[SenorFunkyPants]

Re Button: Buttons costs £16 million, Kevin costs £1 million. Thats a lots of $$$ that could be used on R&Ding a better car. If Jenson is so keen on staying in F1 then he seriously needs to drop his price - its not like he needs the money.
Also Alonso may well have a say in which team mate he would prefer which also clouds the issue.
Re: Alonso: This is a great read, really fascinating. You really have to feel for Marco Mattiacci, he got totally screwed.
http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/f1/ferrari-in-2014/

[solstice]

Originally Posted by SenorFunkyPants

Re Button: Buttons costs £16 million, Kevin costs £1 million. Thats a lots of $$$ that could be used on R&Ding a better car. If Jenson is so keen on staying in F1 then he seriously needs to drop his price - its not like he needs the money.
Also Alonso may well have a say in which team mate he would prefer which also clouds the issue.
Re: Alonso: This is a great read, really fascinating. You really have to feel for Marco Mattiacci, he got totally screwed.
http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/f1/ferrari-in-2014/

Button was not that much slower than Hamilton, he has never driven with Alonso and his car was sh*t this season, still he thouroughly outscored Magnussen. Do we really know how he will do against Alonso which likely have increased his 40m salary with Ferrari, slower yes but by how much? I can't see why Button need to lower his demands, especially since he can quite easily make up the difference to Kevin by position/point on the constructors WC.

"Just under half (47.5%) of the profit - about £500m in the last year of results - is split in half.

One half is divided equally between the top 10 teams as defined by their results over the previous three seasons; the other is split between the top 10 from the previous year alone, with each position receiving a given percentage. The higher up you finished in the constructors' championship, the more money you get.

There is also a separate pot called the constructors' championship bonus (CCB), which is about £187.5m and split between Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren, with Ferrari earning by far the most"

I can see that if they continue to be well behind they can fall out of this privileged group...

[SenorFunkyPants]

Certainly Alonso will be faster than Button...at that point you have to ask yourself if McLaren would be better served by having an up and coming yet cheap pliable driver in the number 2 car rather than a veteran who would be less likely to be told to let Alonso past.
In any case until the dust settles on Ron attempts to buy up his McLaren partners shares and become top dog I don't think any decision is likely.

[solstice]

Originally Posted by SenorFunkyPants

Certainly Alonso will be faster than Button...at that point you have to ask yourself if McLaren would be better served by having an up and coming yet cheap pliable driver in the number 2 car rather than a veteran who would be less likely to be told to let Alonso past.
In any case until the dust settles on Ron attempts to buy up his McLaren partners shares and become top dog I don't think any decision is likely.

Personally I hope it goes the other way. That the board remove RD. He is a legend but he is proving now that he is far more expired than Button. Either he can't make a decision or the board does not have trust in their CEO. Not an easy thing to do though when he is not only CEO but also Chairman and a large shareholder... If this is how they take decsisions at McLaren not even Alonso and Honda can help them.

[SenorFunkyPants]

I suspect McLaren would be less successful without RD, certainly in the short term...he has made the company what it is today.
I also think its a big mistake to take Alonso back, he was toxic there last time and I can't see that it will be any better this time. Alonso is only going there to spin his wheels waiting for a chance to grab a Merc seat at the end of the 2015 season (unless by some miracle Honda push McLaren cars to the front of the grid - which is unlikely).

[solstice]

Originally Posted by SenorFunkyPants

I suspect McLaren would be less successful without RD, certainly in the short term...he has made the company what it is today.
I also think its a big mistake to take Alonso back, he was toxic there last time and I can't see that it will be any better this time. Alonso is only going there to spin his wheels waiting for a chance to grab a Merc seat at the end of the 2015 season (unless by some miracle Honda push McLaren cars to the front of the grid - which is unlikely).

I just can't see that happening...HAM is going nowhere if Benz continues to win races and Alonso is going nowhere if McLaren wins. Without an equal in the team I think Alonso will do just fine with McLaren if the car is competetive. If not, well where is he going to go?

[3798j]

And in yet another turn, Domenicali is back.

http://www.grandprix247.com/2014/12/...-entry-for-vw/

[solstice]

Originally Posted by 3798j

And in yet another turn, Domenicali is back.

http://www.grandprix247.com/2014/12/...-entry-for-vw/

Cool, I hope it's true. Would be great to have another heavy weight entering F1. Must be tempting to use the Porsche brand but they don't really have anything to win and everything to lose by being viewed as the leader in sports cars and the most profitable (margin ) brand in th whole auto industry. Maybe Bugatti? Low risk and pretty cool name.

[thebishman]

Originally Posted by SenorFunkyPants

Certainly Alonso will be faster than Button...at that point you have to ask yourself if McLaren would be better served by having an up and coming yet cheap pliable driver in the number 2 car rather than a veteran who would be less likely to be told to let Alonso past.
In any case until the dust settles on Ron attempts to buy up his McLaren partners shares and become top dog I don't think any decision is likely.

2015 is going to be a rebuilding year with a brand new power plant. Having a truly experienced ex-WC giving input on the development of the car is going to be more valuable than a second year driver who couldn't even match him in 2014. But no doubt RD will do what he wants regardless.
Bish

[SenorFunkyPants]

Originally Posted by solstice

I just can't see that happening...HAM is going nowhere if Benz continues to win races and Alonso is going nowhere if McLaren wins. Without an equal in the team I think Alonso will do just fine with McLaren if the car is competetive. If not, well where is he going to go?

Alonso knew this was maybe his last chance to get into the right team, but when the music stopped all the good chairs were taken. Mercedes were not as enthusiastic to take him (Alonso) as he thought they would be, they seem very happy with their pair but who knows how it will be in a years time.
On pure performance McLaren would stay with Button, on cost McLaren would stick with Magnussen. So I'm guessing that they are trying to negotiate Button's salary down. If it were me I'd take less money, better stay in F1 than languish in the lower leagues.

[solstice]

Originally Posted by SenorFunkyPants

Alonso knew this was maybe his last chance to get into the right team, but when the music stopped all the good chairs were taken. Mercedes were not as enthusiastic to take him (Alonso) as he thought they would be, they seem very happy with their pair but who knows how it will be in a years time.
On pure performance McLaren would stay with Button, on cost McLaren would stick with Magnussen. So I'm guessing that they are trying to negotiate Button's salary down. If it were me I'd take less money, better stay in F1 than languish in the lower leagues.

That guess make sense but what I've read McLaren has not been in contact with Team Button since Japan about contract details. I.e this does not seem to primarily about Button's salary. If it was I'm sure it would have been solved by now with a yes or no from JB.

[solstice]

McLaren has invited the press for an announcement tomorrow. Best of luck JB.

Update, the rumour is that JB is confirmed for 2015, cool!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/mot...onference.html

[Jenya B]

Hmm i wish Button and Alo for 2015 , that youngsters is way to early in F1

[Elsabor67]

Originally Posted by solstice

McLaren has invited the press for an announcement tomorrow. Best of luck JB.

Update, the rumour is that JB is confirmed for 2015, cool!

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/mot...onference.html

Indeed it is. But/Alo for 2015 with Magnussen as possibly a reserve driver. That would pair solidly since Gary Paffett left the McLaren team as their reserve/test driver a couple of months ago.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/formula1/30328327

[drchuck72]

Confirmed on F1.com. Fernando Alonso will be partnered with Jenson Button for the 2015 Season with Kevin Magnussen as the reserve driver at McLaren Honda.

[NickyC]

Originally Posted by drchuck72

Confirmed on F1.com. Fernando Alonso will be partnered with Jenson Button for the 2015 Season with Kevin Magnussen as the reserve driver at McLaren Honda.

Fantastic, good to see JB around again. His radio conversations during these "races" are about the only thing I slow down the 2x view speed to watch. He always sounds like he's having fun inside the car without a care in the world.

[solstice]

Excellent news, here's directly from the horse's mouth.

http://www.mclaren.com/formula1/team...tton-for-2015/

[E90SLAM]

Originally Posted by NickyC

Fantastic, good to see JB around again. His radio conversations during these "races" are about the only thing I slow down the 2x view speed to watch. He always sounds like he's having fun inside the car without a care in the world.

The most chilled and relax dude, and sarcasm on team radio recently made me laugh.

[NickyC]

Originally Posted by E90SLAM

The most chilled and relax dude, and sarcasm on team radio recently made me laugh.

I know, he's great!! Compare him with Alonso who always sounds panicked, or Hamilton who is always growling and being a bitch to everybody. LoL

[Mtxzptlk]

Winter Testing can't come soon enough.

Merc might probaby be well ahead of the field again, but I'm intrigued to see an Alonso driven Mclaren vs. a Vettel driven Ferrari. Ooh that's gotta be good.

[SenorFunkyPants]

Originally Posted by drchuck72

Confirmed on F1.com. Fernando Alonso will be partnered with Jenson Button for the 2015 Season with Kevin Magnussen as the reserve driver at McLaren Honda.

Yeah...it was as I thought, all about the money. In the end Jenson agreed to take a substantial pay cut (~50%) although if Kevin could have scared up sufficient extra Danish sponsorship money he would still have got the drive. I hate it when money talks but at least this time the better driver got the seat.

[solstice]

Originally Posted by SenorFunkyPants

Yeah...it was as I thought, all about the money. In the end Jenson agreed to take a substantial pay cut (~50%) although if Kevin could have scared up sufficient extra Danish sponsorship money he would still have got the drive. I hate it when money talks but at least this time the better driver got the seat.

I'm not buying what RD is selling. I think Button's salary demands has been clear for a long time and that there was no last minute reduction of his salary. My guess is that RD wanted Kevin and that it was his ego that refused to let go until it became an impossible position when the rest of the board and pressure from fans and press wanted Button. He desperately tried to sweeten the deal with an even higher cost difference from the already big salary gap between Button and Kevin by courting Danish sponsors.

Now RD is trying to do damage control to his reputation by blaming Button to drag out negotiations. It will be interresting to see RD leading a team where both drivers think he's an ass. McLaren really need a new boss. It's IMO the biggest threat to positive dynamics in the team. However if the car is good they will do good with these drivers, shitty boss or not.