finally Jenson gets the nod,, I am sure that many here will share in my wishing him all the best for next year.. what disgraceful behaviour from the McLaren team in not announcing this sooner,, I would have loved for Jenson to have had an equal offer from another competitive team and told Ron to stuff it !!
Pleased to see JB and he's probably my favourite driver because of his combination of driving ability and charisma. Saying that, he's got one, maybe two years left in F1. KM is the future, so its good they've kept him on in some way
Should have left and given the seat for a younger driver. JB needs to move on. Sorry Jenson. I still like you but your time has gone. MacLaren have every right to take as long as they like. Their car, their decision and I dont see why its a disgrace they took so long. Its a disgrace that millions are starving, its merely a mild discomfort for the multi millionaire to wait and see what he is doing next year.
Maclaren don't have a good record when it comes to how they treat drivers - look at what they did to Checko last year... ( and then, ironicaly, Force India were faster than Maclaren all year). Should be good next year - JB and Alonso will probably get on OK. The big problem at Maclaren is that slimey, smug, self-satisfied twat Ron Dennis. The whole team would be better off without him. And hopefully someone will be able to knock "Ron Dennis mk2" off his perch next year - I honestly don't care who's champion in 2015 as long as it's not Shamilton...
maybe shNiko will get his chance, I don't mind either but would like to see a more open championship, but I always root for JB anyway, , no great lover of Ron but I think he can run the team.
I agree that Ron knows how to run a team - but he's just so damn irritating ! Can't stand him, or his petulant brat protege... It's never good when one team totally dominates a season. Hopefully next year Williams will have found that last little extra that they need to be up at the top again, and maybe Red Bull will come good again. The Ferrari line-up could be interesting, provided the car is better than this year's !
Look forward to seeing him down the Frome job centre soon then -better reserve a car space for him. Wonder if his claim will be income based or (ni) contribution based? I like the persona of Monsieur button. Don't know him personally so very unscientific but always seems a decent chap, and does go back to Frome sometimes, local school visits etc
Only 22 people in the world have the opportunity to race F1 for a living. Are you going to attract the very best drivers if you don't pay the shillings?
There is a trend for the smaller teams to pick drivers that bring sponsorship to the team to boost their budget. However the driver is still paid a good wedge.
IIRC the great A Senna offered to drive for Ron Dennis for free, just to get into a competitive car ( maybe it was Williams ),, this / next year I don't think it was all about money, the drivers again just want to get a competitive car..
If the deciding factor really is the car and not the driver, then it's a waste of money paying drivers so much as many people surely would do the job for a fraction of the price. But a lot of F1 is all about the hype and the glamour and the cash. If the drivers weren't paid so much they wouldn't live in Monaco but Hemel Hempstead or Banbury and their girlfriends would be like anyone else's. The salary is part of the circus.
F1 is much more about the car than the driver unfortunately! I remember going to Silverstone many years ago to watch Juan Pablo Montoya in F3000 ( I think) when all the cars were the same, any improvements the teams could make had to be shared with the other teams so the drivers ability really shone through. JPM was head and shoulders above anyone else that day, so much so that despite 3 safety car periods, he just drove away from the opposition to finish about 30 seconds ahead! I was fortunate enough to see him in the teams paddock ( the guy I went with was an accountant for the team, so we had access and a free lunch) and he seemed a really nice, approachable guy. Shame he ended up in America and we didn't get to really see him race in F1 for long enough.
@TTonup - It was Williams that Senna offered to drive for free to get the best car. The irony being that by the time he actually got there everyone else had caught up, the car was rubbish, and it subsequently killed him. What is forgotten in all this "it's not the driver, it's the car" argument is - how does the team get to actually have the best car in the first place? Sometimes it's a flash of brilliance from someone like Ross Brawn or Colin Chapman, but sometimes it's the fact that the car is developed by the team with input from a good driver. When Schumacher went to Ferrari they hadn't won a championship for over 20 years. The combination of great team and a car developed by a brilliant driver brought them five world titles. A really good driver can win in a mediocre car (Schuey won two titles in a Benneton, hardly the top team at the time) but a slightly above average driver can win in a really good car ( Coulthard and Webber come to mind... ). Feel free to disagree, but after over 40 years of following F1 that's what I've come to believe...
I agree. Clearly the driver is very important, but the car is, on balance, more important when the differences between the drivers are slight. It's much the same in Moto GP. If Marquez was on the Yam, would he be so dominant? I don't think so, even though he might win the title. He is the best, but he is on the best bike, so the difference is magnified.
