Silly Season 2013/14

[FoxHound]

Can you elaborate on the "poor driving" comment?

[SectorOne]

He´s had some really bad luck whereas Magnussen and Vandoorne has had smooth sailing for the most part.
He did go off in Hungary in the wet, i did not see the first race but he won race 2 if i´m not mistaken.

He´s Red Bull´s most promising talent right now and i don´t think this year in F3.5 really showcases his full potential.

[Racer X]

So Perez looks pretty set to leave McLaren.

[iotar__]

So Perez looks pretty set to leave McLaren.

Is Alonso replacing him again? Or maybe Magnussen or Vandoorne? McLaren won't let them drive for half an hour on Friday nevermind hiring them.

It's an interesting example of media reality*. Couple years ago Button was elevated to elite drivers category thanks to obvious but not entirely honest reasons. Following that logic if Perez is close to Button in his first season at McLaren, and we know how hard those first season can be, he must be damn good. Surprisingly it's not the case and after three races that said us nothing TV pundits were already replacing Perez with their favourites.

* Alonso is a bad qualifier - is another such reality

[munudeges]

So Perez looks pretty set to leave McLaren.

You don't need to be much of a genius or a crystal baller to see that one.

[McMrocks]

So Perez looks pretty set to leave McLaren.

This really depends on the Telmex Sponsorship. If they sponsor them they just can't let Perez go. If Telmex doesn't sponsor McLaren Perez should better speed up a bit if he wants to keep his seat

[adrianjordan]

So Perez looks pretty set to leave McLaren.

This really depends on the Telmex Sponsorship. If they sponsor them they just can't let Perez go. If Telmex doesn't sponsor McLaren Perez should better speed up a bit if he wants to keep his seat

I don't know. I think McLaren have the clout to secure sponsorship without it being tied to a driver...I think there's really only them, Ferrari and Red Bull who can do so...(I think Ferrari wanted Alonso and Santander was a bonus)...

[ScottB]

So Perez looks pretty set to leave McLaren.

This really depends on the Telmex Sponsorship. If they sponsor them they just can't let Perez go. If Telmex doesn't sponsor McLaren Perez should better speed up a bit if he wants to keep his seat

In his blog Joe Saward's has said repeatedly that the new title sponsor isn't connected to Perez, so it might not be an issue.

I'd have thought it would be a GlaxoSmithKline brand myself.

[antiuser]

Word on the grapevine is McLaren is balking at Hulkenberg because he weighs too much. 74kg, when the ideal weight for a driver, they say, is 60-65kg. Massa mentioned there "had been talks" with McLaren. I don't believe he's going to end up in Woking, but I recall McLaren were interested in him back in 08 or 09...

[fritticaldi]

The German media, Bild is reporting that Kevin Magnussen will be driving one of the Force India cars next season. The Force India cars have technical assistance from McLaren so this would make sense. Another source is reporting that Russian driver, Vitaly Petrov has found big sponsorship somewhere in the vicinity of 25 million euros. Petrov may return with Marussia.

[Websta]

Word on the grapevine is McLaren is balking at Hulkenberg because he weighs too much. 74kg, when the ideal weight for a driver, they say, is 60-65kg.

I don't understand that really considering that he has been getting great results throughout his entire career despite his weight disadvantage.

[adrianjordan]

Word on the grapevine is McLaren is balking at Hulkenberg because he weighs too much. 74kg, when the ideal weight for a driver, they say, is 60-65kg. Massa mentioned there "had been talks" with McLaren. I don't believe he's going to end up in Woking, but I recall McLaren were interested in him back in 08 or 09...

Hmm...did a quick Google search and it seems that Button seems to clock in at just over 70kg, so it's not that big a weight difference...

[raymondu999]

I wonder if they don't want Hulkenberg because it would be a public admission of a mistake, as Hulkenberg could've been in that McLaren this year anyways

[tim|away]

The weight and also the height of a driver does play a role. Adrian Newey himself admitted that it's been tough to build a package around Mark Webber who's currently the tallest guy on the grid. As far as Hulk going to McLaren is concerned, I don't think his weight or height should be much of a problem considering that Button is one of the taller ones as well. Therefore, Hulkenberg's height disadvantage over Jenson shouldn't be that significant.

@raymondu999
I would be very surprised if McLaren was afraid to admit a mistake. Martin Whitmarsh and others have been very openly admitting that they have made mistakes with the car and they didn't make any efforts to cover it up. I actually believe that McLaren's philosophy is to look ahead (even if it means to admit mistakes) rather than to be stuck in the current situation (in order to avoid admitting to anything).

[raymondu999]

To be fair, Tim - they had no choice with the car. That the car is a mistake over last year, is a given.