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[andrew]

Wouldn't you say if his team mate was being favoured he'd want out ASAP?

Not if he's a masochist - one never knows, could be an after effect of his Honda years...

He's never driven for Honda.

Oops, was thinking of JB - duh!

You could be right though. It's likely that his on/off missus tried out a few of her songs on him (little wonder he's not done well this year) and us regular radio listeners are left with the lesser of a lot of evils.

Ron did not constantly wax lyrical about Lewis over Alonso, not until Alonso blackmailed McLaren.

I don't agree with that statement, I believe Ron Dennis 'waxed lyrical' just as much about Lewis. Guess we'll have to agree to disagree on that point...

Have to agree with MOA.

[bud]

Ron did not constantly wax lyrical about Lewis over Alonso, not until Alonso blackmailed McLaren.

I don't agree with that statement, I believe Ron Dennis 'waxed lyrical' just as much about Lewis. Guess we'll have to agree to disagree on that point...

She said up until Fernando blackmailed the team. After that he (Fernando) was on the outer.

[myownalias]

Ron did not constantly wax lyrical about Lewis over Alonso, not until Alonso blackmailed McLaren.

I don't agree with that statement, I believe Ron Dennis 'waxed lyrical' just as much about Lewis. Guess we'll have to agree to disagree on that point...

She said up until Fernando blackmailed the team. After that he (Fernando) was on the outer.

And also Heikki all the way through 2008... but again I disagree, Ron Dennis was praising Lewis much more than Fernando... Lewis was RD's little protege.

[bud]

Maybe from the outside fan but as a McLaren fan I'd read most if not all press releases and both RD and MW were behind Heikki with positive comments.

[Hammer278]

Ron did not constantly wax lyrical about Lewis over Alonso, not until Alonso blackmailed McLaren.

I don't agree with that statement, I believe Ron Dennis 'waxed lyrical' just as much about Lewis. Guess we'll have to agree to disagree on that point...

She said up until Fernando blackmailed the team. After that he (Fernando) was on the outer.

And also Heikki all the way through 2008... but again I disagree, Ron Dennis was praising Lewis much more than Fernando... Lewis was RD's little protege.

Actually RD was very kind to Heikki, the way he was defending him was I think VERY generous. They were way more political about it than Ferrari are with Massa "he has to prove himself next year blablabla"....

Heikki simply underperformed...and when he left, he talked trash about Mclaren supporting the Brit..this that. Jeez, Ron Dennis doesn't even like Brits...his favs during DCs time was Mika and Kimi and then Alonso, right up till the repeated backstabbing.

[bud]

DC is a Scot, maybe if he were an Englander Ron might have liked him more. I think with Mika his near death experience in Adelaide brought him and Ron close as friends.

[racechick]

'We're not in any rush'

Here's another article on lewis and McLaren and the possible signing.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/96574

Note Whitmarsh's comments are completely free of the superlatives he used during his Button contract negotiations and since......

[bud]

this does my head in, getting annoyed at superlative words? You don't know the context in which MW words were used here,By the sounds of it he was asked a question by a passing journo in the paddock. While you're comparing to a one on one interview sessions where he talked said superlatives about Jenson. Ofcourse he will be more in-depth in those scenarios. Also it must be said this was all in the latter stages of signing Jenson. As we can see here this is just preliminary talks with Lewis.
Are we getting so petty that Team principals have to count the positive words being said about one driver and then counter it with the other as to not be lop sided?

[racechick]

No. He just didnt sound that bothered whether Lewis signed or not. Which is fine. His choice.

[McLaren]

Whitmarsh is confident there won’t be any hitches when negotiations finally start in earnest with Hamilton.

And he has vowed to help the Brit enjoy a much more successful season in 2012.

“I’m fairly confident we’ll find a good way forward.

“In years to come he’s going to be very, very great as a driver and he will win plenty of races for McLaren I’m sure,” said Whitmarsh.

“I’ve known him since he was 11, so I want to see him happy and contented.

“He’s a great driver in this team, but he is still a young man I’ve seen grow up.

“It sounds corny if you start calling them your children. He is a man, a great asset and he deserves to be happy, to be enjoying his enormous talents in his career.”

Doesn't sound like words of a man that wants him out

[racechick]

Guess we'll have to wait and see.
Interestingly it was Whitmarsh who dealt with Lewis' dad before he came to F1 when his dad wanted him to move up the categories quicker than McLaren were moving him , it was from F3 to F2 (D'you remember that?) I thought Ron did that negotiating but it was Whitmarsh. Whitmarsh said it was frustrating and he tore up the contact and told them they were free to go.

[bud]

You mean you will have to wait and see... the logical people out there won't need to.

[myownalias]

@bud and Hammer278: The point I am getting at is that RD didn't talk about Heikki in the same way as Lewis, rightfully so, Lewis was driving better and deserved the praise, and in regards to this season, Jenson drove better than Lewis so deserves the plaudits he has received, MW has also defended Lewis in spite of his crashes and off track behaviour!

[racechick]

Lewis' 'off track behaviour',whatever that is, is Lewis business. If McLaren dont like it and dont want him, fine, they dont have to sign him. They can look around for a faster driver.

[acosmichippo]

MOA's point was that given Lewis' relative lack of performance, as well as some questionable off-track behavior, it's completely understandable that his vocal support of Lewis was slightly more understated than that for Jenson.