For me now they are neck and neck. Hulk has his DRS open but Paul has the inside line approaching the hairpin at the end of the season. Paul is very good when he has the inside line into the corner at squeezing his opponent out of road, but Nico is flying at the moment. It could be tight and they might even collide with so much at stake. They may also have both heard over the radio that Perez is leading them both because he has a better tyre strategy.

The wildcards are Kobi and Grosjean. Of these two, Romain is the more likely multiple race-winner but both could be in contention at the end of the year if when the decision to replace Lewis for 2013 has to be made. I very much doubt McLaren will move quickly, nor do they have to commit for a long term - they have a very good hand in any negotiations. If Lewis does leave then maybe they will also start asking Vettel about his contract with Ferrari and whether he might instead prefer Woking for 2014.

Who will be at McLaren next year? Lewis for one more year Paul di Resta as everyone waits to see what Vettel does.
 
I think Perez would be the perfect fit, if not next year then posiibly get a driver in for a year (Schumacher maybe as that would wind the red team up ;) ) and then either Perez or Vettel the year after..
 
James Allen thinks that Lewis is off to Merc...

http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2012/09/hamilton-set-to-move-to-mercedes/

...and that Vodafone might be keen to get Perez.in at Mclaren:

"Speaking of Vodafone, there have been suggestions that discussions are taking place for Sergio Perez to join the team; Vodafone has been looking for years into expanding its reach in Latin America and particularly Brazil via Perez’ backers Telmex and America Movil. So this could provide a strong business case for a move. However Perez is a Ferrari Academy driver so there are some hurdles there."
 
So James is making supposition based upon flawed logic even by his own standards?

James Allen is the one who commented upon the potential loss of Vodaphone as a sponsor at McLaren in the fairly immediate future. So in order to justify his rumour making skills he has ignored his own comments to justify why Perez is sought after?

Right now I don't think there is even 10% of the truth out there for people to make up their own minds as to what may happen. However if Hamilton does leave McLaren then they are going to be looking for a proven top end driver to replace him. Or at the very least someone who can hang onto JB long enough to be useful in winning the WCC.
 
... Or alternatively, he's taken the fact that Vodafone may be dropping their ties with McLaren, and is suggesting that Perez might be a good driver to try and re-build those ties.... Sounds like very strong logic to me!
 
Unless Perez is going to be passing gold bricks with "property of Vodafone" written on them I don't think there is anything he can offer that would over-rule the reasoning for them to pull out of F1 sponsorship (costs too high and return way too low when the money can be better spent on advertising elsewhere).

The suggested tie up in the James Allen article would involve an increase in spending by Vodafone (helping Perez get the seat) with no guarantee of return in a prospective market that they currently don't operate in. Unless there is a contract on the table from the other two companies that say "you pay the Perez bill and continue to sponsor the team he is in and we will go into partnership with you" then it is a huge speculative spend with a possibly less than 50/50 chance of having any return. For a company looking to spend their money in a more focussed manner like Vodafone currently is then this would be the worst move they could make right now.

But then having said that some companies do defy logic in the way they spend their money, and anything is possible right now as we don't know the state of negotiations between the three companies involved.

Having said all of that, if you combine the thought of Lewis leaving McLaren with the possibility of the team gaining a new title sponsor, then maybe we are all thinking along the wrong lines. The chances are that any title sponsor will be wanting to get a driver they are already associated with into the team in some way just to maximise the return on their investment. Red Bull (the drinks company) always wanted to have 2 title teams and were forced to relinquish some control at Torro Rosso due to the cross over of teams, maybe we will see a third team with that logo on them in the future, along with some of the more promising drivers from the Red Bull Academy coming in....

(Will now switch off the sarcastic mock conspiracy theory joke reply mode)
 
My heart would love to see Mclaren give Perez or Grosjean (yes Grosjean, he's quick and I'm not joining the post Spa witch hunt unless he does something similar) but this is Mclaren and lets face it usually go for the dull option so it'll prob be Rosberg or Di Resta.

Although if the rumours about cash being a little tight due to becoming a customer of Merc are true can I throw the big fat money spinning idea of putting the name Senna on a Mclaren again? He comes with a big checkbook!
 
The Telmex deal with Sauber was originally a two year deal (last season and this season) worth a reported $10.3MM a year plus Sergio Perez... can't find any news where it has been renewed so far...

Vodafone out... Telmex in + Sergio... euro's for peso's (aren't they worth the same thing now anyways ?)
 
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