MCLAREN BACKS MONTOYA TITLE CHALLENGE

jgredline · Post 24 Jan 2006, 02:53

Lets hope both JPM and Kimi get equal equipment.
http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=34891

bernard · Post 24 Jan 2006, 03:04

I dont think there is a problem. It's pretty obvious Kimi is leaving the team and Montoya's the one staying, so they're talking up their driver.
Kimi's leaving is probably down to Mclaren failing to get things correct the two times they've been close to championship. Say what you want to say, but Kimi is one of the few drivers on the grid who can actually demand a championship winning car, the other one's being Schumacher and Alonso.
Mclaren has shown no signs of learning from their mistakes, they still have these strange manufacturing mistakes every other race. Plus the new Mercedes engine is reported to have reliability problems again this year. They just can't figure it out.
Four years was enough for Kimi. Let's see how long Montoya will look at it.

West · Post 24 Jan 2006, 08:53

Kimi need to win the championship this year, or most likely he won't consider working w/ McLaren again.

emburmak · Post 24 Jan 2006, 14:36

Personally i think it is the other way round. It is not a question of Kimi wanting to stay at Mclaren. More pertinent does Mclaren want to keep him?? By signing the reigning WDC, RD is making it plain that whoever occupies the other seat in 2007 is immaterial. Consequently KR's bargaining power with the team is seriously handicapped. First of all he has no chance of earning more than FA. Secondly virtually everything rests on two major factors.

1) What are MS's plans?? If he is retiring then a place at Ferrari is open.

2)KR has to beat JPM not marginally but convincingly. KR's stock was at its best just after the conclusion of the 2005 season. With the signing of FA and no other clear options, KR has to be super this year to justify his pre-FA signing market value.

Finally for me the Toyota option is a long shot. KR does not look like one who will want to build a team to winning status. In that regard he is more in the Senna mould-Give him a winnable car and he will do the rest.

There seems already to be a subtle division in the ranks. The engine guys (read Haug) seem to back KR while the chassis/team (read Whitmarsh) seem to be in the JPM corner.

bernard · Post 24 Jan 2006, 19:44

emburmak wrote:Personally i think it is the other way round. It is not a question of Kimi wanting to stay at Mclaren. More pertinent does Mclaren want to keep him?? By signing the reigning WDC, RD is making it plain that whoever occupies the other seat in 2007 is immaterial. Consequently KR's bargaining power with the team is seriously handicapped. First of all he has no chance of earning

This debate will soon decline into a "my driver is better than yours" shouting contest, because there is no absolute way of finding out the truth.
But I think the general consensus is that Kimi is leaving Mclaren, and that is why Mclaren signed Alonso. After Kimi' performances the last couple of seasons there is no need for mclaren to go looking at the driver market to gain more speed. They have what is considered among the best, if not the best driver on the grid. Why risk it by going for another driver that might or might not bring any advantage with him? [-( A driver that's been at the top for one season?
Mclaren has been known for keeping up continuity, as witnessed by Coulthard staying on long after he was past his prime at Mclaren.
Now Mclaren make a sudden decision to imbalance the whole team by signing a new driver and telling their top drivers that one of them is gonna go? No way. The only way they do that is to replace a driver that's leaving. Step in the rumours of Kimi going to Ferrari that have been around for two seasons and that got strengthened last season by Brawn's and Toddt's overflowing appraisal for Kimi.

bernard · Post 24 Jan 2006, 19:49

emburmak wrote:Personally i think it is the other way round. It is not a question of Kimi wanting to stay at Mclaren. More pertinent does Mclaren want to keep him??

I wanted to higlight this separately. Are you friggin kidding me?!!

Not to offend but this little quote goes into the luney bin. It's the same as pondering whether Ferrari actually even wanted to keep Thombazis after all, or did Thombazis decide to leave himself. That's a tough one.

guestAgain · Post 24 Jan 2006, 23:28

bernard wrote:

But I think the general consensus is that Kimi is leaving Mclaren, and that is why Mclaren signed Alonso. After Kimi' performances the last couple of seasons there is no need for mclaren to go looking at the driver market to gain more speed. They have what is considered among the best, if not the best driver on the grid. Why risk it by going for another driver that might or might not bring any advantage with him? Not talking A driver that's been at the top for one season?

what concensus? That is to imply that he is leaving for a fact. I think neither Rd, Mclaren or anybody else for that matter know and Kimi is playing his cards close to his chest. That could be the reason Mclaren is trying to rattle his cage. We know JPM is good but there seems to be a motivational problem when it appears a win is iffy. If it came down to it I think mcl will prefer Kimi 'cos he at least appears to give it his all, winning chance or not. If we know anything about Mcl its this; they will try to keep the best drivers for themselves, if only to stop them going to the opposition. Think about it, can you it imagine the market value to Mclaren of both Kimi and Alonso in the same team? If I were a sponsor I know who I 'd go with.

Mcdenife

jgredline · Post 25 Jan 2006, 01:17

I agree with Berard. He makes sense. Where there is smoke there is fire and those Ferrari/Toyota rummers did not come out of noware. Best guess is that he is going ferrari and even if michael wins number 8, he will leave on top.

bernard · Post 25 Jan 2006, 01:29

guestAgain wrote: what concensus?

The general consensus.

Principessa · Post 25 Jan 2006, 13:33

Montoya says that he has enough other teams who are coming for him: Renault, Toyota... To be honoust, I don't think that in 2007 Kimi will team up with Alonso. It would even be a bigger problem than they already have. Alonso won't drive for Kimi and vice versa, like JP wants to drive for himself and not for Kimi. I understand... Give them the same equipment and the same opportunity and JP can beat Kimi!
Go JP

GuestAgain · Post 25 Jan 2006, 14:54

Bernard wrote:
"guestAgain wrote:

what concensus?

The general consensus.

"

The general consensus is that Kimi is LIKELY to leave based on rumours if nothing else. However this is all speculation, general yes, but speculation still. Personally, I hope he stays. I still think he is just playing his cards close to his chest possibly to aid in negotiations regarding his future wherever he goes.
But signing Alonso has severly weakened Kimi position, whoever he negotiates with (Ferrari, Toyota and Mcl). In effect RD has just told him to deliver or push off.
To enhance his position, Kimi will have to be ultra focused this year and wipe the floor with the oppostion (JPM, Schuey, Alonso etc) which is probably what RD wants. If he does that, everything changes. Then he can say to RD ur turn; show me the money and the car or I push off.

emburmak · Post 26 Jan 2006, 02:08

Exactly!! totally agree with you. KR has to have a stellar season! Much as his fans might think otherwise his position is currently weak. With FA at Mclaren, MS unsure but with Montezemilo hoping what options does KR have?? It boils down to Toyoya (unlikely) or Renault. RD & Mclaren are not exactly falling over themselves to hold onto his services. It is true that all we have at the moment concerning his staying/leaving are rumours, but what is clear at the moment is that he has not signed with anybody.

bernard · Post 26 Jan 2006, 23:30

emburmak wrote:Exactly!! totally agree with you. KR has to have a stellar season! Much as his fans might think otherwise his position is currently weak. With FA at Mclaren...

See this is where your opinion differs from the general feel on the field (the general consensus).
I do not wish to argue with you over such a silly matter so I wont comment anymore, but the general belief is that FA was signed exactly because Kimi is leaving. Ron Dennis wouldn't have dealt his team a death blow by signing a driver with two great drivers still on contract to his team, and then announcing it a year in advance! That just wouldn't make any sense. If he still had both Kimi and Montoya under contract, he would have kept hush about FA coming in.
We will find out the truth soon enough, so no reason wasting time and words debating this. Boards such as Autosport.com are meant for the fanboy feuds. And the results are obvious over there (500 post long threads about whether a driver made a mistake or not etc.)

Tom · Post 26 Jan 2006, 23:43

I hope Kimi and Alonso go for the same team.

It will be just like Senna Vs Prost while both were at Mclaren.

Principessa · Post 27 Jan 2006, 11:29

Tom wrote:I hope Kimi and Alonso go for the same team.

I don't think that would be a good idea...Look at Kimi and JP...JP could have won more races if he wasn't called into the pits at the important moments. They just didn't give him a fair go, because McLaren wanted Kimi to be the champion, so if Kimi and Fernando would be in the same team, they would have the same problem...but who will driver for who?