Tag Archives: McLaren

November 21, 2013 · 10:46 pm

Perez on 2014: A 95% chance I’ll be in F1…

Sergio Perez says his prospects for 2014 are looking up – and he says that he has a “95%” chance of having an F1 seat next year.

Like everyone else Perez has been linked with Sauber, Force India and Lotus. The Swiss team would appear to be the main candidate at the moment, with Carlos Slim discussing the possibility of Checo teaming up with Esteban Gutierrez – although the alternative scenario is that the two drivers are in effect fighting for the same backing.

“It’s definitely looking better than it was seven days ago,” said Perez this afternoon. “We have made some progress in that respect, which is positive. But as we all know in F1 if you don’t have the contract, there’s still nothing there. I’m confident that I will get a seat that will keep me very motivated to achieve my dreams in F1.

“There are some options, and one of them is going back to Sauber. But there are other options that we are looking at at the moment. Force India can be another option as well, but nothing really deep in discussions. All the teams that haven’t announced a driver, for sure we are looking to see what can be the best option for my future.”

Asked to quantify his chances of being in F1 next year, he said: “Very high, I will say 95%, but the other five is still high, and to have 5% is still a lot. I might be here, I might not, but I’m pretty confident that I will be here.”

He made no secret about the role sponsorship will play in proceedings.

“We all know, there is no secret that if you are not in the four top teams all the rest are struggling financial-wise. It obviously helps, but also my talent helps, and at the end of the day I believe I’m a very strong package, so I should be in a good position to find a good seat.

“I’m very fortunate my country is behind me, they are really supporting me to stay in F1. That definitely helps.”

Asked by this writer if he was in competition for backing with Esteban Gutierrez, he denied that was the case.

“I think we’re in a fortunate position, both of us, that we can get a good financial package. When I left Sauber he came to my seat, and it was a fortunate position for him. But everything was pretty much said and done. I don’t see him as competition to see who gets more backing. I think we’re in a fortunate position, Mexico is a strong country, and Mexico is very passionate about F1.”

Perez says the door to return to Sauber has always been open.

“I always try to leave my teams in the best possible terms, just as I’m leaving McLaren. Life is very long in F1, and you never know where you are going to end up. I just try to be a professional driver, and a good person.”

He also made an interesting comment about the role engines might play in his choice: “I think the engine is going to be important, but more is the team. How the team is doing financial wise, how much they have prepared the car for next year, there are certain aspects. They might have done a great job this year, but you never know how they’ll do next year. It’s very important that we look at all the factors together and try to decide the best possible option.”

There has also been some contact between Ganassi and the Perez camp, but the driver denies that he’s been directly involved.

Leave a comment

Filed under F1 News, Grand Prix News

Tagged as , , ,

November 14, 2013 · 7:43 pm

Sergio Perez: “I found out a couple of days before you found out…”

Sergio Perez insists that he only found out this week that he was on his way out of McLaren, and had firmly believed that he would be staying on with the team.

“I found out a couple of days before you found out, so it was a very late decision,” he said in Austin today. “I had no idea, it just came as a shock to me because the team was always giving me good feedback, everything was pretty much settled down and I was going to stay with the team but then something happened in the last few weeks so they decided not to… It puts me in a very difficult position now, to look forward for my future.”

Nevertheless he said he didn’t feel let down by the team, especially in terms of the awkward timing.

“No, not let down at all. As I said, it’s been a difficult year. People from the outside can think whatever they want, but inside the team, every single person that works in the team knows the amount of pressure we are having, everyone, from Jenson, myself, Martin, everyone, everyone. With McLaren and the year that we have had it was so disappointing for everyone so they have had to make some changes and yeah, they had to change me, and that’s racing.”

Regarding his future he said: “I know there are some options. As I said before, I want to stay in Formula One but I will no stay in F1 just to stay. If I don’t find the right option for myself then I have to look at something else but I’m pretty confident something good will happen and hopefully I find a good seat. I think I have a lot to offer a team.

“I have been three years in F1, one year with McLaren. A very difficult year but I think I learn a lot. I think this year, although it has been very difficult and probably one of the worst in terms of results for myself, I think I am a good driver and I can do good things out there.”

Leave a comment

Filed under F1 News, Grand Prix News

Tagged as , ,

October 22, 2013 · 10:56 am

Honda and McLaren have a lot of work to do, says Neale

McLaren managing director Jonathan Neale says that the team is delighted that Honda’s 2015 engine is already running on the dyno – but cautioned that there is still a long way to go to create a competitive package.

Honda released audio of its new engine earlier this week.

“It is exciting, it’s always good when you hear a new engine fire up, it’s a great moment for the whole organisation, and a moment of satisfaction for everybody,” said Neale. “Honda moved heaven and earth to be able to get the first engine built, constructed and running. It’s a bit like – dare I use the metaphor of pregnancy? – you focus on the first nine months and then you realise that it’s only then that the hard work starts.

“While we have something that’s running we’re under no illusion how much work we have to do together to be able to develop a competitive power unit in terms of the engine, the ERS system, the battery technology, and all of the systems that go round that. Particularly for us as McLaren doing it twice in two years is a fairly ambitious project. But we’re really excited about that.

“However at this time of year with only some frightening number of weeks to go to the end of this year all hands at the moment are focussed on working with Mercedes and the integration of that engine, and the development of our fuel and lube programme with Exxon Mobil, so that we’re able to put a high performance package on the deck, and a reliable one, for the start of next year.”

Meanwhile on the subject of Peter Prodromou Neale said it was unlikely that Red Bull would be very keen to release its current head of aero early. He is expected to join the team in 2015.

“Peter’s a great guy and he’s an important part of their operation. I can’t see any incentive for Red Bull to release him early. We’d be very happy to have him starting here tomorrow morning! But we do fully respect Red Bull’s position as we do when recruiting anybody from another organisation.

“They know that, we understand the position with Red Bull, and we fully respect Christian’s position. Who knows what will happen over the course of a year, but it’s entirely at Red Bull’s gift, it’s for them to decide. It’s not for us, not for McLaren to decide that.”

1 Comment

Filed under F1 News, Grand Prix News

Tagged as , ,

September 20, 2013 · 6:33 pm

Martin Whitmarsh Q&A: Button/Alonso a “manageable” line-up

An otherwise low-key Friday in Singapore was enlivened by excitement over the apparent possibility of Fernando Alonso returning to McLaren, the team he left at the end of the turbulent 2007 season.

Martin Whitmarsh insists that there has been no contact with the Spaniard and his camp, but the team boss is happy to confirm that he would love to have him back, and that the door is open. Mischievously he suggests that the Alonso/Raikkonen partnership at Ferrari will not last long, and there is more than a hint that, even if Fernando is not available for 2014, he just might be in 2015, when Honda joins the party.

Quite what the end game is remains to be seen, but apart from creating waves at Ferrari what this little saga does is tell the world that McLaren is as yet unconvinced by Sergio Perez, hired amid much fanfare last year. It also potentially creates a vacancy for another driver who might not be as committed elsewhere as Alonso. I asked Whitmarsh for his thoughts…

Q: Can you clarify the team’s position on Fernando Alonso?

“I was asked yesterday if we would like to sign him, and the answer is I’d love to have that challenge, and I’d love to have that opportunity. We’ll see what happens. At the moment I’m sure he’s under contract with Ferrari, and we’ll see what happens in the longer term, whether he wants to come back or doesn’t. At the moment I’m sure he’s focussed on doing the best job he can for his team. I think it’s one of those stories that has built today. Perhaps there is not much else happening here! I think any team principal if you asked them, ‘Would you like Fernando Alonso in your team?,’ the answer has got to be ‘Yes,’ if they’re sane. I don’t think he’s available right now, but if he ever becomes available, then we’ll see.”

Q: In the last few races you’ve always said we’ve got two great drivers and we’re going to keep them. All of a sudden there seems to be some doubt about Sergio…

“Our two drivers have done a great job in a very difficult year, and I expect we’ll have the same driver line-up next year, that’s my expectation. But we haven’t announced it yet, it’s not all done, and we’ll see what happens.”

Q: Why have you not announced it?

“I think we’ll see, there are other things going on at the moment… We’ll see what happens.”

Q: You said today that he hasn’t beaten Jenson as often as you wanted. That’s the first time we’ve heard any criticism from you.

“It’s an observation. He’s a young driver who wants to make his mark in F1. Jenson is a great benchmark. It’s not easy to beat him, but that’s what you’ve got to set out to try and do. I think he’s disappointed, I’ve had that conversation with him. But we’ll see. Maybe this weekend he can show that he can really do a good job.”

Q: You say there are a lot of other things going on – a cynical view would be that Mexican sponsorship might be related to the delay over his deal.

“No, it’s not a commercial issue at all. I think we want to make sure we’ve got the best driver line-up and everything’s straightforward. There’s no great urgency either. The most likely outcome is no change. But we’ll see.”

Q: You’ve said that you want to respect Ferrari’s position, but in this business it’s every man for himself, and you’ve taken drivers from other teams before.

“I’ve taken drivers in the past if there was a chink, but as far as I know, there’s not one yet!”

Q: Is 2015 slightly more realistic?

“I’ll turn that around. Kimi and Alonso is a dream team at its birth. But does it stay that way for long? I don’t know. You make that judgement yourself, but I think that’s quite an interesting one.”

Q: You could equally say Jenson and Fernando, two World Champions… What makes you think that is more manageable?

“I think it is. I think Jenson is an extraordinary team player.”

Q: It’s as simple as that?

“I think so. Both those drivers, I know them, I’ve seen them in a team, and I also know Jenson, so I do believe that’s a manageable one. But again I don’t have to speculate upon it at the moment. We expect to have the same driver line-up in all probability that we’ve got this year. I’m happy with that, but I’m not rushing into it right now.”

Q: You’ve made it clear that with Honda you’ve got more financial clout in the market. How much of a push from them is there to get two superstars?

“I think they want the two best drivers they can possibly get in the world. We do have more horsepower with them in that sense…”

3 Comments

Filed under F1 News, Grand Prix News, Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , , ,

September 20, 2013 · 5:42 pm

Fernando Alonso: “I have three more years with Ferrari…”

Fernando Alonso has done his best to put an end to speculation about a possible return to McLaren.

The Singapore paddock was buzzing today with suggestions that Alonso could return to the team after Martin Whitmarsh admitted that he would be happy to have the Spaniard back, despite the acrimonious end to his previous stint there  in 2007.

“Not really,” he said when asked if McLaren had any appeal. “I repeat more or less every weekend, I keep repeating, I don’t know why, that I love Ferrari and I will stay in Ferrari until the end.”

However he also hinted that things had changed at McLaren, and had a dig at Ron Dennis, who is no longer involved in the day-to-day running of the team.

“It is nice to hear comments from all the teams – all the team principals – every year, saying they respect my job and my personality. Especially McLaren, there were so many rumours that we had a lot of problems that year.

“I always say that I had no problems with anyone, it was just the philosophy of the team, or especially one man in the team, that is not really there. It’s good to have these comments, but there’s no intention. I have three more years with Ferrari and I hope many more to come, if we can extend the contract, and that will be my hope.”

2 Comments

Filed under F1 News, Grand Prix News, Uncategorized

Tagged as , , ,

August 24, 2013 · 7:37 pm

Jenson Button: “We weren’t lucky in qualifying…”

Jenson Button will start the Belgian GP from sixth place after a solid performance by McLaren in a rain affected qualifying session.

Button, who anticipated that the MP4-28 would be good at Spa, was actually happier with his dry weather pace in Q2.

“I think we basically got what we deserved,” said the 2012 Belgian GP winner.  “We weren’t lucky in qualifying, we didn’t make any outstanding judgement calls. We did a good job in terms of the car was working well, and we didn’t make any mistakes under pressure.

“It was such a difficult qualifying session, it wasn’t just which tyre to be on, it was how much fuel to put in the car in Q3. We weren’t sure whether we should put a lot of fuel in the car when we went out on the slick tyre in case we did have to go inters. But we thought we’d go one lap, because we want to get the most out of the slick tyre. That obviously hurt us, because when we put the inters on we had to refuel, and that took time. But I think everything went reasonably smoothly.”

Button was pleased with the car’s overall performance.

“The wet pace was good, not far off any car out there, but the pace I was very happy with was the dry pace in Q2, three and a half tenths off the quickest. The car felt like it was working very well. I think we’ve definitely made some positive steps forward. There are still areas where we’re not strong enough, and we’ve realise that this weekend, but we’ve realised that this weekend. But to be P5 in Q2, that’s really the lap that I’m most happy with.”

Asked to elaborate on the improvement in the car, he said: “I can’t be too specific. I think generally we have a better car, we have more downforce that’s working in the correct areas. The car feels good. In Q2 I really enjoyed the lap around here, high speed, mid speed, feels good, even if you compare it to last year’s lap. There are definite areas where we’ve made a good step, other areas we still need to improve for the next few races. Nice to make the step forward, hopefully we can show a little bit more tomorrow.”

Leave a comment

Filed under F1 News, Grand Prix News

Tagged as , , ,

July 31, 2013 · 11:20 am

Sam Michael: “I don’t want to predict anything…”

McLaren sporting director Sam Michael says that the Hungarian GP indicated that the team is making progress – and adds that the race could have been better had the team been able run its preferred strategy.

Jenson Button finished seventh after running ahead of top three qualifiers Sebastian Vettel and Romain Grosjean before his late first stop, while Sergio Perez overcame a bad first lap to take ninth. Both men started on the prime tyre and stopped only twice.

“It was good, but I think it could have been a lot stronger if we’d been able to run our strategy and run a three-stop, Michael told this writer. “We couldn’t run a three-stop because of traffic, whereas some of the front guys could. They just happened to sneak into the right windows to do the lap times.

“If we’d tried to do it, we would have dropped into traffic, and we wouldn’t have been able to pursue it. We stuck to a two-stop, but I think as the heat went up it looked like it would have been better to do three, because we would have had to save the tyres a lot less – we had to do a lot of tyre saving.

“So, positive signs, but seventh and ninth is still not where we need to be. We’re doing the right things, but we’re not there yet, there’s still a long way to go. We want to be back at the front soon.”

Jenson Button has made it clear that he’s optimistic about Spa, and Michael agrees.

“You can run your own strategy, because you can overtake easily. As soon as you get to tracks where you can overtake you can then just run to optimum performance, and you get a better picture of where you are then.

“I think there are signs that it will be more positive in the upcoming races, but I don’t want to predict anything. We’re not where we need to be. We’ll just keep our heads down and wait until we’re back up there.”

Leave a comment

Filed under F1 News, Grand Prix News, Uncategorized

Tagged as , , ,

July 1, 2013 · 10:24 am

Sam Michael: “We were strong enough to race for points…”

Sam Michael says that McLaren showed a much improved performance at Silverstone – despite the team failing to score points for the second race in succession.

Both cars were well placed before the final safety car, but after the resumption Sergio Perez retired following a Pirelli failure, while Jenson Button slipped down to 13th on worn tyres.

“With the safety car at the end we were looking good for sixth and seventh there probably for a while,” said Michael when asked by this writer. “I think we would have struggled to keep Lewis behind us, because he was strong and in a good position. But we looked like we could have had a good go at Sutil and Ricciardo at that point, so we should have been around the sixth and seventh mark with both cars.

“It was different to Montreal. I know there were a couple of positions there that we gained because of the cars that had stopped, but even so, we were strong enough to race for points today, which was better than we were in Montreal.

“We struggled with warming tyres up on the restarts, both safety car restarts we really struggled to get it going again. But that’s our problem, really.”

Leave a comment

Filed under F1 News, Grand Prix News, Uncategorized

Tagged as , , , ,