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My opinion, for what it's worth:
Jenson thought he was going to be kept on - and waited to the last minute to get the renewal. Meaning he never looked at other options seriously - I think we can guess they were Williams and Renault.
He was informed he wasn't going to be kept on - that the Board this time couldn't risk losing Stoffel.
Ron / the Board has cleverly edged Stoffel into the driver PR / Marketing activities - as clearly that's the biggest piece Jenson brings, and Stoffel 12 months ago brought limited PR value.
So, after seeing what happened with Kevin and Sergio - one season McLaren wonders - and with Fernando constantly stating he wants to quit if the new rules don't appeal to him, Jenson / his agent offered this deal-up begrudgingly.
This isn't Jenson nobly deciding to try new things in his life as his first-thought, I'm certain of that - Martin Brundle kept alluding to a similar tone of thought.
What is interesting, is if Fernando quits for 2018 - and Ron gets a shot at another driver he rates more than Jenson...I think that's a scenario that could see Jenson then land at Williams that season...
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