Am I dreaming or what?
"Fakest smiler in the world fondles demented old man"
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The Formula 1 2014 Season |OT2| Louder Than Formula E
- Thread starter Addnan
- Start date
"Fakest smiler in the world fondles demented old man"
nature boy
Member
They have Alonso to develop the car.
That happened to a certain Fernando Alonso and a certain Felipe Massa. Maybe F1 is different now, with pay drivers being the norm, but KMag's F1 career is far from over.
Am I dreaming or what?
This brings a tear to my eye.
Did it?
Fernando LEFT Renault and came back. (He was not bypassed, he chose to leave the team).
Massa was a Ferrari plant, he wasn't chosen by Sauber, but placed there in return for continued support.
Again, Magnussen is not coming back to a main drive at McLaren next year, or the year after that. They don't deem him good enough to drive now, they won't suddenly change their minds next year based on a test drive here and there. Mind you, I never said his F1 career was over, btw.
Dutch Gronk
Banned
Right after Vettel
nature boy
Member
FA was a Minardi driver and moved to Renault as a test driver in 2002 and then became race driver replacing Button for 2003.
Yes, but Massa did spend one year in the sidelines in between his Sauber years.
Fair enough, I still think Mag has a shot next season at a Mclaren seat, they have too much invested in him and in Vandroone.
Wax Free Vanilla
Member
The right decision, the strongest pairing on the grid, now just give them a good car, pls!
Both signed two-year contracts?
Both signed two-year contracts?
You are not understanding what I'm saying, I believe. McLaren had this guy as their driver. They demoted him. They won't promote him back, they obviously didn't think he was good enough to be one of their drivers. Especially when you consider Vandoorne had a better or at the very least equal shot at getting the drive instead of Magnussen.
Minardi making Alonso drive and Renault starting him as a test driver is not related. Renault is not Minardi, they never demoted him. They employed him, made him a test driver (and this is ignoring the fact that in 2002 a test driver could actually drive a lot and get experience like that, instead of just once or twice a year like now) and then gave him a drive.
What I'm saying is that once you decide a driver isn't good enough after a full year of working with a guy, the chances of you ever going "you know what, Magnussen is a great driver, lets replace Button with him" or even "Lets not give Vandoorne a chance, lets try Magnussen again" is astronomically small. The only exception I can see is Magnussen going elsewhere, improving significantly for a few years and then getting hired back. But a 2016 drive at McLaren? Not going to happen.
nature boy
Member
Yeah now that Ron confirmed Button on a at least 2 year deal KMag is screwed (although contracts are made to be broken). Very suprising
total Ron capitulation
The point I was trying to make is under certain circumstances a driver can race for a team, become reserve driver and then become race driver again. Mag is well liked at Mclaren and considering he's a protege of Mclaren I can see him racing again. But the whole multi-year deal for Button is surprising to me.
fucking finally. hopefully McLaren get their shit together and Alonso can finally win races and maybe a championship. I love that guy.
lol at button tho. should have been sent into retirement,
Well it'll need at least 3 years or another big rules shakeup for McLaren to win things again and Button was the right call if it was purely between him and KMag.
brotkasten
Member
Am I dreaming or what?
The picture is fantastic, because Ron fucking hates facial hair.
But I'm glad the bullshit with all this fake drama is finally over. Hopefully we get more interesting things to discuss in the coming weeks.
Like, who the hell is going to drive for Caterham?!
Opus Angelorum
Member
Really hoping McLaren have a return to winning ways, alas I remain sceptical.
According to "Auto, Motor, Sport" he has an exit clausel that allows him to leave if McLaren won't finish within top 3 by the end of 2016. If that's true it implies Alonso got a contract of more than 2 years.
I've seen this comment thrown around before as if it were fact, and quite frankly I've never been bothered by it enough to check, but I did now just think how this could be possible when 2011 was Vettel's second most successful season in arguably one of the most dominant F1 cars ever built, so I checked.
2011 was a 19-race season, so if we're being pedantic the 'latter-half' of the season is half-way through the German GP. Button retired in the '11 German GP, so I'll start from the Hungarian GP, which Button won.
Vettel - 176 pts
Button - 161 pts
Vettel outscored Button by 15 pts in the last 9 races. However, Vettel retired from the Abu Dhabi GP so we should surely count the German GP to make it one DNF apiece (but only because it was the race right before the half-way mark).
Vettel - 188 pts
Button - 161 pts
2011 was Vettel's year in every respect. Button had a great season, don't get me wrong, but to say he was the highest scoring driver in the latter-half of that season is simply false.
Tagged to hide derailment, and because no-one gives a shit about my ramblings.
On-topic...
Glad Button is staying with McLaren. It's great to have two successful and championship-winning British drivers in the field. Looking forward to seeing how he competes against Alonso. Potential on-track battles are a mouthwatering prospect.
Adam Scott Aukerman
Member
Honestly I'd be really surprised if Button was on anything more than a 1 year contract (with another year as an option on McLaren's side) as he seems to have no leverage. If at the end of 2015 he's done a good job and they want to retain him another year then I wouldn't expect them to have a struggle in doing so. Where else in F1 would he go?
A that's not a slight against Button, he'd be my pick for the seat for the time being, I just don't see why McLaren/Honda would feel the need to tie him up for so long upfront. Just look at the approach Red Bull took with Webber.
Yeah it's just a mistake. Button was applauded in in the latter half of 2011 for being best of the rest. Vettel was uncatchable.
Adam Scott Aukerman
Member
edit: whoops, double post.
Wax Free Vanilla
Member
Ronbo says the new car has passed the crash test and the Abu Dhabi FW shows the cars development direction
In Peter P we trust
In Peter P we trust
When you look at this, there is no combined MCL/Honda perspective here. Both drivers are clearly Honda drivers, and nothing else. And Honda promised BUT a golden autumn for his career (their very words). They wanted him to be their development driver, and they got him. It´ll be BUT last engagement in F1, so its not about perspective or something.
The question should be, what will Honda do after two years?
That´ll largely depend how it goes for them. Right now it got off to a rocky start. Shaky ground with MCL, engine woes, and no second customer team emerged. They will do anything they can to have their first 2 years in as stable an environment as possible. BUT would have to steal the proverbial golden spoons to lose his job after the next season.
Adam Scott Aukerman
Member
Yeah I guess if you remove McLaren from the equation then it's easier to understand a 2+ year contract.
You're right about the third year being an interesting question. What if at the end of those two years, they feel they're on the crest of a truly competitive year (a la Mercedes at the end of 2013). With Vandoorne waiting in the wings, would then really be the time to gamble on an inexperienced driver? Even if it is the 'right' time for Vandoorne. I guess that's something Honda would be less concerned about, but you'd have to think McLaren might think otherwise.
However, if Vandoorne is placed at another F1 team in 2016, he could potentially prove his value in time for that decision.
Is it because he has no hair on the head himself?
you can´t teach an old dog new tricks.
BrokenSymmetry
Member
Fernando standing in front of the car with #1, and Jenson in front of the car with #2.
and magnussen standing in front of no car. perfect.
Nicktendo86
Member
He will drive out of his skin as usual. Question is whether the car will be any good.
My hunch is yes. Not beating the mercs but best of the rest. Predict a red bull chassis combined with a good pu. Might blow up a lot though.
theignoramus
Member
"Hamilton immaturity"
Like Fernando throwing a temper tantrum inside the Mclaren motor home and kicking things apart after being out-qualified at the Chinese GP. Clearly the more emotionally well grounded of the two Ron.
You didn't have to spoiler tag it, the mental gymnastics and the flat out lies some these Button fans come up with to place him in the same sentence as Hamilton and Alonso, or even Vettel and Kimi is hilarious. Jenson will always be an average driver. That doesn't take away from the fact that he's one of the coolest guys on the paddock. If only his coolness could be converted to skill. Watch Alonso embarrass him next year.
Nicktendo86
Member
Button is a safe pair of hands. To call him average is unfair I would say but he will hoover up points. Lacks is strait speed but has great racecraft, the duels with Alonso last year was fantastic, clean racing.
Look, there simply are different kinds of skill sets F1 teams are looking for. Only very few drivers combine several of those.
In BUT´s case, he has a very good and very special skill set, which is highly valued in F1 circles. And that's his ability to develop a car.
This will not always translate into awesome race action, but that's not necessarily necessary.
So in short: can´t we all just get along?! ;-)
I hope that he will find that elusive grip that he is searching for two seasons
I knew it!! 2007 title belongs to Alonso and not Kimi.
Agreed, placing Kimi anywhere above Button is a bit delusional. Though I agree that neither are in the Alonso/Hamilton tier.
Glad this nonsense is done with. McL better not fuck up having ALOBUT.
More like is Caterham going to make it to the grid next year.
More like is Caterham going to make it to the grid next year.
MP4-28?
MP4-29?
Remember him relying on Lewis' setups back at McLaren? Every weekend this dude whines about the fucking car. He has a very narrow operating window and only shines during the inters>slick conditions which Hamilton and Alonso are also very good at, so I don't get why he's so highly praised for it. Oh, I remember, it's because of Canada 2011. The drive that all Button fans cling too. Button is known for capitalizing on other drivers' mishaps and playing it safe. He's average.