In an interview with Sky Sports F1 later this week, McLaren’s Racing Director Eric Boullier has publically stated that the team are in no rush to confirm this driver line up for the 2015 despite speculation regarding Jenson Button’s future.
Earlier this month, in an interview with the media, Button has publically stated that he would like to remain with the McLaren team and believes that the team would also like him to remain there. Button also admitted that talks to extend his contract with the McLaren team (which expires at the end of the season) have yet to start yet.
In his interview with Sky Sports F1, Boullier said that little had changed regarding the situation surrounding Button’s future and also the McLaren team’s long term future. Boullier stated the following:-
‘It’s the question where I cannot say ‘Yes’ and I cannot say ‘No’. We are evaluating or assessing every strategy for the future and we are lucky to have two drivers who want to commit to us for the future. We have contractually some options which we can pick up, so we are not in a rush for next year or, let’s say, the future driver line-up.’
I would have to agree with what Boullier has stated this weekend regarding the future of Button and also of the McLaren team. As Boullier states himself, the McLaren team under his leadership are still evaluating and analysing matters internally within the company in order to get back to competitive ways as quickly as they possibly can.
And I believe that the approach Boullier is taking to ensure this for the McLaren team is correct. There is no question that Boullier has the experience and expertise needed in order to get McLaren back on track once again and they need to take the time as they are currently in order to achieve this objective.
In regards to the speculation surrounding McLaren’s driver live up for 2015, I think Boullier is handling the questions surrounding this issue correctly. As he states himself, it is really great to see Button and Magnussen wanting to stay with the McLaren team for as long as they possibly can and to help them get back to competitive ways once more.
Of course, there is no denying that McLaren will be looking at very possible outcome and options regarding drivers as they look towards next season. As Boullier has said in his interview, they have a range of options that the team could take regarding their drivers and will take the necessary time to evaluate every option available to them.
It has been confirmed that on Tuesday Button’s team-mate Kevin Magnussen has stressed his commitment to the cause on Tuesday when he spoke at the McLaren Technology Centre. Magnussen who was seventh at the Austrian GP on Sunday and was his best result since finishing second on his grand prix debut in Melbourne has said that driving for McLaren was a “dream come true”.
When Magnussen arrived at the McLaren factory on Tuesday, he received a standing ovation from McLaren staff and stated the following:-
‘Thank you, all of you, for giving me such a warm welcome this year. I promise all of you that I’ll work as hard as I can, just like you all are, to get us back to the front.’
It is really refreshing to see a young driver such as Magnussen so motivated, passionate and hard-working about getting McLaren back to the front and publically stating his commitment to the cause. As we all know, Magnussen has climbed through the ranks of the McLaren Young Driver Programme and was rewarded with his hard work by replacing former driver Sergio Perez this season.
At this point of the season, I have to say that I have been impressed with the performances of Magnussen. He has shown that when he has the opportunity and the car underneath him, he can deliver and bring home some much needed points for the team. Even though Magnussen is a rookie, I do believe that if McLaren are extract more pace and performance from the car and he is able to put everything together, he will further improve and deliver once more.
I do firmly believe that McLaren did this season I admit take a gamble on putting Magnussen in the car to replace Perez but I believe that this season Magnussen has showed that he is a potential talent of the future and will only improve as he gets more experience in Formula One and he settles in further with the McLaren team.
Over the past few days, the impasse has led to a flurry of stories suggesting that McLaren will approach Fernando Alonso. This is a clear sign that F1’s ‘silly season’ has arrived came earlier this week when both Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton (now a title contender at Mercedes having left the team only 18 months ago) have been linked as a possibility of driving for the McLaren team next season.
Earlier this year saw, McLaren’s CEO Ron Dennis returning to the sport and also to the McLaren team and has been looking alongside Boullier to make organisational changes at McLaren, also reckoned their efforts are now starting to bear fruit. Boullier stated the following on the subject at hand:-
‘We addressed all the issues internally and I believe we made all the right changes. We have seen already from Austria the first benefit from the change we have done to the organisation and I think now we are heading the right way.’
If anyone does not know, I am big McLaren fan and I do believe that under the leadership of Boullier, McLaren in time will once again get back to competitive ways once more. As Boullier states himself, they have made the necessary changes that they feel will benefit the team now and also in the long term. This is great news for McLaren fans but I do still feel that the changes that have been implemented in the team will take time to settle in and also time to see the impact and results of these changes too.
Even though Boullier is right in saying that Austria showed that McLaren have made small steps to their performance with their car and also on track, I do feel that they still have a bit of work to do in order to close the gap fully to their rivals. But the main thing is that McLaren have started to take small steps in order to close down the gap and extract as much performance and pace from the car as they possibly can.
All McLaren can do under the leadership and guidance of Boullier is to ensure that they take the necessary time to make sure that they are strengthened internally as much as possible and keep building upon the foundation as much as possible. They
also need fully understand and evaluate every option that they have available to them in regards to the driver line up and select the best option they feel will help meet their overall aims and objectives.
And finally, McLaren need to ensure that they extract as much pace and performance from the car throughout the remainder of the season before turning their attentions to the 2015 season and renewing their partnership with Honda. It would seem that McLaren feel that they have everything in place that they need to fight their way back to the front of the grid once more. Question is; how quickly can McLaren achieve this? Only time will tell.
