[zenren]

Originally Posted by Hatari

Here's why :
http://en.espnf1.com/mclaren/motorsp...ry/137095.html

They had to drop him to make way for Magnussen after another team went back on their word.

Silver lining from all this is that McLaren didn't drop a talented driver and go for a driver with sponsorship money as other teams are apparently doing.

McLaren is the only top team in the last decade who was willing to take someone who did well in lower formats without proving themselves first with a mid field F1 team. They did it with Lewis in 2007 and they are doing it again with Kevin. Every other top team only took drivers who had already proven themselves in F1 in a mid field team.

Between Perez and Button, Button has more experience, more points finishes (consistency) as well as more overall points than Perez in WDC. Even the best place finish for McLaren this year goes with Button. Why should McLaren choose Perez over Button?

If Perez had a good manager, he would have got the 2014 deal from McLaren in paper or at least be in a position where he talked to other teams earlier in the season if McLaren were not ready to commit. This is the flip side in having a sponsor backing instead of a proper manager since your deal is also subject to what your sponsor decides.

In a way, it is good for the sport if driver & manager combination proves better than driver & sponsor combination since the former has more weightage to the driver talent while latter leans towards $$.

[Hatari]

Originally Posted by zenren

Silver lining from all this is that McLaren didn't drop a talented driver and go for a driver with sponsorship money as other teams are apparently doing.

McLaren is the only top team in the last decade who was willing to take someone who did well in lower formats without proving themselves first with a mid field F1 team. They did it with Lewis in 2007 and they are doing it again with Kevin. Every other top team only took drivers who had already proven themselves in F1 in a mid field team.

Between Perez and Button, Button has more experience, more points finishes (consistency) as well as more overall points than Perez in WDC. Even the best place finish for McLaren this year goes with Button. Why should McLaren choose Perez over Button?

Whitmarsh has admitted that they would not have dropped Perez had Magnussen not been in the picture. There's obviously talks and agreements behind the scenes which we are not privy to.

Hamilton is a different case altogether. He had done the most F1 testing for a rookie driver in the history of Formula 1 and now certainly no one will top that.

They need Button's experience clearly, Magnussen is still unproven and a bigger risk than Perez was.
It takes a new/rookie driver half a season to settle down in a new team, dont think McLaren can afford that in 2014.

I would not have signed Perez to begin with, but now that they have I felt they should have given him another year, given the lack of a proven driver (Hulk etc)

[Maky]

The Guardian reports that Perez & Hulkenberg are going to be racing for Force India in 2014 : o

[polopm]

Originally Posted by Maky

Already read it yes.
I was asking who do you think it could be?. The team that went back on their word.

Did FI refuse to take him and instead bartered a deal with MW to swap Perez and his millions to their side.
If that's the case, it's astute business.

[D33-PAC]

I guess it's almost confirmed then, The Hulk and Sergio "Checo" Perez for Force India.

What I don't understand is how Perez's millions come into play. Carlos Slim's companies (i.e. Telmex, Claro) have no relation to Indian markets or Asian markets for that matter. Putting their logos on the FI cars would be somewhat pointless.

I guess Perez's millions are merely a deal sweetener or seat price. Furthermore, I don't understand how Perez could be financially outgunned by Maldonado for the Lotus seat.

Perhaps Mallya would be happy to have Perez, since none of the major shareholders of FI are doing so great financially atm.

Perez's backers are clearly more massively serious about his career:

http://www.formula1.com/wi/enlarge/0...d13brn2132.jpg

BUt regardless, I am so happy for FI if this is true. This is easily the hottest pairing on the grid for 2014 besides Ferrari's line-up. If they get the tires and the aero right there's no reason why they should not be on the podium next season. Can't wait for Australia to come, this was one of those seasons that couldn't go by fast enough !

[sajands]

Originally Posted by Maky

The Guardian reports that Perez & Hulkenberg are going to be racing for Force India in 2014 : o

Same reports elsewhere as well,

Martin Whitmarsh has inadvertently confirmed that Sergio Perez will race for Force India next season and that it could be at Paul di Resta's expense.

http://www.planetf1.com/news/3213/90...ith-Perez-Deal

Nico Hulkenberg insists his Formula One future has yet to be decided despite reports claiming he has signed a one-year deal with Force India.

http://www.planetf1.com/driver/18227...l-remain-in-F1

The only question is where is sutil going? who has he signed up with....

-Sajan

[sajands]

Originally Posted by D33-PAC

What I don't understand is how Perez's millions come into play. Carlos Slim's companies (i.e. Telmex, Claro) have no relation to Indian markets or Asian markets for that matter. Putting their logos on the FI cars would be somewhat pointless.

Perhaps Mallya would be happy to have Perez, since none of the major shareholders of FI are doing so great financially atm.

BUt regardless, I am so happy for FI if this is true. This is easily the hottest pairing on the grid for 2014 besides Ferrari's line-up.

That's the main reason why mallya, took perez in for the money so that Force India can benefit from the cash flow in terms of upgrades and development plus a welcome change of new logos on the Force India

-Sajan

[Raajiv]

With the F1 2013 season over already , i am having withdrawal symptoms.
Cant' wait for the F1 2014 season.

My office laptop password even changed to "F12014V6".

[Maky]

Originally Posted by sajands

Same reports elsewhere as well,

Looks like it...

I think this would be the best possible scenario for FI.
Pay driver in the form of Perez who's actually 'ok' in terms of racing talent & a fast and consistent driver in the form of Hulk to score the WCC. FIs future seems bright if the above works out.
PDR has only himself to blame, apart from the one race where it was an issue with the car, he has DNF'd a couple of races. I really hope Perez comes and adds to the financial security of FI as Sutil is a known quantity as this point, we all know he's quick just not consistent.

It seems Di Resta has accepted his fate.

[polopm]

Why we will be missing Webbo on the grid :(

http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/story/119541.html

[PAVAN KADAM]

What about the floating rumours of Rory Bryne and Ross Brawn into Ferrari fold. ?

This will doom the Mercedes GP and Lewis boy.

[treadmark]

Originally Posted by polopm

Why we will be missing Webbo on the grid :(

http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/story/119541.html

We are really going to miss those quotes as well as a good and professional driver too.

I couldn't find Webber's congratulation message to Kimi on his wedding.

" Kimi it is good to hear that your are making a very bad decision, I think its not a good thing to get married, but any way if you want to do that, that's fine."

This was another typical Webber comment and in my opinion this deserves a place among the other 20 comments.

[zenren]

Originally Posted by treadmark

We are really going to miss those quotes as well as a good and professional driver too.

I couldn't find Webber's congratulation message to Kimi on his wedding.

" Kimi it is good to hear that your are making a very bad decision, I think its not a good thing to get married, but any way if you want to do that, that's fine."

This was another typical Webber comment and in my opinion this deserves a place among the other 20 comments.

Someone mentioned it in the comments section of that article. There are some more quotes in the comments, its worth reading some of the comments too.

[deetjohn]

A friend pointed me to this exclusive Q&A with Adrian Newey. Intelligent questions and nice insights.

Excerpts on 2014 rule changes.

Q: You are the most successful Formula One designer of recent years. Lately cars have mainly been evolutions of the previous year’s design, but 2014 brings with it massive changes. How do you go about that? Do you really start with a clean sheet of paper as legend suggests?
Adrian Newey: The first thing that you do is to read the regulations - very, very carefully. You try to read what they actually say, rather than what they intend to say, as this is not always the same thing. After that I’m actually breaking it down into bite-size chunks. Then you try to understand from the regulations the aerodynamic and mechanical packaging that appears to be the best solutions for those different areas. You go away and research them and at some point try to bring it all back together again. For me that is the important bit: the end product should be a whole and not pieces thrown together into one cluster.

Q: Coming on to 2014. Everybody says that from what they’ve seen so far, the 2014 cars look ugly…
AN: Well, it’s the regulations that define the car. And, of course, ideally the car is fast and has a stylish design. But everybody in the paddock will give a fast car preference over an attractive car - that’s the way it is. Yes, for me it would be good if a bit more consideration was given to aesthetics in the drafting of the regulations. But fast is paramount over beauty.

Q: Keyword 2014: Could it be that suddenly somebody is two seconds faster than the rest?
AN: Let’s start with the regulations. You can divide them into two parts: the powertrain and the aerodynamic changes. The aerodynamic changes are big, but they are smaller than the changes we had in 2009. So yes, there is the chance that one team comes up with a car that is better than their rivals’, but on top of that you have the engine changes and what is absolutely unclear is whether one engine manufacturer will be able to come up with a significant advantage. But the car that will brush aside all others will be a car having the combination of good engine and good chassis - if one side is letting you down you will have a problem. But who will come up with the ideal combination? That’s the big guessing game for all of us and will add spice to the 2014 season.

Read the whole thing here: F1.com: Exclusive Q&A with Red Bull’s Adrian Newey

[deetjohn]

BBC says Mercedes will announce Brawn' departure from the team today.

Brawn has yet to announce any future plans and insiders believe he will take a break while he considers his next move.

Claims of a possible move back to Ferrari as team principal are incorrect, according to senior insiders at the Italian team.

Read the whole thing here: Source