Then there is the driver line-up. Privately, there is an acceptance that it is
not as strong as it could possibly be. Button has proved that he can win
races and championships when given the right car, and the 33-year-old
remains hugely popular with both the team and their sponsors.
However, Hamilton’s raw pace has undeniably been missed this year and
there remain doubts that Pérez will ever graduate into champion material.
The Mexican, of course, was partly signed with the intention of opening up a
new sponsorship market to a team reeling from the news that Vodafone was
pulling the plug as title sponsor. However, with Honda coming on board in
2015, there no longer remains a financial imperative to retain him, meaning
the team can once again look to secure the strongest line-up possible.
This is where Alonso comes in. The Spaniard’s tiff with Ferrari this summer
alerted their rivals to his potential availability and he would undoubtedly
represent a huge coup for a team which has seemed gripped by inertia in
recent years.
The Spaniard left McLaren on horrendous terms in 2007, of course, after his
relationship with then team principal Ron Dennis deteriorated irrevocably.
However, while Dennis remains group chairman, he no longer has any active
involvement in the F1 team and Whitmarsh may have felt he could sell Alonso
a vision of a Mercedes-engined car in 2014 with Honda due to come in with
their millions after that.
Button said yesterday that he had not heard anything about a possible move for
Alonso, but admitted that he would find it “exciting” to work with the
Spaniard.
If Whitmarsh did attempt to woo Alonso, apparently it did not come off.
Certainly he was not speaking on like someone about to up sticks and quit
Ferrari, even going so far as to say that he suggested Raikkonen when it
became clear that Felipe Massa would be ditched. “They chose Kimi, so I am
happy,” Alonso said. “No one will push me more than I push now.”