Posted on 12th December 2014
It was announced yesterday that after weeks of rumours, the McLaren-Honda Team have finally announced their 2015 drivers line-up, with Fernando Alonso coming in to join Jenson Button, while Kevin Magnussen drops to the reserve driver role.
Alonso returns to the team he raced for in 2007, while Button retains his seat for a sixth season after joining the team for the 2010 season. Between the two drivers they have three World Drivers' Championships and forty-seven race victories between them. They are also two of the most experienced drivers in the field, with Button having raced in 266 races and Alonso 235.
In their press release yesterday McLaren Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ron Dennis admitted that Alonso had been signed for a while, and it was decided to delay his announcement until the team had worked out who would be his team-mate. Dennis stated the following on signing Alonso and Button for the 2015 season:-
'I am absolutely delighted to be on the threshold of leading McLaren-Honda to a new era of partnership, and I speak on behalf of all at McLaren when I say that. I am equally confident that our colleagues at Honda share that determination and passion to win.'
It is clear for all to see that Dennis is happy to be leading the team during his renewed partnership with McLaren-Honda and that he is confident that both parties will be able to replicate the success of season's past and be able to fight for victories once again in the distant future.
Further on in the press release, Dennis expressed that he was happy to be able to sign two World Champion drivers for Honda's first year back with the team, and he believes that Alonso and Button offer the team the strongest chances of having a good 2015 season. Dennis added the following:-
'As regards drivers, McLaren's policy has always been to assemble the strongest line-up possible, and in Fernando and Jenson I firmly believe that is exactly what we have.
'We signed Fernando a little while ago, but we decided not to announce the fact until we had also re-signed Jenson as his team-mate. For many reasons our negotiations with Jenson took quite a long time, but, now that they have been concluded, we are confident that our collaboration with him will continue to thrive in the future every bit as well as it has in the past. Make no mistake about it, Jenson is 100% committed to McLaren-Honda, to Formula 1, and to winning.
'As a pair, he and Fernando are supremely experienced. Fernando has started 234 Grand Prix, has converted 32 of those starts to victories, has stood on a grand prix podium 97 times, and has won the drivers' world championship not once but twice. He is a class act.
'He is 33 – which, for an athlete as physically fit as he is, constitutes a Formula 1 driver's professional prime of life. Moreover, he is old enough to be experienced and expert, yet young enough to be enthusiastic and energetic. I therefore firmly believe he will deploy those four e's – experience, expertise, enthusiasm and energy – to drive forward McLaren-Honda's on-track success next season and for quite a few seasons to come.
'As for Jenson, at 34, he is every bit as fit as Fernando but even more experienced: he has started 266 Grand Prix, has won 15 of them, and has stood on a grand prix podium 50 times. He, too, is an ex-world champion, and is one of the smoothest and fastest guys out there.
'To sum up, Fernando and Jenson have started a combined total of precisely 500 Grand Prix between them – a mighty aggregate – and have won 47 of them.
'I can safely say, therefore, that we now have by an order of magnitude the best driver line-up of any current Formula 1 team.'
During McLaren's history in the sport as Dennis points out, their policy has always been to assemble the strongest line-up possible and he is confident that the line up of Alonso and Button will meet their objectives of achieving success as quickly as possible.
It is clear that the speculation in the paddock was correct about Alonso signing for the team starting next season and it has been rumoured that Button only signed for the team on Wednesday night after many weeks of negotiations. Even though it has taken up to three months for McLaren to announce their driver line up after much speculation, rumour and also after much frustration from fans on social media, McLaren have now secured the near future of Button who deserved to be retained after a reasonable season.
But you can understand why McLaren have decided to sign Alonso and Button for 2015 as both drivers are world champions, have won races and also still have the talent, passion and the commitment on the track to deliver. And from using their joint experiences within their careers so far, this will only help McLaren and Honda resettle into their partnership and build on a solid foundation on which they can develop and improve on during next season and beyond.
As for Dennis stating that the line up of Alonso and Button is the best driver line up on the grid currently could prove to be true but only if McLaren give both drivers the consistent, reliable and competitive car they need to be successful on the track. However, the prospect of Alonso and Button is making the mouths of McLaren and Formula One fans water but I would personally wait until the middle of next season to see how the relationship between the two drivers develops before making a judgement on how successful the line up has been.
Despite the announcement of Alonso and Button as the drivers, Dennis still had high praise for Kevin Magnussen, who steps down to the role of reserve driver for 2015 after making his race debut in 2014, and Dennis believes the Danish driver still has a big future in the sport ahead of him.
'I want to thank and pay tribute to Kevin. He] has done a great job this season and will continue to be an integral part of our team. He will be our test, reserve and third driver, and remains an excellent prospect for the future.'
Even though I feel sorry for Magnussen who has been demoted to reserve driver for 2015 after I feel he had a reliable and reasonable first season in the sport (and has not done anything wrong), I can understand why McLaren have taken the decision that they have in order to put in their opinion the two strongest drivers in their cars.
However, I do feel that the demotion of Magnussen may have been a pressured decision from Honda who would also want the two strongest drivers on the grid in their cars and also will have wanted to have used their past experience with Button and also his Japanese connections.
And even though I have argued previously that retaining Button for at least one season to take advantage of his experience and connections with Honda would have been the right thing to do during their first year together. But even though my heart is with Magnussen, it is nice to see that McLaren and Honda have given him a role still within the team in order to use his experience in the sport and also the chance to develop further as a driver.
Overall in conclusion, the news that Alonso and Button have been signed for McLaren for the 2015 season was to be expected. On paper, the driver line up looks promising, has the potential to deliver and also brings the team the experience and expertise necessary to build a solid foundation that will bring them success on the track.
Even though I understand why McLaren have undergone this direction with their drivers, you have to pose the question that we are all thinking in our heads right now; has the issues between Dennis and Alonso from 2007 been resolved satisfactorily?
On the surface, all looks to be have resolved between Dennis and Alonso, hence why Alonso is returning to McLaren. But I am wondering how long this facade will last and also will his return to McLaren be the success story that both parties believe that it will be? At this stage, I cannot answer this question but I hope beyond all hope that these issues do not resurface and that it does not affect McLaren, Dennis or Alonso again.
But it is clear that McLaren and Honda have chosen a driver line up that they feel is right for them and believe it will bring the success that both parties want, crave and need to deliver.
Sarah Jones
