McLaren-Mercedes can manage two superstars

The head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport announced that the team would have no trouble managing two superstars. As a nod to the Finnish driver, the McLaren team has no doubt about the ability to manage Kimi Räikkönen alongside Lewis Hamilton.

She will not hesitate to line them both up if an agreement is reached. Despite the recent statements by the Finn, suggesting he might stop driving a Formula 1 car, it was also understood that he would not stay in Formula 1 to be a number two or a luxury driver in a small team.

Steve Robertson, Kimi Räikkönen’s agent, says he is very close to reaching an agreement with McLaren-Mercedes. However, the team is not giving any indication of its lineup for next year. And although signing Räikkönen for 2010 would give McLaren one of the strongest driver pairings on the grid, there might also be some concerns about the issues it faced in the past, namely the management of two great drivers. However, Norbert Haug believes that McLaren will have no trouble handling such a situation and does not risk a repeat of the problems that plagued the team when Lewis Hamilton was teammates with Fernando Alonso.

« Whatever you can do to get the best drivers, you know what you have to do, it’s a question of money, it’s a question of capability, and a question of talent. Managing two superstars, I honestly don’t think it’s a problem. With Fernando, there was noise from the outside, but in reality, inside the team, everyone did their job, and in reality, we should have won the world championship. You can imagine what would have happened to Fernando Alonso if he hadn’t blocked Lewis Hamilton in Hungary, no penalty, one more point, and there you are. That’s what it’s about sometimes. We won it by one point and we lost it by one point. »

« I insist, I do not confirm that there is a change. This is very important! But the management of pilots, we are qualified to do it. »

Although Räikkönen doesn’t enjoy the best relationship with former McLaren team director Ron Dennis, Norbert Haug stated that the team would be very happy at the prospect of seeing the Finn back home.

« Reflecting on our five-year cooperation, I think it was positive; we should have won at least two world championships. Those of 2003 and 2005. The engines at that time were not as good and reliable as they are today. Having Kimi in our team and winning two world championships would certainly have been a fair result for him. I have a good relationship with Kimi and I’m sure he would say the same. »