- 15 Nov 09, 16:58#169902Button is top of McLaren's shopping list now (Ahead of Kimi) because he's better value. JB at 8 Million is a better value than Kimi at the 20+ Million he's asking for (Yes, even with the - albeit smaller because he'd be driving - Ferrari payoff). Obviously, McLaren are trying to get Kimi to take a pay cut, but it seems the flying Finn is none too keen on the idea and thinks that the Ferrari issue is none of McLaren's concern.
From Button's point of view, he has two top teams fighting for his services. Ross Brawn is too wily to admit it, but he and that team desperately want to keep him onboard (And behind closed doors Ross has been reported to consider it a top priority). But that sounds like a better position to be in than it is. In his heart of hearts, we all know Jenson is Brawn's (The team's) man through and through. And having just started to develop a working relationship with the greatest mind in F1, Ross himself, he's unlikely to want to break off.
But money talks, and at £8 Million Jenson would have the smallest retainer of any champion on the grid, and a smaller one than Vettel, who Jenson beat fair and square. It's not an unreasonable demand. No matter what you might think of Jenson's talent. Ross himself considers Jenson one of the best, and he's said so. McLaren seem to be more willing to go to that level. It's difficult to see where the problem lies for Brawn in terms of paying such a fee - they have lots of earning potential and the prospect of being pumped full of Mercedes's cash. An extra £3 Million is not going to kill them.
The problem is, joining McLaren puts Jenson on the back foot. For all Whitmarsh seems to have done a lot to make the team a more welcoming environment for two top-tier drivers than it was in the dying days of Dennis's reign, Button is a very different driver from Lewis and Lewis has the benefit of being used to the team - he's McLaren's man through and through. Even if they're offered equal treatment, Jenson is at a disadvantage because Lewis is better integrated with the team and the car is guaranteed to suit him more because he's the driver they knew they'd have. And that's a huge issue when the two drivers have such radically differing styles. JB needs a predictable, consistent sweet spot. LH needs something rugged and adaptable with bags of ultimate pace. Those are difficult traits to have in the same car.
And so the likely result of JB going to McLaren is everyone concluding Lewis is better and the pattern repeating the next year and the next because it's a self-replicating issue - LH outdoes JB, so the team have to focus on him as their better chance, right? And so the problem is compounded, and JB has to spend years carrying Lewis's water.
And so Jenson is stuck between a rock and a hard place. In the end, I suspect the Brawn deal will go through. Possibly at a figure between the 8 million and 5 million marks, and with the sponsorship & endorsements freedom. But I have to imagine that if Rosberg is getting paid any more than £3-4 Million, Button and Goddard will not be impressed.
The Frome Flyer: Smoother, Smarter, Calmer,
Winner.
Jenson Button: Professor, Chauffeur, World Champion Racing Driver.
It might be argued that the super performance of the Arrows that weekend was a fluke, in that it just so happened that none of the competitive cars got the setup right in time for the race, and Hill did. Hill is known for his car development skills, and the planets lined up for him then, I agree only a few people could have done what he did that day but they would have needed HIM to set it up, and then it wouldn't suit them. The gradual improvement the Arrows made over 97 was 99% thanks to Hill's development skills. However it can't be ignored that the Ferraris were slow that weekend(Shumacher seemed to negotiating the Colorado River in a garbage scow), and so were the Williamses. Yes he was no Mansell Prost or Senna. My point is neither is Button, at least in the eyes of the team principals.
