Vettel to McLaren???....

[knighty]

complete speculation on my behalf......heres why I think why

1) McLaren want a big driver in order to satisfy Honda and to take the fight to the front

2) Vettel thinks Red Bull are on the downward slide because of crap Renault engines and Newey is not directly designing the 2015 F1 car

3) This would be an opportunity for Vettel to prove to the likes of Jackie Stewart that he is a "great" F1 driver and can perform in another team and car.

4) An opportunity for Vettel to be away from Riccardo who is currently kicking his ass, also much love-loss between RB and SV recently.......

But!.....from McLarens side, there is a possibility that Vettel may be losing his mojo since becoming a father, plus losing the effect exhaust blown diffusers, which he was a king of using :-/

wadyareckon???

.

[wnut]

Originally Posted by knighty

wadyareckon???

.

NO!

[321Go]

Are we going to start a new thread for each and every 'silly season' rumour/story/opinion? There's already a 2015 Formula 1 silly season thread.

[JacobP]

Originally Posted by knighty

complete speculation on my behalf......heres why I think why

2) Vettel thinks Red Bull are on the downward slide because of crap Renault engines and Newey is not directly designing the 2015 F1 car

And McLaren is not on a downward spiral as demonstrated in the wildly successful 2013 and 2014 campaigns, its inability to retain its top flight driver last year, and the jump into the unknown by switching engine supply to a brand new Honda.

3) This would be an opportunity for Vettel to prove to the likes of Jackie Stewart that he is a "great" F1 driver and can perform in another team and car.

Senna is considered a great driver, even though all his championship wins were with McLaren, which at that time had the dominant cars.

4) An opportunity for Vettel to be away from Riccardo who is currently kicking his ass, also much love-loss between RB and SV recently.......

With so many technical failures that Vettel's car experienced, I'd withdraw the comment on who is kicking the ass right now. Reccardo does seem like a real deal.


Personally, I normally lose some respect for drivers, team, and engine manufacturers who jump the ship at the first sign of trouble. Such decision is not rational, and is more of a sign of impatience, because you never know how things will pan out with the next partner the following year.

[Paradise City]

It's an 'out-there' proposition but it'd be intriguing to see.

He has been at Red Bull for some years now, collected numerous laurels. Instead of wasting a year sans Newey, time for a new challenge. I'd regain respect for him if he took the plunge with McLaren, Ron Dennis and Honda. But it's still an 'outthere' possibility.

[Cookie85]

Can't see it happening

[knighty]

you see mystic-knighty strikes again.......McLaren ARE courting Vettel......on the basis that McLaren have now poached RedBulls key aerodynamicst, I think its worth a punt for any driver, I can only see McLaren improving from now

[wolfhound]

Originally Posted by knighty

you see mystic-knighty strikes again.......McLaren ARE courting Vettel......on the basis that McLaren have now poached RedBulls key aerodynamicst, I think its worth a punt for any driver, I can only see McLaren improving from now

Reported here

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/115604

If I were Button I would be looking at my options. If there were suitable openings go for it and not wait on McLaren.

[spider]

I think the noises coming out of McLaren all point to Button going, regardless...

[knighty]

I think Williams or Force India will snap up button no problem.......personally I think Massa is not doing himself any favours, and we all know Frank has a soft spot for Button.....but if Ron can get Seb in at Macca that will be a scoop and a half.......I actually think RedBull will willingly let seb go and replace him with Kvyat, it just feels like seb needs a new home and a new mojo

[chillibowl]

after the contract issues JB had with Williams back in 2005? does SFW still have a soft spot for JB?

iirc JB had to pay a settlement to Williams to get out of that contract. there is a certain irony that if he went back to Williams they would be, in a manner of speaking paying, him with his own money.

perhaps a better question for the silly season thread but i would be curious to know if you guys rate JB as better than Massa in this stage of their respective careers?

on topic, how much of this is Mclaren looking to force a decision out of Alonso by suggesting Vettel as a possibility.

[knighty]

Originally Posted by chillibowl

on topic, how much of this is Mclaren looking to force a decision out of Alonso by suggesting Vettel as a possibility.

Oh I think thats more than relevant, this is Ron publicly playing the two off against each other.......this should hopefully make someone show their hand sooner rather than later.......personally I see Ferrari and RedBull sliding down further before they rise, so if I was Alonso or Vettel I would sign for McLaren-Honda, I think they will have a strong package next year.

Regarding the old Button-Williams contract buy-out polava back from the BAR-Honda David Richardson days, really I think thats 9 years ago now, so long forgotten......I think Williams will be strong next year too, so not a bad place to finish JB's career, personally I think JB will be in high demand from other teams, I feel he has another 5 years in him easily, I would not be surprised to see him at Ferrari, they were a public admire'r only a few years ago when he came into McLaren and kicked Lewis's ass.

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

Dennis has clearly lost the plot! Vettel? Looking at his record against Ricciardo and his inevitable price, Vergne would relish a high-end midfield team!

[Teretonga]

Originally Posted by chillibowl

after the contract issues JB had with Williams back in 2005? does SFW still have a soft spot for JB?

iirc JB had to pay a settlement to Williams to get out of that contract. there is a certain irony that if he went back to Williams they would be, in a manner of speaking paying, him with his own money.

perhaps a better question for the silly season thread but i would be curious to know if you guys rate JB as better than Massa in this stage of their respective careers?

on topic, how much of this is Mclaren looking to force a decision out of Alonso by suggesting Vettel as a possibility.

Short answer: Yes. Considerably better, more consistent.

Vettel in at McLaren? I don't know that he is McLaren material but as a spool to force a decision from Alonso it won't work... although Saward thinks a change at Ferrari is imminent and maybe Button is swapped for Alonso...
I can't see Kimi at McLaren...

[GOLDFINGER]

Hamilton to return to Mclaren ?

[beau1]

For some reason, I just can't see Vettel in a McLaren. He has the experience of working in a highly corporate team at Red Bull but I'm not sure why he would go to McLaren at this point.

The team is quickly falling into the mid-field and I don't see Vettel as the type of driver who will want to rebuild a team. Let's be honest, the Red-Bull team formed itself around him almost by accident. I don't think anywhere saw Red Bull becoming a dominant force from the latter half of the 2009 season onwards. At that point Vettel was rated but no-one had him down as a future 4 times champion.

Personally, I can see him going to Ferrari or possibly Mercedes. Both Raikkonen and Alonso seem to be on the edge of leaving the team in the next 18 months. Mercedes may also be looking for a new driver after this current season ends.

[Teretonga]

Originally Posted by beau1

For some reason, I just can't see Vettel in a McLaren. He has the experience of working in a highly corporate team at Red Bull but I'm not sure why he would go to McLaren at this point.

The team is quickly falling into the mid-field and I don't see Vettel as the type of driver who will want to rebuild a team. Let's be honest, the Red-Bull team formed itself around him almost by accident. I don't think anywhere saw Red Bull becoming a dominant force from the latter half of the 2009 season onwards. At that point Vettel was rated but no-one had him down as a future 4 times champion.

Personally, I can see him going to Ferrari or possibly Mercedes. Both Raikkonen and Alonso seem to be on the edge of leaving the team in the next 18 months. Mercedes may also be looking for a new driver after this current season ends.

I'd agree that Vettel is not McLaren potential and also agree with your thinking that someone's future at Mercedes my be coming to an end... But will Mercedes want two German drivers....??

So Mercedes have agreed to stop negotiations with Hamilton until the title battle is sorted....

Do I think the Mercedes combo is in meltdown? .......Maybe.

Hamilton will want a deal equal to Rosberg's plus a premium if he has to play second fiddle to him unless they get this team mate business sorted out....

So suspend the talks with Mercedes till later but keep another option open and don't get painted into a corner.
Hamilton back at McLaren would not surprise me at all....

[JeremySmith]

Originally Posted by GOLDFINGER

Hamilton to return to Mclaren ?

Highly unlikely...

[JeremySmith]

At this point we do not know where the Honda PU package is going to be in 2015
On the other hand McLaren are running the best PU this year, however the chassis is not good is it....

[wnut]

Originally Posted by JeremySmith

At this point we do not know where the Honda PU package is going to be in 2015
On the other hand McLaren are running the best PU this year, however the chassis is not good is it....

Yup Jeremy,McLaren is rubbish, and Ferrari seem to be lacking too.

The only; unlikely scenario; is that McLaren just cobbled together a runner for this year and have been concentrating massive effort on the 2015 car in order to make Honda look good?

I also don't see Vettel at McLaren, I think he will stay at RBR with Horner and Co.
The only possible team that may interest him is Mercedes imo and I doubt there will be an opportunity for him to go there.

[mountainstar]

Button looks more and more like a one hit wonder. He hit the lucky sweet spot years ago to win his WDC, but his McLaren experience has shown that he can't drag a successful team onwards to new success.

Vettel I am sure will look for something new at some point.

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

It shows that McLaren have faltered recently and Button isn't the man to get them back on track, but is the man you can depend on if you want to get the best out of your available package day-in-day-out. Escapades such as Silverstone and Brazil last year show he could well take another WDC given the right equipment.

The one thing Button has against him is his age. That's what I feel is the main factor for Dennis wanting him to go. His performances have been top notch but the car isn't good, and Button is hardly a long-term fix. However, the same can be said about Alonso, and Dennis seems very keen to have him!

[Paradise City]

I think Hamilton will return to McLaren if not in '15, then in '16. Vettel being the unadventurous sod that he is, will stay put, Alonso will retire at Ferrari in a year or two, he's just a little too long in the tooth for a multi-year Mclaren-Honda project. May mean a reprieve for Button for one last year. Experience rather than speed perhaps being more worthwhile in a transition, first year.

[wnut]

Hulkenberg, and fix the driver weight limits!

[Biscuits In A Red Bull]

Originally Posted by wnut

Hulkenberg, and fix the driver weight limits!

I thought that all top F1 teams were allergic to Hulkenberg and used every means possible to try and avoid signing him!