354 replies to this topic

[LuckyStrike1]

Yes, pretty much it. 

[KWSN - DSM]

So no different than what have been the case the past 40 years.

 

[PayasYouRace]

Isn't this proof that drivers shouldn't enter F1 in a top team?

Magnussen didn't have a bad year but obviously didn't set the world alight either. Without much actual testing a la Hamilton before his entry, that was never going to happen. Yet, the pressure at McLaren to perform (and in any top team, see Kvyat's problems and rumours he is about to be jettisoned) is such that even decent performances for a rookie are not enough.

 

I am sure that if he had matured in a midfield team for a year or two before joining McLaren, he would have had a good career. But by taking the McLaren drive, and publicly claiming he wanted to stay at McLaren and wasn't interested in going to a mid-grid team, Magnusses has effectively destroyed his career in F1. McLaren has no room and Vandoorne is waiting in the wings....

 

So why does he want to stay at McLaren now? 

[taran]

So why does he want to stay at McLaren now? 

 

 

But all joking aside, Magnussen was quite vocal about either being good enough for McLaren or dropping out of F1. He absolutely didn't want to drive for FI or such.

I wonder if he was wrong? Expectations are high at top teams (even if they are going through a rough patch) but you at least you're with a team that has the resources to build a decent car. If you enter F1 with a midfield team, they might not be able to build you a car in which you can shine consistently and you might get stuck there , see Grosjean, Hulkenburg and many others...

 

I'd still stay drivers should enter F1 in a small(er) team and learn the ropes out of the harsh limelight before graduating to a big team but that would mean small(er) teams should also pick drivers on merit and that big teams opt for youngsters instead of recycling old drivers. Massa and Raikkonnen are drivers IMO who don't really add anything to the show anymore. They had their chance but now just block (more deserving?) drivers from moving on up...

[jcbc3]

I think you should see his statement about McLaren and his wish to drive for them in light of when he said it and why he said it. At that point he was establishing himself and had to give the aura of arrogance about himself. He was also in a fight with Jenson about the remaining McLaren seat and any admittance that he would settle for less than the McLaren seat would play to Jenson's advantage.

These days there is another reality than then, and I am certain he would bite Mallaya's hand off for a seat at FI today.