13/10/2007
FEATURE BY GUEST AUTHORS
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So it would appear that the relationship between Fernando Alonso and McLaren has completely broken down, with bridges not so much burnt as the target of a nuclear strike. If this is true then there will shortly be a void in one of the most desirable seats on the Formula 1 grid.
Inevitably the ITV commentary team have started getting moist at the thought of Jenson Button joining McLaren to partner the boy Hamilton. Surely I can't be the only person to think that Button is a busted flush. Throughout his career he has more often than not driven at the level of his equipment rather than above it.
This is no criticism of Button. There are many drivers on the grid who are good in a good car and average in an average car. Both drivers at Toyota fall into this category, as does Coulthard, whose continued presence on the F1 grid indicates that either Martin Brundle is the best driver manager in the world or he knows where all the F1 bodies are buried.
As with nuclear accidents, one can count the number of great drives by Jenson Button on the fingers of one hand, with change. By comparison, Sebastian Vettel has demonstrated a level of skill in inferior equipment which belies his age and relative inexperience. He also showed immense mental toughness rising above the disappointment of Japan by putting it completely out of his mind and driving from 17th to 4th in one of the most impressive displays of driving ability in changeable conditions I've ever seen. Furthermore he has demonstrated real class as a person by not getting drawn into the public debate about Hamilton's antics behind the safety car and simply putting his hand up and accepting responsibility for screwing up.
I've been saying to fellow Formula One fans, since the start of Hamilton's amazing debut season, that we won't fully be able to judge his genius until he finds himself in a pig truck. Similarly we will learn a great deal more about Vettel's character when he finds himself in the cut and thrust of a championship battle.
For example, Alonso, who first impressed at Minardi, has disappointed me in recent months by allowing Hamilton to get under his skin. Similarly, Hamilton has, in my opinion, shown himself to be ungrateful and disrespectful by his part in the debacle at Hungary when he disregarded an instruction from the team and precipitated the break down in relationships at McLaren.
One of the joys of watching the junior formulae is that you get to see youngsters who eventually make it into Formula 1 up close and personal before they disappear behind Bernie's Iron Curtain. It was at a Formula Renault race at Donington Park that I saw Lewis Hamilton on the track and in the pit lane for the first time. His talent was beyond doubt and he seemed like a thoroughly decent lad out of the car. The other thing that was obvious from his sponsorship was that McLaren were ensuring that he did not struggle for cash to fund his rise through the ranks. His family would not have been able to find the £5 million pounds that it is estimated to cost to get from your first kart race to Formula 1. This means that Lewis is not like any other driver who has ever driven for McLaren. He owes them everything.
I can cite many examples of talented youngsters who fell be the wayside for want of the ability to fund their nascent racing careers. Ron Dennis offered Ayrton Senna a similar deal when he was a talented youngster on the way up. Senna was in the position to decline because of his family's wealth. Hamilton was not. In this context Hamilton's behaviour in Hungary and his admission in subsequent interviews that he was simply looking out for number 1 shows a real lack of class and means that he has lost me as a fan. Which is a real pity because I really wanted to like him and get behind him because he is clearly one of the most talented drivers of his generation.
Fortunately one of the side effects of the subsequent collapse of relations at McLaren is that he may find himself joined by Vettel, who along with Kubica clearly falls into this category also. As Dr Lawrence would say, follow the money. The single biggest shareholder at McLaren is now Mercedes. They are surely going to leap at the chance to slide a German into the other seat alongside Lewis should Alonso head for the exit. Do not be surprised if they make Toro Rosso an offer they cannot refuse for Vettel's contract. The only caveat to this hypothesis is that Vettel did come into Formula 1 as a BMW man and so there may some residual contractual links that are not in the public domain. This being the case, Vettel's only serious rival for the seat at McLaren can be Timo Glock. Although he too has BMW links, but BMW has no reason to drop either of their drivers and so the offer of a race seat would no doubt lure him away.
All this said though, my prediction is that should Alonso and/or Dennis pull the plug on their current contract Vettel will relocate to Woking and, with Hamilton, create the strongest driver pairing since Senna and Prost, with Glock replacing him at Toro Rosso.
The off-season should keep the contract lawyers very busy.