McLaren F1: Button in Uncertainty Over Alonso and Vettel Rumors
Rumors are multiplying around McLaren's seats for next season, from which point Honda will be powering their cars. A situation that primarily concerns Jenson Button, as the Briton may potentially have to leave Woking.
The arrival of Honda as an engine supplier for the McLaren team from 2015 raises questions about the future of the current drivers, amid rumors of Fernando Alonso or Sebastian Vettel joining the team.
Jenson Button, in Belgium, explained to the BBC that negotiations with his employer had not yet begun: “We have not sat down and we have not talked.” If he doesn’t want to leave the pinnacle discipline, he would come to terms if that were to be the case: “If I have to retire at the end of the season, so be it, but I feel that I still have a lot to give and I can’t imagine my life without motorsport and especially Formula 1.”
Eric Boullier, the racing director of McLaren F1 – who recently stated that the driver duo should be known before the end of the season – explains that if they are not formalized, there are indeed discussions with the 2009 world champion: « Jenson is racing for us and we have open discussions with him, but until we have decided on our strategy, we will not finalize our driver duo. »
Andrew Benson, the F1 editor at the BBC, nonetheless specifies that if a move to McLaren was planned, Kevin Magnussen would more likely be retained than Jenson Button.
In this regard, the BBC reminds that Honda will invest heavily in the McLaren team from 2015, with the ambition of recruiting a top-tier driver. Among them, Fernando Alonso stands out as a favorite. The Woking team, which hopes to convince the Spaniard for 2015, would be ready to continue its efforts to attract him in 2016 in case of refusal.
Today, Alonso apparently did not respond to McLaren’s offer. The trend seems to be that he will stay with Ferrari and might even extend his contract with Ferrari beyond the end of his current deal, which runs until the end of 2016. Nonetheless, the uncertainty might push Button to look elsewhere.
Thus, other rumors arise; there was Lewis Hamilton earlier in the season, and now there is Sebastian Vettel. Indeed, former team director Giancarlo Minardi explained that, in his opinion, the possibility of the four-time world champion moving to McLaren was real: « Remember that we have Honda, which is determined to aim for a super-top driver, and so far, we have the three main ones who are not satisfied with their situation: Alonso, Hamilton, and Vettel. Fernando Alonso’s recent displays of loyalty toward Ferrari have indeed cleared one of the unfortunate ones. However, Vettel and Hamilton remain in play. »
« From Japan, a very big maneuver was suggested to me: it is said to have been played out in recent days by Honda to attract the Newey/Vettel pair, » he added, later explaining that Bernie Ecclestone himself intervened to encourage the German to take up the McLaren-Honda challenge.
If neither Alonso nor Vettel were to land in the seat of the likely MP4-30 or MP4-31, less renowned but up-and-coming drivers could interest the British team: Valtteri Bottas would be at the top of this list, but Nico Hülkenberg would also be included.
These pieces of information should obviously be taken with a lot of caution, but one thing is certain: the silly season is not over yet.
