Sky F1's Ted Kravitz and The Independent's David Tremayne debate Lewis Hamilton's title win, crisis at Ferrari & McLaren's 2015 line-up
Thursday 27 November 2014 12:41, UK
McLaren-Honda should prioritise points over potential and retain Jenson Button ahead of Kevin Magnussen, this week’s guests on the Midweek Report have concluded.
Although McLaren are believed to have finalised a deal with Fernando Alonso to re-hire the Spaniard seven years after he left the team following their 2007 implosion, an announcement confirming the identity of their 2015 line-up will not be made before December.
The procrastination leaves both Button and Magnussen in limbo as they wait to learn whether they will be retained. Button scored more than twice as many points as his rookie team-mate in 2014 and, having sounded resigned to the axe a month ago, the 34-year-old’s impressive end to the season has rekindled hope that his F1 career may be extended into 2015.
Button’s salary – the Englishman is reputed to earn at least £10m more than Magnussen – is the foremost obstacle against his retention, especially with Alonso reported to have signed the biggest deal in F1 history. But a second salient complication could be the length of deal the 2009 World Champion is seeking.
“I think the problem is that Jenson might want two more years – which might be asking a bit,” suggested The Independent’s F1 correspondent David Tremayne on this week’s edition of the F1 Midweek Report.
McLaren are reuniting with Honda for 2015, conferring on the team the status of a ‘works outfit’ which the Woking hierarchy believe is a prerequisite for winning titles in F1’s engine-centric new era. However, the scale of the challenge that awaits the new partnership as they strive to usurp Mercedes was underlined in this week’s Abu Dhabi test when the MP4-29H completed just five laps.
“With Fernando, you have the super-pace, but while Kevin has the superior pace over a single lap, he doesn’t get the job done as well as Jenson. Kevin is not the finished article and in the first year with Honda the finished article is maybe what you want in both cars," added Tremayne.
It was a viewpoint which was echoed by Kravitz just a week after Button's fifth place in the season-ending Abu Dhabi GP also salvaged fifth in the Constructors' Championship ahead of Force India.
“Jenson knows how to develop a car, he knows how to get the key things out of an engine which isn’t brilliant at the moment and score the maximum points," said Ted. "I think McLaren would be well advised to have Jenson in the car next year. Button-Alonso is stronger than Alonso-Magnussen.”
