I could get into WEC but how do you cope with the 6 hour race length? Just watch the highlights?
It's not really a live viewing thing unless you're there - great events to attend.
IMO GP2 and GP3 are well worth watching live if you're looking for something other than F1.
Hello - hello McLaren ?? your a frikin joke of a team to your drivers, whoever you pick youve lost my support
anyone else feel the same?
Media event at McLaren tomorrow...
I was going to ask for bets as to JB or KM but I suppose it'd just be guesses given that none of us know if or what sponsorship they've managed to put together on the back of FA signing.
I hope they just announce Alonso to troll everyone.
😆
It'll be Bruno Senna and Hamilton . . . just to have all 'nostalgia' avenues covered!
Ron will do a speech about his emotionless, clinical and statistical analysis of the merits of each option available on the driver market and somewhere in the Ronspeak there will be some clue as to who they've signed but everyone will either be asleep by then or too baffled to understand it. Then Jenson will drive his MP12C through the windows on one side of the MTC, do a massive burnout leaving huge 11s on the white floor while flicking V's at Ron then drive through the other windows and ditch it in the lake before escaping on a speedboat driven by Jessica. Maybe.
Then Jenson will drive his MP12C through the windows on one side of the MTC, do a massive burnout leaving huge 11s on the white floor while flicking V's at Ron then drive through the other windows and ditch it in the lake before escaping on a speedboat driven by Jessica. Maybe.
Fun fact that will delight the RD haters, In the bit a the front of the MTC (where they do all the press stuff/display cars and that) there is a lovely grey slate floor, it's immaculate, you can barely see the joins between the slates. Apart from 1. Evidently someone broke it not long after it was finished, but they couldn't get an exact colour match. it's close, but not nearly close enough for Ron, and it grates on him. Every. Single. Day. knowing that in his perfect vision of perfection, that slightly off slate exisits.

Daily Fail and Telegraph reporting that Button will partner Alonso next year.
Button definitely deserves another year at the top, here's hoping Honda and McLaren give him something half decent.
Also being reported by the Beeb now.
It would be great if he told them to stick it 🙂
Very strong line up for next year which will help for constructors championship. I will be interested on which of the two comes out on top I think it will be Alonso. I'm sure JB will be happy that he is against another top driver it was one of the main reasons he joined the team.
Last few seasons I have just had faith in McLaren that they can do a good job. This year I have a stronger basis.
Pete Prom
Honda
Alo/JB
A dream team.
Curious to see how well McLaren will deal with two top drivers.
Curious to see how well McLaren will deal with two top drivers.
Never been an issue befo......hang on.
More interesting to see how JB fares against Captain Haddock.
Since he's so useless and Fernandoo is the best on the grid.
Looking forwards to that
Great news. I really hope they give JB and FA a decent car that they can challenge with, it should make for a superb season. Chuffed for Jenson
"Jenson, Fernando is faster than you"
More interesting to see how JB fares against Captain Haddock.Since he's so useless and Fernandoo is the best on the grid.
Looking forwards to that
Me too
If FA can consistently put 2/10ths on JB, I'll give him the nod, both of them are great at 'bringing the car home' so there shouldn't be much in it from that side of things.
Captain Haddock?
Alonso
Why?
Beard
"Jenson, Fernando is faster than you, give up 8th place to him"
FTFY
sounds like Ron wanted one thing (KM) and everyone else wanted the other (JB), and probably HONDA wanted him too.
shove it Ron, you should resign now then!
I find Alonso's move a little confusing, for sure he could have done 1 more year at Ferrari and been in a much better negotiating position with Mercedes when their contracts are up, or RBR or even Williams....
moving to a new engine thats never been in the back of that mclaren is a huge risk at his career "age"
i suspect he has a number of get out clauses for his first year there.
The problem with Alonso at Ferrari was that when they succeeded it was always because of Alonso heroics, when they failed it was because Ferrari failed. Never the other way round.
Given what he has achieved v his supposed talent, he will never be considered a true great of the sport. Also, given his standing any team taking him on will be doing it on the basis that all the success will be attributed to Alonso and not to the team.
Given what he has achieved v his supposed talent, he will never be considered a true great of the sport.
Don't agree with that. He's already being talked about as a great and he's still got a little while to go yet.
Interesting thing I read today was that apparently RD did indeed promise FA priority at McL in 2007, hence FA's annoyance was justified to some extent.
More interesting to see how JB fares against Captain Haddock.Since he's so useless and Fernandoo is the best on the grid.
Looking forwards to that
I think Alonso will have the edge over the season but he's not going to wipe the floor with Button. I get the impression Alonso rates him than a lot of people outside the paddock do.
I reckon 2015 will be Button's last year unless McLaren tell him pretty early in the season they want to keep him.
It's official official now - JB and FA at McL with KM as third driver - mclaren have confirmed it on twitter.
I'm no FA fan, but he's a real racer and has been a F1 World Champion, I do wonder about his fit within McLaren and Jenson, but we'll have to wait and see, we maybe pleasantly surprised.
So long as the car is half decent and heading in the right direction, I reckon things will be fine. Should that not be the case though...
[quote=nemesis ]FA still has his beard which RD is reputed to hate
If I was him I'd keep it for that reason alone.
Once really disliked him, but I don't know if he's changed or it's just me - at first I respected him a lot, but I now think I actually quite like him. I wonder if we'll see more wheel to wheel battles between him and JB now - they have been one of my highlights of this season, and given the way they both behave I can't see any reason at all why the team would want to stop them.
I don't think there is any great surprise if FA really did have a preference for JB - not because he thinks he can beat him, but because he won't do something unpredictable and stupid (not that I'm saying KM would, but you can rely on JB not doing so). That and his clear value in developing a new package. They do also genuinely appear to get on well.
see how they took the pic, in front of the cars that actually won something, prob. with HONDA in the back,
note JB far away from RD 🙂
KM with gritted teeth in the middle, trying hard to smile.
Kev's in a great spot. 3rd and reserve + waiting to step back up in 2016
Not a bad result all round.
see how they took the pic, in front of the cars that actually won something, prob. with HONDA in the back,
I seem to recall they've also won a lot of races and 3 drivers titles with Mercedes engines in the back! So not a bad stint.
Jenson gets to keep his courtesy P1 for another year 🙂
If you look a the pic of the wokshops on here, there is an access panel set to the right of the central groutline. I used to have it as my screen saver but it does my head in.
I think there are enough totes disgustaballs slobs in the world. A few more like RD would be fine by me.
Kev's in a great spot. 3rd and reserve + waiting to step back up in 2016Not a bad result all round.
^^This^^
I reckon 2015 is probably JB's last year in F1.
FA will be hoping that an established, experience but slightly demob happy JB helps iron the kinks out of the car and the team for him...
And McL actually have a bit of a "Drivers Roadmap": KM getting a race seat in 2016, after a year of testing and being in reserve, FA won't be feeling too threatened, but the team should get two seasons of stability and managed transition...
I think everyone comes out of it with a silver lining really...
I'm not so sure FA will beat Button. Everyone was expecting Hamilton to do so and Button scored more points than Hamilton.
Button and Hamilton did remind me a wee bit of Prost and Senna, one clearly the faster 'natural talent' for want of a better phrase but the other able to keep up and sometimes beat him by using his brain more. I wouldn't be surprised to see similar happen next year.
Reckon FA has a good brain as well as the driving talent though. Although I still think if Button is in a top car set up 100% to his liking he can beat anyone.
Love that group photo. All in suits. Management with ties, free spirit drivers no ties. But still buttoned up suits.
Nor me.andrewh - Member
I'm not so sure FA will beat Button.
If I were forced at gunpoint to put my all £12.50 of my life's savings one way or the other, I'd go Alonso, but it is a very marginal call. IMHO, there have been too many races where Button has managed variables exceptionally well to discount him.
I think they're both extremely clever drivers, though clever in different ways. Both are also good at dispatching overtakes with disdainful ease. I;d love to see them work together, pool their knowledge and cunning.
I also hope KM does not have to wait too long to get back into a driving seat. Good result all round though.
[quote=cookeaa ]I reckon 2015 is probably JB's last year in F1.
Even if Honda produce a stonker of an [s]engine[/s] power unit, McLaren manage not to make a completely rubbish car to put it in (stranger things have happened) and JB does as many are predicting and has the better of FA? I suppose it would be one way to go out...
[quote=andrewh ]Button and Hamilton did remind me a wee bit of Prost and Senna, one clearly the faster 'natural talent' for want of a better phrase but the other able to keep up and sometimes beat him by using his brain more. I wouldn't be surprised to see similar happen next year.
Interesting reading the press release where FA has Senna as his hero, whilst JB is more admiring of Prost. Though that could just be the roles assigned to them and not their own words.




