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[What's Burning?]

I don't think he was given a fair chance and he had his fight and confidence taken from him. He could have been nurtured and encouraged. He might not ever have been a top notcher, but he may have been closer than people are giving him credit for.
I am excited about Kevin though, looking forward to that.

Sergio never impressed me. But it was McLaren claiming he was the diamond in the rough. So maybe they just screwed up and like others have said they made a snap decision which didn't pan out. Maybe more cubic zirconia than diamond.

[NHcheese]

He was always behind. You can see in the points, yeah he has improved, but that doesn't count for anything. McLaren need to get back to the top, Magnussen is the fast talented driver they are looking for.

[CookinFlat6]

Does anyone find it disturbing that the 2014 team leader, with 15 years experience says this of a rookie teammate

That's the bit that I really care about, whether he can give feedback. We get the same number of days in the car in testing and he needs to give as much feedback as I give to help us move forward. so it's important that he learns quickly."

This is mind boggling stuff. 2014 will require unprecedented technical feedback to adapt a brand new car to the biggest regulation change ever, and the WDC team leader is already telling us that his feedback will be equal to the rookies?

Imagine Alonso (Mr I bring 3/10ths) telling us that his Ferrari cannot evolve without the essential input of a raw rookie

The driver whoms feedback and development skills are PEERLESS according to Whitmarsh is telling us even before the start of the season that the rookie must equally show development prowess

In which direction will the team take the car? 50/50 the rookie or the WDC team leader?

[What's Burning?]

One day cookin' Jenson will leave team McLaren and then what will you do?

[CookinFlat6]

Praise the lord

How did the Mclaren of Fittipaldi, Hunt, Lauda, Senna, Prost, Mika, Kimi, Lewis end up being led by Button into the biggest period of flux ever

BUTTON 15 years and one lucky half season

Button who is already running scared of leading the development of the car in the most crucial phase ever. Button is already getting cold feet yet we are told that he is PEERLESS when it comes to developing a car

[NHcheese]

This is coming to a change. The cars changed Aero wise massively in 2009, but this is totally different, the cars are changing driving wise, I think older more experienced Drivers will struggle. Webber left at the right time, Alonso and Button may be out paced next season by their team mates.

[racechick]

I think the drivers who will struggle will be the ones who can't easily adapt. Also it depends on the style and skill set of the driver.
The current cars don't suit Webber's style and don't really suit Lewis' either ( webber himself has said this, though he has still tipped Lewis as a potential world champion next season) yet despite this Lewis has adapted to do a commendable job in the current cars.....just not as good a job as he could be doing if the cars were less gadget/ tyre dependant. So I guess it all depends how the cars turn out. If they're beasts, expect the likes of Lewis to do well. If they're fancy, farty, tyre sensitive ,drive slow cars; well he'll have to adapt as best he can but it won't bring out the best in him.

And since this is the MCLaren thread ( sorry, I digressed to lewis ) the new cars should be a help to Kevin as he won't be having to learn something everyone else is used to. It will be new to everyone. Button? Well he can't find a balance in normal circumstances so I don't know how he'll fair with the new car. If it's a beast, not well. If it's the wussy sort of car, probably better.

[NHcheese]

I understand. Thats why it might be an even worse seson, as Vettel can adapt to anything, which is why he is so good. Kevin needs to be able to adapt to the car, not the other way round. Alonso and Vettel o that well, however Lewis needs a car suited to himself, then we see the true Lewis. Button will be alright, I don't see why not. Sure if they are competitive and Ferrari have a bad season, he will leave and let Alonso take over, but thts a different matter.

[racechick]

Lewis is (relative to others) better in a car without aids, one that relies more on natural feel, instinct and talent. But he's shown he can haul any car up the grid. Vettel on the other hand has only shone in a gadget aided red Bull. So I'm not quite sure how you arrive at your conclusion.

[CookinFlat6]

Lewis is proven to be the most adaptable driver along with Alonso. He has adapted to every single change and challenge near instantaneously. From tyres to a new Merc to a no blown diffuser to brakes etc. nothing affects his performance much. That's why it is said he can get max out of bad cars

Seb has struggled to adapt without his tricks and comfort zone, we saw big drop in performance when the blown diffuser was removed

Button is the least adaptable of all, we saw this in the second half of 2009, and we see this every weekend. When the wind changes direction he struggles, he cannot extract max performance unless the car is in his window of comfort I.e. The car must adapt to his needs, he has never been able to adapt to a changing or fluid car setup

We saw this last year, Lewis can drive around problems, button cannot

And next year is going to be a world of fluid and unpredictable setup attributes and the widest window of experimentation to get to optimum performance from a the new stuff

It is well known that button needs a car setup a certain way, next year teams will have to quickly find the setup that extract most performance and the drivers will have to be able to not just live with it but push in directions that are alien and 'strange' compared to what they know now

We are watching McLaren make an error 10x bigger than deciding not to evolve the 27 in a time of little on track testing and relying on sim feedback

[NHcheese]

They rely on the sim and wind tunnel too much. The car then seems undrivable. We saw that with the Williams today. The wind tunnel showed it was quicker before, however the new design is easier to drive.

[racechick]

Crickey, even the BBC Team are suggesting McLaren have kept the wrong man. Well done Perez!! V good drive!

[CookinFlat6]

It is typical of what the team has become with Whitmarsh. Even casual observers can see that Sergio has more to offer the team going forward than Button. He was punchy, he overtook Alonso, Button gained places by others dropping out ahead and got brave enough on the LAST LAP to use his tyres and overtake a back marker car. And Button has to be paid where Sergio apparently has some funds

[Hammer278]

Crickey, even the BBC Team are suggesting McLaren have kept the wrong man. Well done Perez!! V good drive!

Yeah I didn't expect that...wait, I'm confused between BBC and Sky. I get Brundle and Crofty (Sky or BBC?)....and Crofty was the one suggesting this while Brundle was keeping silent (expectedly).

[CookinFlat6]

"That being the case, Checo drove a solid and controlled race to come home seventh, which was in fact the position from which he’d started the race, further underlining how difficult it was to overtake here today.

"Jenson started from P15, owing to a troubled qualifying yesterday, but thereafter drove an excellent race, skillfully nursing a car whose left-hand front-wing endplate had been significantly damaged in a lap-one contact with another car. Despite the understeer handicap that that damage had caused, however, Jenson was able to record some impressive lap-times – and, driving with measured aggression all the while, climbed the leader-board to 10th place at the finish, expertly controlling his tyre wear, and taking a very hard-earned world championship point by pulling off a slick yet spectacular passing manoeuvre on Daniel [Ricciardo] on the race’s penultimate lap.

"That move marked a fitting end to a frustrating weekend for Jenson, but I hope he’ll take some comfort from the knowledge that today he equalled our old friend David’s [Coulthard] all-time record of 246 grand prix starts by a British driver. He’ll establish a new benchmark of 247 grand prix starts by a British driver next weekend in Brazil.

So no mention of Sergio overtaking Alonso or holding on to his out of position grid spot, only that had another first lap contact where another cars rear reversed into buttons front.

And now McLaren are meant to celebrate the mediocre? Seb wins 8 in a row but Jenson equalled the journeyman record and scored a point

How does one get rid of this TP as Bruce must be turning in his grave