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 Sergio Perez 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 amd 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 yesterday 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.”