[sparkione]

[QUOTE=Mike Harte;3669954]And why on earth, then, would McLaren now sign him up for a non-racing contract for a reputed £5 million for 2017. As BSF, above, says, he, Ron Dennis, could just as easily have shown him the door at no cost whatsoever, but has chosen to keep JB on the squad. Which seems to indicate that McLaren value him, especially considering that there must be a fairly long queue of thrusting young talents vying for the chance to get on to McLaren's books!

I think McLaren's overseas (mostly) investors value JB highly. 'Tis said that he owed his 2016 drive to their support, in the face of Ron's inclination to replace him. The new deal – which I doubt any of us saw coming – has the scent of compromise about it. Ron gets SvD in the car, the investors keep JB on board.

I'd dearly love to know how Jensen really feels about it. I can't believe the £5m was a clincher (he's worth £70m by all accounts) and I hope he's not putting too much hope and expectation into a return in 2018. Even if Alonso were to walk, I doubt that JB would be the number one choice replacement.

But I hope he's happy – and we'll miss him.