297 replies to this topic

[Kelateboy]

Looks like @SChecoPerez is about to drive his last two @McLarenF1 races. We gather #Kevin Magnussen is near-cert for 2014 race seat. Boom!

https://twitter.com/...622423387332609

 

Checo needs to take his money elsewhere if the news comes to fruition. But the question is where? Would Lotus be interested in him?

[kimster89]

They shuld stick with Sergio. Its not been an easy start for him and he is now beating Jenson quite contortably. If they hoped Perez is another Hamilton then they were terribly wrong. And Kevin Magnussen isnt another Lewis either.

[Lazy]

They shuld stick with Sergio. Its not been an easy start for him and he is now beating Jenson quite comfortably. If they hoped Perez is another Hamilton then they were terribly wrong. And Kevin Magnussen isnt another Lewis either.

lol

[ensign14]

Checo needs to take his money elsewhere if the news comes to fruition. But the question is where? Would Lotus be interested in him?

 

I would submit that the sentence "Perez has not been impressive this season" in McLarenspeak translates in English to "the Mexicans have run out of money but we can't admit we took on a pay driver".

[P123]

I would submit that the sentence "Perez has not been impressive this season" in McLarenspeak translates in English to "the Mexicans have run out of money but we can't admit we took on a pay driver".

 

Pretty much.  Perez was a kneejerk signing in an attempt to take the sting out of the Hamilton announcement.  They could have taken Hulk.  What did McLaren see then that they don't see now? It couldn't possibly be sponsorship dollars, which they don't need now Honda are on board?  Or is that just a cynical interpretation of events?

[Dalton007]

McLaren are in a position to know how Perez has performed because they have all the data. Jenson shouldn't have been anywhere near Perez in Abu Dhabi, free air or not.

[noikeee]

They shuld stick with Sergio. Its not been an easy start for him and he is now beating Jenson quite contortably. If they hoped Perez is another Hamilton then they were terribly wrong. And Kevin Magnussen isnt another Lewis either.

 

Is "contortably" supposed to be a word that turns the sentence it's in into a negative?

[1Devil1]

Why on earth not Hulk, he would take that seat without thinking about it one second, dropping a rookie to get another one?

[FenderJaguar]

I consider Button to be slow over 1 lap even if he can be good in a race. So this season has basically told me that Perez is useless. So I'd try Magnussen.

[UPRC]

Magnussen without a second thought. He seems exceptionally promising while Perez has been my personal biggest disappointment of the season. I mean, most people seem to acknowledge that Button's probably the "weakest" of the most recent world champions, and Perez can barely even manage to hold half the amount of points as Button, and he's messing up too much. It's worrying and I think McLaren needs a change.

 

I'll also still say that McLaren hired the wrong Sauber driver. Kobayashi may not have banged as high on the score board as often as Perez's best results, but he was more consistent and twice as exciting to watch.

Edited by UPRC, 11 November 2013 - 11:06.

[sv401]

Why on earth not Hulk, he would take that seat without thinking about it one second, dropping a rookie to get another one?

 

Well, I guess they need a weak driver to make Button look better. Also, Whitmarsh is a weak team principal who is over-ruled by someone else in the team to choose an inferior driver for political reasons. Oh, wait, I am posting in a thread about the wrong team.

[loki0420]

I'd go with Kevin. It's pretty clear that nor Button nor Perez are the top pilots that you can be sure would extract absolute everything from machinery they have and put it where it doesn't actually belong. For Button it's the story of finding perfect balance for Perez something else, i don't know. Unfortunate for him how much Jenson sucked compared to Lewis in qualy while they together. What we do know is they are no better than average over one lap and you don't want to have two drivers who cannot maximise potential in the crucial part of race weekend. Which led to 3 wing damages for Jenson recently.

In Kevin i see potential to be another Lewis Hamilton or Sebastian Vettel because his development as a driver throughout this season really impressed me as it apparently did to McLaren bosses. And while it may not be the safe bet it's a huge opportunity to have onboard the future top top driver. We cannot be sure that Alonso would join team in 2015 so having a very quick promising rookie with a year of experience could be the best option for 2015 where we the real deal gets its start.

[nosecone]

the thing i don't like on twitter is that you just can assert everything without any proof. It's not even race weekend and thus there is no chance that some team member said something accidently.

[kosmos]

I don't like what Perez has done this year, or maybe his behavior in some races but I think he deseves at least one more year at McLaren, with a better car.

[sennafan24]

I don't like what Perez has done this year, or maybe his behavior in some races but I think he deseves at least one more year at McLaren, with a better car.

He will be the only McLaren driver in a while to just have 1 year before being moved along

 

Alonso was a exception due to circumstances outside his performance, even JPM got a 2nd year despite being at odds with Dennis. Heikki made for a decent number 2 driver for 2 years, so he was not the flop that Perez would be.

 

Lewis, Mika, D.C and Kimi all stayed for extended periods of time, Button has now also. They must really not be impressed with Perez if they are thinking of moving him along so quickly given the money he brings.

[Anonymous]

2014 - Button, Magnussen

2015 - X, Magnussen

[bub]

2014 - Button, Magnussen

2015 - X, Magnussen

 

Button only has a contract for 2014??

[bogi]

Button only has a contract for 2014??

 

 

Yeah, McLaren picked up option from the current contract.

[Anonymous]

Button only has a contract for 2014??

 

They signed him for 2014, yes.

[loki0420]

Lewis, Mika, D.C and Kimi all stayed for extended periods of time, Button has now also. They must really not be impressed with Perez if they are thinking of moving him along so quickly given the money he brings.

Wasn't there a rumour that McLaren sponsors (mexican ones) gave them green light to replace Sergio if it's meant to be?

 

As for Heikki and contract extension - he was quite OK compared to Lewis in 2008 who got Alonso out of the team and was going for the championship, so his reference point was higher and yeah - he could always argue that he hasn't got a chance because of heavier car in qualy. And then in 2009 Heikki lost 22 to 49 points which is slightly comparable to existing 35-60 to Button and was fired. You could see the similarities here.

[bub]

Yeah, McLaren picked up option from the current contract.

 

 

They signed him for 2014, yes.

 

Thanks for the replies. McLaren keeping their options open is good for them.

[loki0420]

Thanks for the replies. McLaren keeping their options open is good for them.

I heard it was Button who refuse to sign multi-year to see who come on top of rule changes. Though it could bite him in 2014.

[Lazy]

I heard it was Button who refuse to sign multi-year to see who come on top of rule changes. Though it could bite him in 2014.

That's what I heard too, he must be confident of his position.

[Fox1]

That's what I heard too, he must be confident of his position.

Or confused.

[Lazy]

2014 - Button, Magnussen

2015 - X, Magnussen

Unlikely,, the only available potential upgrade would be Fred and if he had agreed I doubt they would be taking the risk with Magnussen.

 

Something tells me Magnussen is being fast tracked because Fred has decided to stick with Ferrari

[Celloman]

The problem is his benchmark is JB. Let's face it, being "almost as good as JB" is far from being a top tier driver that the team is searching for.

 

Let's not forget the "not top tier driver" Button scored more points in total than Hamilton during their 3 years as team-mates. Would be interesting to know if some people here on the same basis would have fired Hamilton after 2011 season, when he scored 43 points less than Button in 2011. Granted, Hamilton made a lot errors that year which affected his point tally, but so has Perez this year.
 

Edited by Celloman, 11 November 2013 - 16:27.

[bogi]

Joe Saward ‏@joesaward 

 

Perez out at McLaren

http://wp.me/ppB1o-3w3

 

[bogi]

Adam Cooper ‏@adamcooperf1 

 

Whitmarsh on 2014: "Lots of people are being considered, when we come to the end of those considerations, we'll make an announcement.”

 

 

Martin Whitmarsh says 2014 driver decision not made yet. But McLaren 'still talking' to @SChecoPerez

 

http://adamcooperf1....tmarsh-insists/

 

Edited by bogi, 11 November 2013 - 17:07.

[noikeee]

After reading Cooper's article I'm now 99.99% convinced Pérez is out. Martin's quotes seem to hint at a replacement although he's still on a "can't confirm anything" mode.

[Raziel]

Checo. He's been quicker than Jenson quite a few times this year and it's not the drivers fault they built a crap car. He is learning and has done fairly well to be young, first year at a top team in a midfield car. He definitely deserves another year to prove himself IMHO.

 

 

I don't like what Perez has done this year, or maybe his behavior in some races but I think he deseves at least one more year at McLaren, with a better car.

 

It doesn´t matter that he is in midfield car, as a matter of fact, if you want to see driver´s quality, midfield car (or in other words, a crap car) is excellent test and indicator to the whole team and the fans. They already made a mistake once, with Heikki. They gave him 2nd chance and they´ve got nothing! They´ve lost one (or in that case - another) season with mediocre driver.

 

If you sign and drive for McLaren  then you should be prepared 110% If you are young candidate, you need to show the McLaren team what can you do and 1 (one) year with 19-20 races is enough to do that! One year is enough time and in big teams like Ferrari, McLaren, and even Red Bull, that one year is all you should get! Case closed!

 

I really hoped that Sergio will succeed at McLaren but It turned out bad and he showed that he is not what the McLaren team looking for.

[tkulla]

I don't think Magnussen is going to be driving a McLaren next year. I think they really want him to be driving a Force India and leaking that they are strongly considering him for a drive alongside Button raises his stock in F1 circles. I suspect that Force India has been asking for some considerable $$$ to field Kevin for a year, and this may be a ploy to lower that asking price a little.

[MattPete]

 

I'll also still say that McLaren hired the wrong Sauber driver. Kobayashi may not have banged as high on the score board as often as Perez's best results, but he was more consistent and twice as exciting to watch.

 

I agree 100%.  I thought Kobayashi drove a lot better than Perez last year, and might have had a chance at winning Spa if Grosjean hadn't taken him out at the first corner.

 

Nonetheless, I'd stick with Perez for next year.

[Coral]

Apparently it has been confirmed that Magnussen will drive a McLaren next year...so Perez is out! Wow, I didn't expect that!

 

Edit: Ahhh...apologies...it seems that this has been on the cards for some time...guess who is out of the loop!!!

Edited by Coral, 11 November 2013 - 18:15.

[Ricardo F1]

Unlikely,, the only available potential upgrade would be Fred and if he had agreed I doubt they would be taking the risk with Magnussen.

 

Something tells me Magnussen is being fast tracked because Fred has decided to stick with Ferrari

2015 they have Honda onboard and are probably aiming at Fred, Vettel or bringing Hamilton back - if they can prove the car is going to be a World beater.  I'd be highly surprised to see Button in a McLaren in 2015 to be honest.  Magnussen is an interesting gamble, pretty harsh on Perez IMHO.

[jrg19]

helmet complaints from the usual suspects?

[Collective]

I agree 100%.  I thought Kobayashi drove a lot better than Perez last year, and might have had a chance at winning Spa if Grosjean hadn't taken him out at the first corner.

 

Nonetheless, I'd stick with Perez for next year.

1) No he did not. It was probably close but nothing farther from the truth than "much better"

2) Grosjean also took Perez out in that same incident. 

[NickeF1]

If sponsorship money isn't required, I can't for the life of me wonder why they don't sign Hulkenberg!?

[maximilian]

Next year will be a "throw-away" gap year for McLaren, hanging on with the Merc engines until they really get started with Honda... so the expectations will be pretty low, and it's a great year to bring in a hot new talent and build him up to partner whichever big name Honda will bring in - from the looks of it, Alonso - in 2015 to hit the ground running for a championship challenge at that time.  Thus the signing of Magnussen makes perfect sense - particularly since it's all new for everybody next year, so his experience gap doesn't really matter as much as if they'd continue under the current rules set.

[Anja]

If sponsorship money isn't required, I can't for the life of me wonder why they don't sign Hulkenberg!?

 

Same reason why Red Bull didn't sign him. Teams don't spend all the money on their junior drivers programme just to sign someone from outside when they have an open seat.

[Gilles4Ever]

Can we please keep to the topic
Magnussen or Perez for 2014

[undersquare]

If it's true that Magnussen has been blowing Perez away in the simulator then it's game over, one would think.  It's not as if Checo has a mature head to offset a pace advantage.

 

Checo may 'deserve' another year but if a better driver has come along there's no argument, surely, apart from sponsorship.

[NickeF1]

Same reason why Red Bull didn't sign him. Teams don't spend all the money on their junior drivers programme just to sign someone from outside when they have an open seat.

 

Still, its business and the sporting performance must be viewed bigger than to sign a driver just because you have a young driver academy. Hulkenberg could be the team leader for years to come.

[Collective]

Autosport confirms the decision is taken. 

[goingthedistance]

Unusual for Autosport to report something that is not official. 

 

But wow, surprising if true. 

[Ross Stonefeld]

Autosport have good sources at McLaren so I'm inclined to believe they have it. But the Whitmarsh quote is kind of amusing. 

 

I never took the rumour particularly seriously at the start because I figured if Perez was under threat there would have been whispers about the other teams he was talking to as a backup plan.

[KavB]

Big news for the drivers market. There are 5 solid midfield drivers available (Hulk, Maldonado, Perez, Di Resta and Sutil) with only 4 seats vacant (2 x FI, 1 x Lotus and most likely 1 x Sauber).

 

I can't see Hulk or Maldonado leaving F1 next season so at least one of the remaining three will be out next year. 

[sheogorath]

It's probably going to be one of the FI drivers that spends a season out of Formula 1.

[SophieB]

With the BBC and Autosport both claiming Magnussen's got the job, I think discussion is best suited for this thread:http://forums.autosp...sen-at-mclaren/

 

General silly season speculation, including what next for Sergio Perez here: http://forums.autosp...-season-merged/