The F1 2009 thread

[Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0]

It won't be Firestone, they are a subsidiary of Bridgestone these days. I hope it's Goodyear, their F1 calendars were always very classy.

[Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0]

Renault could be the next to leave according to the Beeb:

Renault considers Formula 1 exit

 

Renault have held an emergency board meeting in Paris to discuss pulling out of Formula 1 with immediate effect.

 

The French car company was considering whether to remain in the sport with its own team, switch to simply being an engine supplier or quit altogether.

 

The outcome of Wednesday's meeting was not immediately forthcoming.

 

News of Renault's possible exit comes on the day Toyota said it was quitting F1, becoming the third car company to leave the sport in the last 11 months.

 

Renault's emergency board meeting was attended by F1 team bosses Bob Bell and Jean-Francois Caubet, although neither man was allowed to take part in the debate about the team's future.

 

Renault have had their least competitive F1 season since 2002 and finished eighth out of 10 teams in the constructors' championship after Sunday's final race of the season in Abu Dhabi.

 

The company came under scrutiny for the team's involvement in the Singapore 2008 race-fixing scandal, in which they decided not to contest charges that they had asked Nelson Piquet Jr to crash to aid team-mate Fernando Alonso's bid for victory.

 

Motorsport's governing body the FIA gave Renault a ban from F1, suspended for two years, as punishment, while team bosses Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds were forbidden from attending FIA-sanctioned events.

 

Last month, Renault signed the highly-rated Polish driver Robert Kubica to lead their team in 2010 as a replacement for double world champion Alonso, who has moved to Ferrari.

[Meenzer 15347]

The universe is determined not to give Kubica a drive next season.

[Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0]

Confirmed - Toyota have gone..

 

Meanwhile USF1 have unveiled their 2010 car

 

Clearly copied the front end design from an early eighties Toleman:

Edited November 13, 2009 by Dr Kenneth Noisewater

[Craig 6670]

McLaren tee up Jenson Button to partner Lewis Hamilton in 2010

• World champion given a guided tour round McLaren HQ
  
• Button would share equal billing with 2008 world champion
  

Alan Henry

guardian.co.uk, Friday 13 November 2009 18.33 GMT

 

 

McLaren have teed up Jenson Button to partner Lewis Hamilton in their 2010 Formula One line-up and the world champion could be close to turning his back on the Brawn team for whom he won this year's title. Button and his manager, Richard Goddard, today visited the McLaren headquarters at Woking, where they were given an escorted tour of the facilities by Martin Whitmarsh, the team principal. A contract could be signed as early as next week if terms can be finalised, creating the first team with two world champions competing alongside each other since Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost were team-mates at McLaren in 1989.

 

"As I've said many times before, Jenson wants to drive a car which is capable of winning the next world championship," said Goddard. "We've been talking about possible terms for 2010 with Brawn for months and we're not being difficult or unreasonably expensive in our demands for Jenson. In fact we've given up quite a lot of negotiating ground in our discussions with them."

 

McLaren have made Kimi Raikkonen their second choice if the Button approach fails, with Nick Heidfeld third favourite.

 

Goddard made it clear that Button was not aiming for the £10m annual fee that drivers such as Hamilton and Fernando Alonso have under the terms of their existing agreements. But it is clear he wants more than the bargain-rate, reputed £4m deal he agreed with the emergent Brawn team before the start of last season to stay on the Formula One grid in a year when he was almost left kicking his heels in the pits with nothing to drive.

 

"I think it's also important that Jenson wants to feel valued in whatever situation he finds himself next season," Goddard added. "He needs to explore all the feasible options." A McLaren spokesman said: "Having just arrived at Heathrow, Jenson made a small detour to Woking to say hello."

 

It is understood that Button has moved to the top of McLaren's wish-list over the past couple of months, with Whitmarsh and his fellow directors impressed by his tenacity in regaining his form to round off the season with two outstanding drives in the Brazilian and Abu Dhabi grands prix.

 

However, Niki Lauda, who won the last of his three world championships with McLaren in 1984, and was paired there with Prost for two years, believes that Button would be best served in the long run by continuing to negotiate with Brawn. "One of the problems faced by drivers today is that there is generally less money around in the business than there was," he said. "So if I was Jenson, I would try to stay with Brawn even if Ross might pay him slightly less than McLaren. Of course, if McLaren are going to pay a lot more, then he must go.

 

"But the other thing he must consider is that it is Lewis's team and he needs to be sure he has the confidence to deal with this. It is a tough decision for Jenson and he needs to think it through carefully."

 

McLaren also played host to Raikkonen on Wednesday when the 2007 world champion visited their base with his managers, David and Steve Robertson. The Robertsons – father and son – have an impressive reputation as negotiators, having not only secured Raikkonen an income of around £27m from Ferrari in 2008 but also cleverly inserted a clause in his contract whereby Ferrari were obliged to exercise their option to keep him in 2010 if he scored a certain number of championship points by the middle of 2008.

 

That led to the current situation whereby Ferrari have chosen to pay off Raikkonen's contract for a figure believed to be between £15 and £17m to make room for Alonso. Raikkonen previously drove for McLaren from 2002-06.

 

If Button should eventually join McLaren he would do so on equal footing to Hamilton as the team have always given absolute parity of equipment to their drivers and both would be permitted to race unfettered for grand prix wins and the world championship.

 

Heidfeld, who was a McLaren test driver in the late 1990s, and the incumbent Heikki Kovalainen are also under consideration as potential candidates for the seat alongside Hamilton, although very much as outsiders.

 

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/nov/1...n-mclaren-brawn

[Ketsbaia 0]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport...one/8362295.stm

 

Mercedes takes ownership of Brawn

 

German car giant Mercedes has bought the Brawn Formula 1 team in a move that is likely to see Jenson Button join McLaren as Lewis Hamilton's team-mate.

 

Mercedes will buy a controlling interest in Brawn, believed to be 75% but will continue as McLaren's engine supplier.

 

Brawn, who won both world titles in their debut season in 2009, will be rebranded as the Mercedes GP team.

 

Nico Rosberg will be their lead driver, with Nick Heidfeld his likely partner.

 

Neither driver has yet been confirmed, but Rosberg, who drove for Williams in 2009 is widely known throughout F1 to have already signed for Brawn/Mercedes.

 

Button, who won the drivers' title this year, has been trying to secure a pay-rise from his £3.5m salary but it seems Mercedes is not interested in keeping him on.

 

He and his manager Richard Goddard visited McLaren on Friday and Button is now expected to join McLaren for a salary around double what Brawn were offering.

 

Button's decision is understood not to be solely about money - sources say he considers McLaren might have a more competitive car than Brawn in 2010.

 

Mercedes Sports boss Norbert Haug said on Sunday that he was trying to secure a drive for Heidfeld, a former Mercedes protege who has driven for BMW since 2006.

 

"We are speaking with Nick Heidfeld as well," Haug told DPA.

 

"Mercedes-Benz supports the idea of signing an experienced and capable German driver. There is however no reason to finalise the driver situation too hastily."

 

It is believed Ross Brawn will stay on as team principal.

[Craig 6670]

Quite surprised by it all actually, brilliant for the sport that a manufacturer is moving in the opposite direction to the consensus.

 

Shame for Ross but then I guess that despite what's gone on this season, he can't raise the capital to cover the costs that Honda won't be footing (like they did in 2009). Even so the Brawn team must surely now be the most successful outfit the sport has ever seen?

 

Nice all German line up there too - does this mean that McLaren's long association with Mercedes is drawing to a close?

[Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0]

Nice all German line up there too - does this mean that McLaren's long association with Mercedes is drawing to a close?

Sounds like it. They'll certainly be treated like a customer team instead of a principal team next year if this is true.

 

Must say I'm surprised too.

[Craig 6670]

Norbert Haug sounds like he's burned his McLaren bridge and will be a key-player at the works team (pretty much what Thiessen did when BMW moved to Sauber).

 

They're evidently keen to keep Button on (not surprisingly) to the point where they say the definitely do NOT want an all German line up. Haug said they're continuing talks with Button but has admitted they're talking to Heidfeld too. NH sounds like a fall-back plan to me which should surely piss him off?

 

Glock has also been rumoured.

 

Wonder if it will signal the end of the silver McLarens? Silver has always been Merc's colour and I'd be surprised if the works team is anything but silver. How about a return to the good old red and white colour scheme of the Marlboro sponsorship days or even better, the orange & black scheme that was McLaren's traditional colours?

 

Given their current sponsorship commitments to both Vodafone and Santander, I can see it being the former.....

[khay 10]

review of the new F1 game for the Wii.

 

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/f1-2009-review?page=1

[Craig 6670]

Raikkonen rejects F1 for rallying

 

Former world champion Kimi Raikkonen will not be racing in Formula 1 next year after failing to find a drive.

 

The 30-year-old Finn had been trying to do a deal with McLaren but they would not offer him the salary he wanted, his manager David Robertson told BBC Sport.

 

"They couldn't afford him," Robertson said. "It wasn't in his interests to race for what they were offering so he's going to go rallying instead."

 

Robertson said he believed McLaren had already signed Jenson Button.

 

Raikkonen is trying to find a drive in the world rally championship, Roberston said, although nothing had yet been sorted out.

 

He made his world rally debut on his home Rally Finland last August, setting competitive times before crashing out.

 

"He wants to be back in F1 in 2011 but with all the money he has earned he doesn't want to go in a medium-type team for money," Robertson added.

 

"The same criteria would apply as this year - he'd only go where he feels he has a chance of the world championship."

 

Asked whether Button's appearance on the market had wrecked Raikkonen's hopes at McLaren, Roberston said: "If they hadn't gone for Jenson, they'd have gone for someone else."

 

Raikkonen, who won the world title for Ferrari in 2007, was forced out of Ferrari at the end of this season to make way for Fernando Alonso, despite already having a year left on his contract.

 

Raikkonen is being paid a sum believed to be in the region of 20m euros not to race for Ferrari in 2010, but still wanted to be paid what he felt was a fair sum to drive for another team.

 

Robertson would not confirm the Ferrari payment, describing the arrangements with Ferrari as "confidential".

 

Although he won the Belgian Grand Prix, Raikkonen's final season with Ferrari was a disappointment, with car that was never the fastest in the field.

 

He said: "Kimi wanted a winning car, only McLaren could supply that and he only had them in his sights. He didn't want another year like this one.

 

"But they had their issues with Mercedes, Santander and the FIA and from a financial point of view they are not the powerhouse they were. They couldn't afford him."

 

Mercedes announced on Tuesday that they were selling back their 40% shareholding in McLaren and buying the Brawn team instead.

 

Spanish bank Santander will sponsor Ferrari next year, although they will still retain a smaller presence with McLaren.

 

And governing body the FIA in 2007 fined McLaren $100m (then £49m) after they were found guilty of possessing confidential Ferrari technical information.

 

Asked how Raikkonen felt about the temporary end of an F1 career that started in 2001 and in which he won 18 grands prix, Robertson said: "He's one of those guys who moves on quickly - he just said 'now we concentrate on rallying'.

 

A McLaren spokesman refused to comment on Robertson's remarks.

 

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport...one/8365967.stm

 

Button joins Hamilton at McLaren

 

Jenson Button has signed to drive alongside Lewis Hamilton in an all-English line-up at McLaren next season, BBC Sport has learned.

 

The world champion's move will be announced later on Wednesday.

 

The confirmation follows news that former world champion Kimi Raikkonen will not race in F1 next year.

 

The move leaves McLaren with one of the most exciting driver line-ups in F1 and Button facing arguably the toughest challenge of his career.

 

Button's former team Brawn, who have been taken over by Mercedes, made Button an offer, but the 29-year-old did not consider it acceptable.

 

His switch means McLaren will be fielding the last two world champions in the same team, Hamilton having won the drivers' title in 2008.

 

Button's preference for McLaren is not solely to do with money, according to sources. He also believes it is the best option for his career.

 

After a poor start to the 2009 season, McLaren came back strongly in the second half of the year, while Brawn, after dominating the first third of the season, slipped back in competitiveness as the year went on.

 

Button's manager Richard Goddard was unavailable for comment.

 

Brawn emerged from the ashes of the former Honda team, after the Japanese company pulled out of F1 last winter.

 

Button took a pay cut last winter to help secure the team's future and they went on to win the world championship together in Brawn's debut season.

 

Now renamed Mercedes Grand Prix, the team have already signed the German Nico Rosberg as one of their drivers.

 

More to follow.

 

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport...one/8363892.stm

[Ketsbaia 0]

Gutted Kimi's not going to be on the grid

[Toonraider 0]

Gutted Kimi's not going to be on the grid

 

'I went for a sheeeet'

[Toonraider 0]

Is it just me thats gutted Jenson has gone to McLaren? Weird cos I like both the team and him, but it just doesnt feel right. Its Lewis' team, I cant see it working out for Jenson. I'm also really sad for Ross Brawn too.

[Craig 6670]

Gutted Kimi's not going to be on the grid

 

'I went for a sheeeet'

 

I'm not in the least bit surprised - his severence agreement with Ferrari states that if he drives in F1 in 2010 they pay him £10m, if he doesn't it's £17m.

 

Lad I know who works for Ilmor reckons they McLaren offered him £5m for a one year contract, re-negotiable after 12 months. Kimi decided that £2m was more important to him than racing and it's sad to say but if thats his attitude, then

 

1) he's better off getting out of the sport for this year

2) it's hard to consider who will take him seriously for 2011

 

 

Is it just me thats gutted Jenson has gone to McLaren? Weird cos I like both the team and him, but it just doesnt feel right. Its Lewis' team, I cant see it working out for Jenson. I'm also really sad for Ross Brawn too.

 

It's an odd one that's for sure but there's a lot of suggestion that whilst Brawn & Fry wanted to keep him, Merc actually do want a German 'super-team' and deliberately offered him a shit deal that he had no alternative but to move on.

 

Mercedes offered him less than a third (almost as little as a quarter) of what Ferrari are paying Kimi not to drive. Considering he's the World Champion that's masssively insulting.

 

Yes it's hard to consider Jenson getting the upper hand at McLaren over Lewis but it's all about the car they produce. I think Brundle summed it up perfectly towards the end of the season when he said "deliver a sweet car that's really on the money and no-one but will hold a candle to Jenson but make it a bit edgy and not quite honed to perfection and the likes of Alonso & Hamilton tend to shine".

 

As for making predicitions consider this:

 

1994 - Senna was expected to wipe the floor with everyone breaking all records along the way. We all know what happened at Imola but aside from that, he'd failed to convert the previous 2 pole positions into race finishes so it was hardly what everyone had suggested.

 

2007 - The same was expected of Alonso at McLaren as of Senna at Williams 13 years previous. Who's that rookie team-mate he got again?

 

2009 - Was supposed to be Massa's year IIRC. Certainly it was expected that Ferrari would be on the money. The ex-Honda team scraped back onto the grid under the guise of Brawn and....... well........

[Craig 6670]

VODAFONE McLAREN MERCEDES SIGNS REIGNING WORLD CHAMPION JENSON BUTTON TO MULTI-YEAR DEAL

 

18th November 2009

 

Sensational double World Champion driver line-up created as Jenson Button joins Lewis Hamilton at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

 

Woking, 18 November 2009: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is delighted to announce the signing of the reigning World Champion Jenson Button to a multi-year deal. He will be partnered by 2008 World Champion Lewis Hamilton, who will be embarking on his fourth consecutive season as a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver.

 

This unique partnership will mark:

 

- The first time in Formula 1 history that a team has started the new season with a line-up featuring the most recent two successive World Champions

 

- The first pairing of two British World Champions since Graham Hill [1962, 1968] partnered Jim Clark [1963, 1965] at Lotus in 1968

 

Jenson Button

2009 Formula 1 World Champion

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes car #1

“It’s always a difficult decision to leave a team when you’ve been there for so long. But life is all about challenges – and, most important of all, it’s about challenging yourself. So, although I won the World Championship with Brawn GP last year, and I’ll never forget that, I was always adamant that I wanted to continue to set myself fresh challenges.

 

“So that’s why I’ve decided to join Vodafone McLaren Mercedes. You can’t help but be affected by this team’s phenomenal history. McLaren is one of the greats of world sport, and its achievements and list of past champions read like a Who’s Who of Formula 1 – Emerson Fittipaldi, James Hunt, Niki Lauda, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Mika Hakkinen and of course my new team-mate Lewis Hamilton. I’ve followed the McLaren team ever since I was a small boy, and it feels unbelievable to finally be a part of it.

 

“When I visited the McLaren Technology Centre earlier this month, it wasn’t simply the technical resources and the incredible standards of excellence that impressed me. No, I was equally struck by the ambition, the motivation and the winning spirit that flow through everybody there. And then there’s the team’s epic history: put it this way, the trophy cabinets seem to stretch for miles.

 

“From a personal point of view, it’s also a great pleasure to be joining a fellow British World Champion. Lewis has achieved an incredible level of success in a very short period of time, and he’s a wonderfully gifted driver who has earned the respect of every Formula 1 driver. I’m sure there’s plenty that we can learn from each other, and I’m really looking forward to using our combined knowledge to push the team forward.

 

“Also, I think it’s fantastic that we’ll be forming an all-British line-up. I know that we both fly the flag with pride, and I sincerely hope we can make the whole of the United Kingdom, as well as Vodafone McLaren Mercedes fans across the world, proud. Nothing means more to me than to be able to represent my country, and I’m looking forward to both of us painting Formula 1’s circuits red, white and blue for many years to come.

 

“While I’m fully aware that there’s a tremendous amount of hard work ahead, I’m absolutely certain that Vodafone McLaren Mercedes will be able to deliver where it matters: on track. I’m already looking forward to starting work with the engineers at the McLaren Technology Centre as we begin our preparations for the 2010 season – and the defence of my world championship. This is a team that always goes racing to win, and I’m looking forward to being part of that.

 

“Last but very far from least, I want to say that the 2009 season will always have a special place in my memory, and I’m absolutely sure that everybody at Brawn GP who worked so hard to achieve our World Championship successes feels exactly the same way about it. Equally, I want to thank the guys at Mercedes-Benz HighPerformanceEngines, without whom we’d never have been as competitive as we were. I’m so pleased that I’ll still be using their engines in 2010 and beyond.

 

“So I wish all my old Brawn GP mates well in their new Mercedes Grand Prix adventure, just as I hope they’ll wish me well in my new Vodafone McLaren Mercedes adventure.”

 

Lewis Hamilton

2008 Formula 1 World Champion

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes car #2

“It’s fantastic news that Jenson has decided to join Vodafone McLaren Mercedes – and I’m looking forward to working with him and our engineers to make sure we kick off the 2010 season with a car that’s competitive enough to win the World Championship – but I want to send my best wishes for the future to my 2008-09 team-mate and now good friend Heikki Kovalainen, who is one of the nicest human beings I’ve ever met.

 

“I already know Jenson, and we get on very well together. We both really want our team to succeed. Although we’ll be pushing each other hard, I’m sure we’ll very quickly establish a great working relationship. He’s an exceptional driver: very controlled and very smooth, and he has a real depth of knowledge and experience. I think we’ll complement each other very well, and our collaboration will make the team stronger as a result. Also, I’m delighted to be racing alongside a fellow British World Champion, and I believe we can pull together to make Vodafone McLaren Mercedes the best team on the grid.

 

“I’m sure Jenson has already started to appreciate our team’s unique culture and the special family atmosphere that makes it such an incredible place to live and work. We really are like one big family – and I’m sure Jenson will feel the warmth of that welcome from day one.

 

“Obviously, as a British driver, I’m also thrilled that we’ll be flying the flag for the United Kingdom, and I think today’s announcement is fantastic news for all British sports fans. I hope they’ll be giving us their full support when the season kicks off next March. I’m already looking forward to Silverstone – it’ll be massive!

 

“Looking ahead, I think the results from the second half of 2009 speak for themselves, and I’m convinced we can carry that momentum through the winter and into the new season. I’ve been closely following the development of our 2010 challenger, the MP4-25, and I think it’s going to be a state-of-the-art car that will enable both of us to consistently fight for victories.”

 

Martin Whitmarsh

Team principal, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes

“Everybody at Vodafone McLaren Mercedes is absolutely delighted to be able to welcome Jenson to our team. It has always been our policy to employ the two very best possible drivers – and, in Jenson and Lewis, we feel we not only have the fastest pairing on the 2010 grid, but also the two most complete, professional and dedicated drivers in Formula 1.

 

“Moreover, I’m confident that we’ll be able to successfully balance and harness Jenson’s and Lewis’s complementary skill-sets. Our engineers are already looking forward to working with Jenson, and I’m convinced that such a strong and dynamic driver line-up will make us an even more complete and competitive operation. Now we have to provide Jenson and Lewis with race-winning machinery.

 

“I want to make clear that Jenson’s decision to join us was in no way motivated by money. We’ll be paying him no more than he could be getting elsewhere, and that fact is a reflection of not only Jenson’s belief in Vodafone McLaren Mercedes but also his desire and ambition to build on the phenomenal results he achieved during the 2009 season.

 

“I also want to thank Heikki for his selfless contribution over the past two years. As well as being very quick, Heikki was and remains a great character whom we’ll all miss considerably. It goes without saying that we wish him all the best for next season, and would be very pleased if he were to secure a good drive for 2010.

 

“We’re ambitious, we’re motivated and we’re hungrier than ever. We make no secret of our ambition for next year: Vodafone McLaren Mercedes wants to win both World Championships – and, with Jenson and Lewis, we believe we’re better equipped than any other team in the pitlane to do exactly that.”

 

Jenson Button (GBR)

Date of birth: 19 January 1980 (29)

World championships: 1 (2009)

Wins: 7

Pole positions: 7

Points: 327

GP starts: 170

 

Lewis Hamilton (GBR)

Date of birth: 7 January 1985 (24)

World championships: 1 (2008)

Wins: 11

Pole positions: 17

Points: 256

GP starts: 52

 

Source: http://www.mclaren.com/latestnews/mclaren-...php?article=384

[Ketsbaia 0]

It's an odd one that's for sure but there's a lot of suggestion that whilst Brawn & Fry wanted to keep him, Merc actually do want a German 'super-team' and deliberately offered him a shit deal that he had no alternative but to move on.

 

Rumours doing the rounds that they've approached Schumacher.

 

If true I may pass out.

[Meenzer 15347]

It's an odd one that's for sure but there's a lot of suggestion that whilst Brawn & Fry wanted to keep him, Merc actually do want a German 'super-team' and deliberately offered him a shit deal that he had no alternative but to move on.

 

Rumours doing the rounds that they've approached Schumacher.

 

If true I may pass out.

It'll turn out to be true.

 

But it'll be Ralf.

 

[Craig 6670]

It's an odd one that's for sure but there's a lot of suggestion that whilst Brawn & Fry wanted to keep him, Merc actually do want a German 'super-team' and deliberately offered him a shit deal that he had no alternative but to move on.

 

Rumours doing the rounds that they've approached Schumacher.

 

If true I may pass out.

 

Yeah I've heard that one too - they may well have approached him (ex-Merc World Sportscar Driver and all that) but his neck is still a problem, surely??

 

Mind you if he does join them it'll increase the rumours that the neck injury was invented because he knew the 2009 Ferrari was a bag of shit and didn't want his reputation tarnished by it

[Meenzer 15347]

Speaking of which, I hope poor old Luca Badoer is feeling a little better about himself given how utterly rubbish an experienced and active driver in the shape of Fisichella turned out to be in the same car.

[Craig 6670]

Speaking of which, I hope poor old Luca Badoer is feeling a little better about himself given how utterly rubbish an experienced and active driver in the shape of Fisichella turned out to be in the same car.

 

Lets get one thing straight Martin, Luca was absolute fucking dog-shit!

[Meenzer 15347]

Speaking of which, I hope poor old Luca Badoer is feeling a little better about himself given how utterly rubbish an experienced and active driver in the shape of Fisichella turned out to be in the same car.

 

Lets get one thing straight Martin, Luca was absolute fucking dog-shit!

Nahh, he was dogshit under extenuating circumstances. Crucial difference.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...yeah yeah, OK, but you already know I'm the anti-MattM4/Ameobi when it comes to Luca.

[Billy Castell 0]

Button's move may help spur Lewis on as he won't be the only show in town at McLaren, and he'll have a team mate who will challenge for wins. McLaren were looking pretty brilliant towards the end of last season, but can they rejig the car after ditching KERS? Surprised Button did leave Brawn after the dramatic 12 months they all had together.

 

And what of Mercedes being more pally with Brawn? Will that end the partnership with McLaren in the next few years?

[Craig 6670]

Eddie Jordan reckons he has inside information proving that Mercedes booted Button out rather than him walking. If so, he's landed on his feet IMO getting a drive at McLaren.

 

You only have to think back to '96 when Williams ditched Damon Hill despite the fact he won the title. Where did he end up?? Arrows!

 

The only credible reason anyone can consider this being a mistake by Jenson is Lewis Hamilton. If any other driver (including Alonso) was his team-mate next season, everyone would be saying it was a brilliant move by him.

 

And anyway, if the MP4-25 is the monster of a car that everyone is claiming it's going to be, isn't Jenson in the best possible seat to defend his crown?

[Craig 6670]

And what of Mercedes being more pally with Brawn? Will that end the partnership with McLaren in the next few years?

 

McLaren & Mercedes had a contract with each other that states that they can't do anything in F1 without permission from the other. This has now been disolved by an agreement between the two that Mercedes will provide free engines and sponsorship until the end of 2015.

 

I suspect McLaren will soon start a long-term development programme with a new manufacturer in much the same way that Williams did with BMW, 2 years before they started using their engine.