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Why are Mclaren taking so long with buttons contract? I know contracts need to be agreed on in every little detail but it does seem strange. There were rumours of kimi to mclaren, alonso and now massa is in talks

f1diablo wrote:Why are Mclaren taking so long with buttons contract? I know contracts need to be agreed on in every little detail but it does seem strange. There were rumours of kimi to mclaren, alonso and now massa is in talks

Unless he is taking early retirement, of course he will be there.

https://twitter.com/f1hubtweety/status/ ... 1366849536

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f1diablo wrote:https://twitter.com/f1hubtweety/status/ ... 1366849536

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Would love to see Hulkenberg at McLaren and he deserves a top drive more than any other driver on the grid IMO. However, Button is fast, reliable and more consistent then I think Perez has proved to be: if McLaren are going to replace someone it should be Checo.

brakesteer97 wrote:

f1diablo wrote:https://twitter.com/f1hubtweety/status/ ... 1366849536

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Would love to see Hulkenberg at McLaren and he deserves a top drive more than any other driver on the grid IMO. However, Button is fast, reliable and more consistent then I think Perez has proved to be: if McLaren are going to replace someone it should be Checo.

But Mclaren want checo's sponsor money

I do want to see Hulkenberg get a decent seat, and McLaren seem likely to offer this position. However, I can't believe they'd get rid of Jenson Button. While he might moan about understeer, I do think he is a brilliant F1 driver. He probably isn't the same level of talent as the guys I would consider absolute top tier but I'd say he was a strong contender for 2nd tier (if such things existed).

If they kept Perez over Button, I'd have to say it would be because of money. And that would be a really sad state of affairs.

That's crazy! You need an experienced driver for a new season more than anything else (well, sort of) and now they get rid of him to get someone who deserves the chance, but brings nothing - not enough experince, no podium, just promise. Suicidal!

I'm surprised at the voting i thought it would be a no brainer to keep Button

Hmm, I'm wondering if the voting might have been skewed by the fact that the thread title and poll title are opposites. So I thought I voted "No, JB won't lose his seat" in answer to the thread title - only to see that see that I actually voted "No, he won't be in a Macca in 2014".

So, my mistake, but still a badly designed poll.

Ashberto wrote:Hmm, I'm wondering if the voting might have been skewed by the fact that the thread title and poll title are opposites. So I thought I voted "No, JB won't lose his seat" in answer to the thread title - only to see that see that I actually voted "No, he won't be in a Macca in 2014".

So, my mistake, but still a badly designed poll.

Ah i see and you're not allowed to change your vote

IMO, if McLaren doesn't sign Button, it's because Button wants to go/talking to another team, not the other way around. He's doing a much better job than Perez and McLaren would probably want a known quality for 2014. McLaren aren't the type of team to buy-out contracts (nor are they cash rich enough to do so) so I am sure Perez is staying. Button going to another team looks unlikely as Lotus is the only other competitive seat but the team looks to be a tad unstable lately (loss of Allison, aero engineer, and $$$ problems).

This could all just be normal contract negotiation. JB's team plays hard ball for more $$$; McLaren "hold out" while all the other competitive seats are filled.

This would be so so funny if genius whitmarsh's next move was to get rid of button for massa. If that happens i think i would die.

Why can't the Name of the thread and the poll match? The title asks if he will lose his seat and the poll asks if he will keep it.

I voted incorrectly...your poll i snot reliable.

Perez was a horrible move, I loved him at Sauber but for some reason I can't like him at McLaren. Button is Button... He's not bad but I don't particularly like him, I would rather have Hulkenberg.

McLaren seem like such an "invisible" team right now. Ok partly it's because of the car's lack of success, but I feel that partly it's because of their anonymous drivers that just don't have that x-factor. I wonder when was the last time they lacked any F1 superstar, previously it's been Lewis, Alonso, Kimi, Mika, Senna, Prost etc etc etc. It may be just me but the Button&Perez duo just doesn't do it for me.

I can't really see who they'd replace him with now that Kimi's taken. Next year they'll want at least one experienced driver, which would seem to rule out Hulk. Massa appears to be the only other available veteran on the grid, but I don't see him as a step up from Button (unless they feel that Button lacks in technical feedback, which I don't think is the case). The only other thing I can think of is that they might be targeting Rosberg, but I'm not sure the status of his contract. All the other top drivers are taken.

If Macca want to replace anybody I should have thought it would be Perez, not Button. That would make more sense IMO and I could see a benefit in taking either Massa (experience) or Hulkenberg (promise) instead of keeping him.

They should replace Perez with Hulkenberg, not Button. Button + Hulk would be a very strong pairing and not far behind the Ferrari and Merc pairings of next season.

Well, McLaren (Whitmarsh) sided with Perez over all the in-team incidence of this season, so Button's position in the team does not appear to be very strong. Also, if it is true that McLaren is only offering a one-year extension, then this does not look like they really want to keep him.

button will be there next year - you wouldn't drop button for massa - and if hulk or diresta were going there it would be perez dropped - you can be sure button will be there next year - but that may be it , and for 2015 I think it will be time for a change , and perez gone too, unless he seriously ups his game and drops his clumbsyness

pokerman wrote:I'm surprised at the voting i thought it would be a no brainer to keep Button

The voting may be squed by people voting incorrectly, like I did. The thread title asks will Button lose his seat for which I have voted no, but the poll question asks will he stay. My own fault for not reading the poll question.

I'm with you on the no brainer for keeping Button, he's the best available to them at this time.

aah, I just read the above link . voderphone leaving and Mexican companies bringing money into McLaren , which would sorter make perez abit like mad mald at williams -ie getting a drive more for the money , than the talent .....now this would be really sad if McLaren go for money more than talent- I know teams have to surrive but plz not McLaren .....now the team of button and hulk is more the 2014 i'd like to see

Yeah, I cocked my vote up as well. Macca would be crazy to dump Button. He`s easily the best of the rest (sometimes better) IMO and they would struggle to find an equal out of the available grid.

Both parties will back down and he will sign another year at McLaren.

McLaren need an experienced head going into the new regs in 2014.
Button knows there is not another decent drive available for him next year, unless he is willing to slide down the grid, which I don't think he is ready to just yet.

Perez though, I not so sure of.
Hulkenberg, Massa, Di Resta could all do a job for McLaren.

Will it be Vodafone McLaren next year or Telmex McLaren?

The only way Button will not be with Mclaren next year is if HE decides to walk, and that will only happen if we see an announcement of another team getting Honda engines.

Classic wrote:

pokerman wrote:I'm surprised at the voting i thought it would be a no brainer to keep Button

The voting may be squed by people voting incorrectly, like I did. The thread title asks will Button lose his seat for which I have voted no, but the poll question asks will he stay. My own fault for not reading the poll question.

I'm with you on the no brainer for keeping Button, he's the best available to them at this time.

I messed up my vote as well, really should read the question and not the thread title in future

Also there are a lot Hamilton fans on here (not all of them) who simply hate Button because of their 3 years as team mates, regardless of how good he is they'll always vote against him out if spite.

minchy wrote:

Classic wrote:

pokerman wrote:I'm surprised at the voting i thought it would be a no brainer to keep Button

The voting may be squed by people voting incorrectly, like I did. The thread title asks will Button lose his seat for which I have voted no, but the poll question asks will he stay. My own fault for not reading the poll question.

I'm with you on the no brainer for keeping Button, he's the best available to them at this time.

I messed up my vote as well, really should read the question and not the thread title in future

Also there are a lot Hamilton fans on here (not all of them) who simply hate Button because of their 3 years as team mates, regardless of how good he is they'll always vote against him out if spite.

and the fact that in the comments only one person has put forward an argument as to why he thinks Button would not be there, and even then he doesn't sound terribly convinced. The overwhelming majority are saying Button will stay, which is seemingly at odds with the poll results.

There is not driver who is available that is Button's equal at the moment. He's one of the best drivers on the grid, and only his poor consistency prevents him from being on the same level as Vettel and Alonso. Perez has yet to show that he is anywhere near Button's level. When Button is off-form Perez can beat him marginally. When Button is on form, there is no contest. In all of Button's best performances this year Perez was nowhere.

Button is the best option available for 2014, but I reckon Mclaren are hesitant about committing to 2015 because of his age and/or possible wage demands.

In any case, as long as Mclaren aren't complete dolts they'll keep Button next year. That said, Mclaren haven't exactly shown themselves to be the greatest decision makers in recent years...

sorry about that poll updated

I wouldn't be hugely surprised if McLaren decided to replace him.

McLaren would have had more input from Button for this year's car than Hamilton and they might feel like his contributions in that area aren't great and have led to the uncompetitive car they have. They might then decide to look elsewhere (before anyone takes that out of context - I'm not saying that is the case, I'm just saying that might be how McLaren look at it, if they do decide to change). If their data over the past few years shows that Hamilton's input was of far greater benefit than Button's, they might decide to cut their losses.

I think it would be a silly thing to do; Button is a cool head and still has a lot to offer. I don't think that my suggestion above is necessarily true, but if McLaren were to have evidence that it's more than just a coincidence that the car has been uncompetitive after Hamilton left, then it's something they would be right to at least consider. I would still be shocked if Button left, but I don't think it's completely out of the question if that situation were true. I can't think of any other possibility why they wouldn't want to keep him, though.

f1diablo wrote:sorry about that poll updated

much obliged!

and for anyone who's already voted, I've noticed f1diablo left the poll open so you can alter your vote to make it correct again.

Bahamut19 wrote:There is not driver who is available that is Button's equal at the moment. He's one of the best drivers on the grid, and only his poor consistency prevents him from being on the same level as Vettel and Alonso. Perez has yet to show that he is anywhere near Button's level. When Button is off-form Perez can beat him marginally. When Button is on form, there is no contest. In all of Button's best performances this year Perez was nowhere.

Button is the best option available for 2014, but I reckon Mclaren are hesitant about committing to 2015 because of his age and/or possible wage demands.

In any case, as long as Mclaren aren't complete dolts they'll keep Button next year. That said, Mclaren haven't exactly shown themselves to be the greatest decision makers in recent years...

It's not so much a lack of consistency with Jenson, but that he seems to be notably slower when he can't find the balance he'd like with the car. That, and Jenson is known to struggle in slower cars. But when you give Jenson a top car, such as the '09 Brawn or '11 McLaren, he is as consistent as anyone.

It's no surprise that Perez has been able to outpace Jenson on occasion this year, but as you say Checo was nowhere on Jenson's best days. And sure enough those days seemed to be when the car was most competitive, such as in Malaysia, China and Spa.

McLaren would be completely dumb to get rid of Jenson. As promising as Hulkenberg appears, he is unproven, while Jenson is one of the most proven drivers on the grid. And if they are considering anyone other than Hulk.... Well that'd be a new low for McLaren.

froze wrote:They should replace Perez with Hulkenberg, not Button. Button + Hulk would be a very strong pairing and not far behind the Ferrari and Merc pairings of next season.

Exactly what i think, and given how highly i rate Hulkenberg (i think he really is one of the best) i would say that would be an excellent pairing.

I am not on for replacing Perez just yet, he is very young and has proven to have potential so maybe he just needs some time. I only wish Mclaren had got Hulkenberg instead last year

I refuse to believe that with a major technical change coming McLaren would bin off a highly experienced WDC for Hula guy who is fast but totally unproven....

He'll be in the McLaren next year, and probably 2015.

McLaren want him, he wants to be there. They're just confused. I think Perez being distinctly average has thrown them into a bit of tail spin and they're not sure what direction they're going. We all know realistically they need Button's experience over Sergio's one in five race chance of brilliance.

M.Nader -DODZ- wrote:

froze wrote:They should replace Perez with Hulkenberg, not Button. Button + Hulk would be a very strong pairing and not far behind the Ferrari and Merc pairings of next season.

Exactly what i think, and given how highly i rate Hulkenberg (i think he really is one of the best) i would say that would be an excellent pairing.

This.
Perez is still a huge gamble for the team. They've given them rubbish car this year, it could be a unfair to ditch Perez, but they should really consider whether hulk and perez are really enough to regain their place in the top three. I'm not so sure Sergio can bring enough to the table.

As others have pointed out, McLaren would be foolish to replace Button with Hulk. If any driver should be replaced it must be Perez. I think Macca were way too quick signing Perez. It seems that Perez still didn't recover from his loss of performance after he was sure to drive a McLaren in 2013. At the end of last year Hulk was already the best prospect. Perez and also Kobayashi benefitted from a car which was great at certain tracks last year. I think this made Perez look better than he is.

If they drop Button and keep Perez that would be another dumb decision on Macca's part. Lotus would pick Button up surely but I doubt they will be competitive.

In an interview broadcast on Sky Sports News, Jenson himself said "It's not an issue for either party" and "we'll be racing together in 2014". I certainly put more stock in comments from the man himself than a rumour being branded around by a Twitter account which doesn't even have 2,000 followers...

If McLaren replace either driver, I could see it being Perez, but I think that would depend on who their title sponsor ends up being (Telmex? Gillette? Somebody else?) and, if it were Massa taking his seat, how much faith they have in Magnussen and Vandoorne to be ready for a McLaren drive in a couple of years.