Who will drive alongside Alonso at McLaren in 2015.

Jordan 199

Who will drive alongside Alonso at McLaren next season. Poll will be up for seven days.

zombieHanalei

I don't think I'd be alone in saying that I want it to be Button but I believe it will be Magnussen.

Charlie-Bravo

Kevin Magnussen

Could be neither. Where's the Atari Jaguar Racing option?

cherryghost

Damon Hill clearly.

recyclebin

Eh, Alonso hasn't been confirmed yet either.

Robbo

astrofluff wrote: »

Could be neither. Where's the Atari Jaguar Racing option?

Taka Inoue?

Frank Bullitt

recyclebin wrote: »

Eh, Alonso hasn't been confirmed yet either.

Ah now, c'mon!

stevenmu

Is it wrong to hope that Alonso goes off somewhere else, Button and Magnusson find other drives, and McLaren are left with no drivers?

Slutmonkey57b

Kevin Magnussen

stevenmu wrote: »

Is it wrong to hope that Alonso goes off somewhere else, Button and Magnusson find other drives, and McLaren are left with no drivers?

Not at all. McLaren are showing themselves to be a pack of clueless Muppets with this, and rapidly losing fans' respect.

It's not in any way a difficult decision for an organisation with managerial confidence. This outfit isn't one.

Zcott

Voted Magnussen but would prefer to see Button in the seat.

Charlie-Bravo

Kevin Magnussen

While I blame McLaren for this fiasco, it's really Alonso who is the devil in the detail. Can't believe it's all hung out like this for so long. But then again, one could blame Ferrari for allowing Alonso get out of his contract. Or maybe it's Luca's fault in stating the whole process. Yes, I blame Luca.

For this thread, the question should really be: who is most likely to keep their race seat?!

mickdw

Kevin Magnussen

I think the longer it goes on, the more chance Button has of getting the seat.

Cookie_Monster

holding off until the announcement of 3 car teams and keeping both?

ZiabR

Kevin Magnussen

I would say Button. You cant ignore his ability to score points and stay out of trouble.

Charlie-Bravo

Kevin Magnussen

Attention McLaren! Let me say just one thing; Canada 2011.

ScumLord

logik wrote: »

I would say Button. You cant ignore his ability to score points and stay out of trouble.

If I was making the choice, as much as I like button I'd go for the young lad. We all know what button can do, we know magnuson is good but we haven't seen his full potential yet.

H3llR4iser

recyclebin wrote: »

Eh, Alonso hasn't been confirmed yet either.

True that. I do have a doubt that the Alonso deal might not be 100% finalized; I see no reason to hold onto that announcement if there weren't still issues to be ironed out. Maybe one of the issues is that Fernando wants a doormat teammate, which neither Button or Magnussen would be, and McLaren doesn't want to "burn off" Vandoorne either.

astrofluff wrote: »

While I blame McLaren for this fiasco, it's really Alonso who is the devil in the detail. Can't believe it's all hung out like this for so long. But then again, one could blame Ferrari for allowing Alonso get out of his contract. Or maybe it's Luca's fault in stating the whole process. Yes, I blame Luca.

For this thread, the question should really be: who is most likely to keep their race seat?!

There are bound to be people in the team who don't want him back, and maybe Honda themselves are not sold on Alonso's role and contribution in the long term - I'd be really surprised if the car/power unit package would be competitive straight away. There will be a lot of work to do, and the Spaniard doesn't look like one with the patience to do it.

Long ago, in unsuspecting times, I stated that if Alonso decided to leave Ferrari he'd find it hard to get a seat with another team and it's proving correct. Between the Spy Story, Crashgate and the appaling way he carried himself at Ferrari, I wouldn't hire him if I was in the position to manage a top team. Alonso probably hoped to swap places with Vettel, but Horner/Marko had none of it and kept true to their origins, promoting one of their young drivers programme members (although I would have gone for Vergne).

mickdw

Kevin Magnussen

H3llR4iser wrote: »

True that. I do have a doubt that the Alonso deal might not be 100% finalized; I see no reason to hold onto that announcement if there weren't still issues to be ironed out. Maybe one of the issues is that Fernando wants a doormat teammate, which neither Button or Magnussen would be, and McLaren doesn't want to "burn off" Vandoorne either.




There are bound to be people in the team who don't want him back, and maybe Honda themselves are not sold on Alonso's role and contribution in the long term - I'd be really surprised if the car/power unit package would be competitive straight away. There will be a lot of work to do, and the Spaniard doesn't look like one with the patience to do it.

Long ago, in unsuspecting times, I stated that if Alonso decided to leave Ferrari he'd find it hard to get a seat with another team and it's proving correct. Between the Spy Story, Crashgate and the appaling way he carried himself at Ferrari, I wouldn't hire him if I was in the position to manage a top team. Alonso probably hoped to swap places with Vettel, but Horner/Marko had none of it and kept true to their origins, promoting one of their young drivers programme members (although I would have gone for Vergne).

I think you might be spot on re alonso wanting absolute no 1 status.
Mclaren have not operated like that and hopefully won't agree to such a deal for him.
It's funny How alonso is yet again proving disruptive even before He arrives at a team

Cool_CM

Nigel Mansell to patch things up with Ron, come out of retirement and fit in the car thanks to all of that biking he's been doing?

I'd like to see Jenson stay, but I'd imagine that this whole saga is as the result of Alonso not wanting to be in the same situation as he was the last time around.

H3llR4iser

Cool_CM wrote: »

Nigel Mansell to patch things up with Ron, come out of retirement and fit in the car thanks to all of that biking he's been doing?

I'd like to see Jenson stay, but I'd imagine that this whole saga is as the result of Alonso not wanting to be in the same situation as he was the last time around.

Funny thing is, I suspect Button would love a crack at Alonso. Jenson must be one of, if not the single most underrated driver in recent F1 history. He is possibly the most solid point scorer on the grid, often putting up performances that, at the end of the race, make you wonder "where did he come from?". He has partnered Hamilton, whom most consider the quickest guy on the grid, and scored more points over three seasons - a partnership that, should I remind, had punters scream of "he'll be murdered by Lewis!" when news broke that Button would be joining McLaren.

Even his 2009 championship is seen as somewhat of a "lesser" achievement because he scored all of his wins at the beginning of the season. The reality is that it was a prime example of consistency; He racked up the points when his car was the best on the grid and did damage limitation when BrawnGP failed to develop the project. If his season was reversed, i.e. with poor form at the beginning and then going on to win 6 of the last 7 races to clinch the title, everybody would have been singing praise.

I do wonder what it would happen if he was Alonso's team mate on equal terms. Probably we'd hear some more "are you idiots?" screaming in the radio, with a Spanish accent. I suspect Jenson wonders about the same

T-Bird

I'd keep them both and not bother with the pre Madonna, he's to much trouble and only wants short term contract.

Tounge in cheek but, I wonder if he is waiting to see what Mercedes and Hamilton are doing before he decides length of contract, and are Mercedes aware of this and having a bit of fun?

Bugatti

Apparently the team will announce their drivers tomorrow. But McLaren only have themselves to blame for the mess they've got into regarding the drivers. I posted this over a year ago about their driver lineups and sure enough the team have gotten themselves in a mess just like I could see happening at the time.

Bugatti wrote: »

I'm still not convinced by McLaren's decision to replace Perez with Magnussen. Purely looking at it from the point of view that if McLaren really are serious about luring Alonso back in 2015 and with Button expected to stay on past next season it'll mean Magnussen going from McLaren back to a smaller team until Button leaves (that is unless he manages to seriously outperform Jenson next year). Would it not have made more sense to hang on to Perez for one more season (benefiting from the money he brings) and let Kev build some experience with a lower team first. I just think that if he has to accept being loaned out to a midfield team after racing for a front runner it might have a negative affect on him. Could be similar to how Jenson lost his way back in 2001. Then again I am presuming a lot here and things could turn out very differently!

In fact its actually worse now because there isnt even a smaller team for Kevin to get a drive with (unless maybe Catherham) if McLaren do decide to keep Jenson.

Gillespy

Magnussen had the stuffing knocked out of him by a few harsh penalties mid-season and then the uncertainty of his future. Button only pulled away from him towards the end of the season. For a rookie in a difficult car against a settled, quality teammate, he did alright.

Five seasons is long enough at a team like McLaren with no championship. He was clear lead driver for two of their worst seasons. I don't know why he wants to stay there let alone go through this now.

liam7831

Just heard Button has got it

mickdw

Kevin Magnussen

I really hope so. Daily mail reporting it but I wouldnt put too much faith in their 'impeccable source within McLaren'.

v3ttel

Kevin Magnussen

Jenson is the sensible option. His form in the second half of the season shows he's still got a lot to offer. He's out raced Magnussen hands down this season in terms of points scoring, and just about shaded the qualifying battle. There is nothing more he could have possibly done to keep his seat for next year.

I'd hate to see Button leave F1. He come across as such as calm, likeable guy and has a genuine love for the sport. The grid would be much worse off without him. Hopefully McLaren do the right thing.

Alonso and Button could be a very interesting pairing....

challengemaster

Kevin Magnussen

We're not the only ones tired of waiting

Tippex

Kevin Magnussen

The BBC are reporting that its being announced tomorrow that its Alonso and Button next season. Not much else being reported atm.

yankdotcom

im going with Magnussen hes the long term option

cherryghost

Button and Alonso, interesting!

Final seats:
Mercedes - Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg
Red Bull - Daniel Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat
Williams - Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas
Ferrari - Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen
McLaren - Fernando Alonso and Jenson Button
Force India - Nico Hulkenberg and Sergio Perez
Toro Rosso - Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz Jr
Lotus - Pastor Maldonado and Romain Grosjean
Sauber - Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson

Stallingrad

Delighted!

v3ttel

Kevin Magnussen

Delighted at the news that Button is staying. Pity it took them this long to come to the right decision, but at least they got there in the end.

zombieHanalei

Delighted for Button, but I feel sorry for KMag, at least when they dumped Perez they did so early enough for him to find another seat.

mickdw

Kevin Magnussen

zombieHanalei wrote: »

Delighted for Button, but I feel sorry for KMag, at least when they dumped Perez they did so early enough for him to find another seat.

Because Whitmarsh knew it was the right thing to do. Ron is not so human.

dloob

I thought it would only be a one year deal for Button but apparently it is a multi year deal and a big paycut.

Slutmonkey57b

Kevin Magnussen

In both Alonso and button's cases I'm sure "multi year" means 1 year with options on others, to see just how crap the Honda engine is.

Myrddin

zombieHanalei wrote: »

KMag

You watch F1 on Sky, don't you? :P

Zcott

Apparently Button only signed the contract last night, so it really did take that long to make a decision. Ron said they'd signed Alonso ages ago but wanted to hold off and announce the pair of them.

Stallingrad

I bet Button was tempted to say, "Give me few weeks to think about it."

ScumLord

Delighted for Button, I wonder will he have to give Magnason a seat for one or two races? Bit sad for Magnason, he's a bit to good to be sidelined, I hope it doesn't put a halt to his career.

youreadthat

I can't see the Button-Alonso partnership ending well.

Zcott

youreadthat wrote: »

I can't see the Button-Alonso partnership ending well.

Why do you say that? They're both mature drivers who know how to win and develop a car. I think they'll work well together as they seem to have a good amount of respect for each other on the track.

Charlie-Bravo

Kevin Magnussen

Button is a solid team player, but does Alonso have No. 1 driver status, and did Jenson disagree with becoming a No. 2 to Alonso? Perhaps because he was refusing this was why it dragged out so long? But then again, that might not explain why he had the long face, not Alonso :P but Button, during his last race weekend!

mickdw

Kevin Magnussen

Jenson would have walked id say if they pushed him to sign a number 2 driver contract. Mclaren have not generally operated in that way anyway.

Zcott

mickdw wrote: »

Jenson would have walked id say if they pushed him to sign a number 2 driver contract. Mclaren have not generally operated in that way anyway.

James Allen has a good related article on his site. In 2007 it was the rookie driver who started to challenge for the title, and McLaren threw their weight behind Hamilton and not Alonso...and we all know what happened next. I'd say Alonso was slightly wary of McLaren doing the same thing if Magnussen was to start getting serious about a title challenge and getting too big for his boots, whereas Jenson knows his place and lets his driving do the talking.

challengemaster

Kevin Magnussen

astrofluff wrote: »

Button is a solid team player, but does Alonso have No. 1 driver status, and did Jenson disagree with becoming a No. 2 to Alonso?

Well, Alonso is reportedly being paid £25.5m a year, while Buttons pay got cut to under £6m (and is only on a 1 year contract), if that's anything to go by.

Charlie-Bravo

Kevin Magnussen

^^^ Interesting!

H3llR4iser

Zcott wrote: »

Why do you say that? They're both mature drivers who know how to win and develop a car. I think they'll work well together as they seem to have a good amount of respect for each other on the track.

"Mature" and "Alonso" don't belong in the same sentence. The Spaniard is infamous for throwing his toys out of the pram as soon as things don't go his way and getting into political messes, often with disastrous effects on the teams he drives for - not to mention for himself. Had he let his driving do the talking in 2007, he'd have at least 3 championships under his belt.

I won't go into detail, but in Italy it is a given he was instrumental in the firing of Aldo Costa in 2011.

Button, as underrated as he might be, is one of the most effective drivers on the grid. He isn't flamboyant, he isn't blindingly fast, but he delivers. He has previous Honda working relationships, which may come in handy.

Both Alonso and Button were evenly matched with Hamilton; If nothing unpredictable happens next year (e.g. car suiting one more than the other, team favouring one, either forgetting how to drive etc.), they should be close, which would be good for McLaren - as they potentially have the two most consistent scorers on the field.

Now, how good the Honda engine will be is a big question mark. I frankly expect a disaster, but I hope to be proven wrong.