Everyone following Formula One knows that McLaren has still not announced a driver line up for the upcoming 2015 season. McLaren has already announced before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that they will be delaying their driver announcement until sometime after the first of December, which has lead to much uncertainty and speculation. Unless we have three car teams for the season, McLaren will be forced to choose two of the following drivers: Fernando Alonso, Jenson Button or Kevin Magnussen. Who can we expect to see in the 2015 seats next year?
I think that we will for sure see Magnussen alongside one of the Formula One legends for next season. Magnussen is just a rookie and still has many years left in the sport. I think that he has put on a spectacular performance in the 2014 season, considering that this is his rookie year. Although I think that Magnussen would have no problems finding a ride for the 2015 season, I don’t think that he will be the one to be left out of the line up. The majority of teams have a young driver just starting his racing career and an older experienced driver. It acts like a sort of mentoring program for the younger driver and helps to boost the driver’s potential. It is extremely unlikely that we will see Alonso and Button paired because, generally, when you have two experienced drivers teamed up together, it costs more. The more experience that a driver has, the higher the contract they are going to expect. I do believe that McLaren has the money to invest on this type of line up, but in the sport’s current unstable financial situation, the team will not want to take a financial risk of this magnitude.
So it is between Alonso and Button for the 2015 seat. Button signed a one year extension for the 2014 season in late 2013 and Alonso is currently contracted with Ferrari, but has been replaced by Sebastian Vettel for 2015. Because of how late in the year this contract battle has played out, all of the larger teams have already confirmed their driver line ups, meaning that the driver that doesn’t get picked will more than likely make an exit from Formula One. I think that it is wise to assume that we will see Fernando Alonso with McLaren for 2015 for three reasons.
Firstly, Alonso has had the better season. He finished above Button in the Drivers’ Championship. Secondly, Alonso is slightly younger that Button. Button is at the point of his career where he has already reached the peak of his career and he is now in his decline. Alonso may have already passed his peak as well, but most likely has more races in him than Button. Thirdly and perhaps the most important, Button has already expressed in interviews throughout the duration of this conflict that he feels disrespected by McLaren. This leads me to believe that if McLaren were to offer him a contract, he would either decline or want a salary that is simply too high for the team’s liking.
Whether we see Button and Alonso, Alonso and Magnussen or Button and Magnussen in 2015, it will be sad to have to lose such a great driver. Magnussen has so much potential and both Button and Alonso have so much valuable experience. Unfortunately, it is looking as though we are going to see Alonso or Button joining Mark Webber in the WEC series next year.
