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[myownalias]

You do think, after 15yrs Jenson could afford a bit more dignity and pride, and tell Ron to stick it.

At least with Mags you could see why he is hanging on with hope - he is young. But Button if expect more of. It's no way for him to finish his F1 career. Regardless of if we feel he is overrated or that he lucked into his WDC, the guy is being made to look a mug and should of realised this a long time ago.

Simple answer, yes, he has lots of money and money making opportunities outside of racing but I'd like to see him in WEC. 15 years is a good stint in F1, not too many drivers make it 15 years in the sport, I would have thought that he would have a contract elsewhere with a release clause if an F1 drive came up!

[Jabberwocky]

He can not be that well off, he keeps trying to sell me a morgage every time I turn my TV on

[What's Burning?]

Scarbs had confirmation about Honda's engine having the split Turbo just like Mercedes and the same air to air intercooler up front, (which is I guess the reason to split the compressor in the first place).

[myownalias]

That's the advantage of waiting a year, Honda can see what others have done and implement the things that have worked into their own design!

[CookinFlat6]

This is the real reason for Ferrari and Red Bull panicking and trying to get more updates. They are likely to lose on track to McLaren as well as forget about any customers in 2016.

Consolation is that, as Sergio says Ferrari are more about luxury merchandise than cars, and Renault can just pass on the costs to Red Bull or leave

[Hammer278]

That's the advantage of waiting a year, Honda can see what others have done and implement the things that have worked into their own design!

Yeah they can copy Mercs solution which was implemented 12 months ago and make a jump to 2nd place. McLaren might make a string of podiums in 2015 if they get the chassis right.

[What's Burning?]

That's the advantage of waiting a year, Honda can see what others have done and implement the things that have worked into their own design!

Yeah they can copy Mercs solution which was implemented 12 months ago and make a jump to 2nd place. McLaren might make a string of podiums in 2015 if they get the chassis right.

Like Williams did this year. Why McLaren wasn't where Williams was in 2014 is a mystery and it's a mystery that's not so much of a mystery to someone at Mclaren I'm sure.

[Nin-Chin]

Good decision McLaren. It was always going to be a tough call between JB and KMag but the only issue was the races really. Magnusssen is a good qualifier but just lacked something in the races. Japan was a good example... JB was running 3rd-5th throughout while KMag was spinning around and burning through his tyres yet to 14th (behind a Sauber) when both started on the same row.

[myownalias]

That's the advantage of waiting a year, Honda can see what others have done and implement the things that have worked into their own design!

Yeah they can copy Mercs solution which was implemented 12 months ago and make a jump to 2nd place. McLaren might make a string of podiums in 2015 if they get the chassis right.

Why is everyone so sure that Honda won't come up with a better or equal engine and McLaren a chassis that can compete. Mercedes had a clear advantage in 2014 as they could develop their chassis around the engine while all the Mercedes customers had to wait to get their hands on the power unit. I'm sure Williams will be stronger after a year using the engine, and with Honda, who knows, their offering maybe a monster or it could be fighting it out with the likes of Ferrari and Renault powered cars.

[Hammer278]

That's the advantage of waiting a year, Honda can see what others have done and implement the things that have worked into their own design!

Yeah they can copy Mercs solution which was implemented 12 months ago and make a jump to 2nd place. McLaren might make a string of podiums in 2015 if they get the chassis right.

Why is everyone so sure that Honda won't come up with a better or equal engine and McLaren a chassis that can compete. Mercedes had a clear advantage in 2014 as they could develop their chassis around the engine while all the Mercedes customers had to wait to get their hands on the power unit. I'm sure Williams will be stronger after a year using the engine, and with Honda, who knows, their offering maybe a monster or it could be fighting it out with the likes of Ferrari and Renault powered cars.

RD has sold his McLaren Honda of 1988 romantic fiction very well indeed.Fact is Honda was most recently the "Earth car" with bunny ears and their performance wasn't so hot when they left the scene.

Honda has vast experience in turbo, but so does Mercedes. Mercedes has had a test bed of not only the factory team, but 3 other customer teams with constant feedback to HQ. Their knowledge of their own PU will be decisive to say the least, while Honda will only be learning if their solutions are working in real life. Couple of weeks back they had no idea why their car stopped on track. Mercedes and the others had these issues in 2014 winter testing.

Honda's only advantage is the fact that they could copy a year old design and implement their own solutions along with it. McLaren has an advantage over non-Ferrari/Redbull/Mercedes factory teams only...with a engine manufacturer dedicated only to them. A good chance to probably fight it out with Ferrari and Redbull (although both these guys will also implement their solutions), and let's not forget the fact that McLaren were severely lacking in the aero/balance department....they couldn't keep up with a privateer in 2014. RD says he's made the changes required, these changes might bear fruition only in the 2nd half of 2015...soonest.

[CookinFlat6]

Even if they produced an engine on par with Mercs, Merc have a year x 4 teams data to make 2015 better. Honda wont have this. We saw what happened at the filming day recently, and that was a McLaren side problem. Also Honda tend to be slow burners, cautiously starting and ramping up as they get more entrenched in their development.
Alonso has said that its gonna take more than a year to catch merc, and Arai has said he is after race wins this year.

2016 will be their first realistic target, and even then they might find that their evolution through 2014 is severly hampered by the limited data feedback from the different setups and circuits. This was one of the main (sofar) unsung reasons Merc could maintain the gap to the others.

Merc will be absolutely untouchable in 2015, will make 2014 look like a spec series, wait and see

edit; beat me to it Hamms - although Hondas potential trump card over even Merc could be their research facilities in electric hybrid tech. They are the most advanced hybrid merchants in the world

[CookinFlat6]

Also we need to face the possibility that Mclaren become 2nd to Merc in aero. Newey has left RBR and his only possible successor peter P was poached by Ron. As far as aero go Mclaren could have all the capabilities RBR have had and were going to have had Newey not left.
So they have aero sorted, the chassis IMO was only bad because it was evolved around Button eg the failed understeer overdose on pull rod, that turnaround would have set them back for the 2014 chassis.
I think Alonso could trouble Nico a couple of times, and depending on reliability they should beat RBR but maybe Williams is a step too far

Merc-Williams-Mclaren-RBR-Lotus-Force India - Ferrari is my bet for the WCC nextyear

It makes sense why Ron was talked into keeping Button over Mags, as the 3rd place could be down to the minor points Button harvests to back Alonso up

[CookinFlat6]

Seems the bookies have already slashed Alonso and McLaren for next year,

Alonso is third favourite after Lewis and Nico, and McLaren are there with Williams, apart from Button dragging the side down they will be 2nd favourite

Crazy stuff

[Big Azza]

This may come as a shock to everyone, but I may have resolved my identity crisis for 2015. I love the prospect of Alonso and Button for next year with Magnussen being the future for McLaren. I was thinking that Alonso would be stupid to go to McLaren. He has probably 2 or 3 good years left in his career, and I don't think McLaren will return to winning ways. I'm sure Honda will be playing catch up until the next change in regulations.

I also can't see Dennis sticking around into his 70s.... Hmmm... Maybe I've just talked myself out of supporting them. ...

I think I'll just have to try and enjoy my off-season without thinking about Formula One....

[LRW]

BA - I think you should go with Williams. Everyone likes Williams.