Could Perez end up at McLaren?
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- 10th September 2012, 7:27 at 7:27 am #132064Bradley DowntonParticipant
OK, so given that he is part of Ferrari’s young driver academy, this seems quite unlikely, but let me explain the method behind the madness.
If Lewis Hamilton does leave McLaren, they will have a seat free, and they want the best driver to do it.
Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber are at Red Bull.
Fernando Alonso with Ferrari.
Hamilton at wherever he would go.
Kimi is signed to Lotus, same with Nico to Mercedes.
Both Force India drivers are signed up, though the team have said they would let them go if a big team came knocking.
So McLaren won’t have a lot of options.
Assuming, as nearly all of us do, that Massa will leave Ferrari at the end of the year.
Firstly, McLaren won’t want Massa.
Secondly, Ferrari have said, at the moment, that they won’t really consider Perez.
If Ferrari don’t take Perez, and Hamilton does leave McLaren, I can see the young Mexican slotting in nicely next to Jenson Button.10th September 2012, 8:33 at 8:33 am #209968raymondu999ParticipantI don’t think so. I think most probably Hulkenberg.
Btw, on a factual standpoint, I believe Kimi is NOT signed to anyone for next year… yet.
10th September 2012, 8:49 at 8:49 am #209969Prisoner MonkeysParticipantI could certainly see McLaren making a play for Perez – but it would probably be hard to get him out of his contract with Ferrari, and he seems to be very content to stay at Sauber.
@raymondu999 – I believe Raikkonen’s deal with Lotus was for two years.
10th September 2012, 9:27 at 9:27 am #209970Boxcar RacerParticipantAll signs point to Di Resta being a McLaren driver next year. He’s got rid of Anthony Hamilton as his manager and is now represented by Jenson Button’s Sport Partnership Management agency. He’s also British and a pretty decent driver. I think he’ll slot in nicely at McLaren.
10th September 2012, 9:38 at 9:38 am #209971Prisoner MonkeysParticipantI’d hardly call those “signs”. He parted ways with Anthony Hamilton months ago, and Anthony isn’t involved in his son’s management anymore. That’s hardly representative of a move to McLaren. Likewise, Button’s management team has nothing to do with the running of McLaren. It doesn’t strengthen his position with McLaren at all to have the same managers as their existing driver.
The only “sign” di Resta will move to McLaren is David Coulthard pushing the Scotsman to the fore.
10th September 2012, 9:42 at 9:42 am #209972necrodethmortemParticipantI can imagine Perez would strongly prefer going to McLaren instead of Ferrari, where he would have to play second fiddle until 2017.
10th September 2012, 9:47 at 9:47 am #209973Antonio NarteaParticipantIf Hamilton leaves for Mercedes and Schumacher signs for another two years (as it was rumoured a couple of weeks ago) then it would make perfect sense for Rosberg to switch seats and take over Hamilton’s duties at McLaren. Otherwise the Force India pair is more likely to end up at McLaren in my opinion.
Perez really looks Ferrari bound…
10th September 2012, 9:54 at 9:54 am #209974duncanmonzaParticipantI think Perez/Button would be very similar to Raikkonen/Coulthard. There’s a chance it could happen, it will be either him, Hulkenberg, diResta or Grosjean if Hamilton does go, which I think is unlikely. He’ll probably have better opportunities at McLaren than at Ferrari too.
10th September 2012, 10:02 at 10:02 am #209975Prisoner MonkeysParticipantHow about Robert Kubica?
He wants to come back next year if he can, and everyone has been operating under the assumption that his injuries are too severe for him to have a full range of movements in his arm. But what if he can be as competitive as he was before his accident?
10th September 2012, 11:22 at 11:22 am #209976Antonio NarteaParticipantHow about Robert Kubica?
That’s a long shot. I don’t question the fact that Kubica might be able to make a full recovery at some point, or even return to F1, but doing that in a top team seems a bit unrealistic.
I find it hard to believe Kubica will be competitive again. Despite his injuries and his limited movement abilities (which might or might not improve), he has absolutely no knowledge of the modern F1 cars (which have changed a lot since 2010), of the Pirelli tyres, of DRS and he’s been away from motorsport in general for more than a year and a half now (he even stopped any contact with Boullier and the Lotus team months ago, and they’ve been the most supportive of them all). Plus, he was also still on a learning curve before his rallying accident.
It seems unlikely he’ll be able to pick up where he left off again. And even if he will eventually succed in doing so, it’s gonna take time and a lot of patience from whoever is willing to sign him. Ferrari, McLaren, Red Bull, Lotus or Mercedes can’t afford that.
The safest bet would be on Kubica making a return in rallying – IRC or WRC.
10th September 2012, 17:41 at 5:41 pm #209977Aditya BanerjeeParticipantIdk why everyone seems to consider Di Resta to be the next big thing. He was comprehensively beaten by Sutil last season,and while he had the upper hand over hulkenberg at the start of the season,the two appear to be evenly matched in terms of qualifying pace and i think hulk’s the better racer. Yesterday,despite qualifying 15 positions behind DiR,he was running only 5 positions behind the Scotsman prior to his retirement. I think DiR’s a very good driver,but i also do think that he is overhyped as some of his contemporaries,such as Perez and Grosjean are probably better drivers. Yet we have everyone considering him to be a future champ,and many eminent ex-drivers expecting him to be signed by either of McLaren or Ferrari next season.
10th September 2012, 18:17 at 6:17 pm #209978CalumParticipantIf Hamilton leaves the winning choice for Mclaren would be Perez. He’s quick, and young – if he (perez) signs for Mclaren and does well it would be sore for Ferrari after being indecisive due to Perez’s experience.
I just want to know where Hamilton is going, do I follow Mclaren or Lewis? It’s been the pairing I’ve followed since I started watching F1 as more than a casual viewer, it will be weird if it split up!
10th September 2012, 18:38 at 6:38 pm #209979bag0ParticipantIt is a nice thought, but Perez’s and Button’s style are very simmilar, so their advantages, and disadvantages. Both of them are good at overtaking and tyre preserving, but both of them are beaten by their teammates in qualifying. I think with two complimentary drivers McLaren have the edge, as at least one of their drivers can perform in any given circumstance, but this gives them an R&D headache (IMO). The main question is which is better, have two simmilar styles, and have a reasonably straight developement path, or have two complimentary drivers but perform well with at least one car most of the races.
10th September 2012, 18:46 at 6:46 pm #209980marcusbreeseParticipantI remember back in 2001, a young Sauber driver was making headlines, and thought to be linked to Ferrari. Instead, Kimi joined McLaren. I think IF Hamilton leaves, McLaren should be looking at either Hulkenberg or Perez. I’m another who doesn’t understand the Di Resta hype, and I think it would be deadly dull to see him there with Button.
Furthermore, there are strong rumours about Vodafone pulling out of F1 sponsorship and it would make a lot of sense for McLaren to try and replace them with a similar company, e.g. Telmex?
10th September 2012, 19:00 at 7:00 pm #209981KingsharkParticipantHere’s a shocking fact for people who say Hulkenburg;
Mclaren have never employed a German driver in it’s 45+ years of history in the sport. - AuthorPosts
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