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Just five races into 2015, attention is already returning to the issue of Jenson Button's future. Kimi Raikkonen may be a few months older, but 35-year-old is the oldest driver on the grid. Last year, he survived McLaren's protracted dithering over its driver choice for 2015, but it is believed the British team signed only a one-year extension with the 2009 world champion.
At the same time, the Woking outfit has two drivers knocking loudly on the door -- reserve Kevin Magnussen, and the increasingly impressive McLaren junior Stoffel Vandoorne, who is the overwhelming favourite to win this year's GP2 title wearing McLaren colours. For the moment, however, team boss Eric Boullier is quiet when it comes to 2016. "There is no plans," he told the BBC, "no discussion so far."
However, he said it would be premature to write off Button, particularly as some have been surprised the veteran Briton is comparing well against Fernando Alonso so far in 2015 -- despite a retainer some three times smaller than the Spaniard's.
"People consider Fernando as one of the best drivers and they are right," said Boullier. "But it is underestimating Jenson a little bit. Jenson is a great driver and there is a very good working relationship between them. From that balance you can see both are talented enough to match each other and emulate each other a little bit," he added. (GMM)
Grand Prix of Belgium
G. Zhou
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Login to replykhasmir
Posts: 893
Jenson definitely deserves an F1 seat based on his experience and achievements. Problem is places are very limited and there are many eager to take his place. If Stoffel continues the way he is performing, it would be a crime if he doesn't get an F1 seat next year. But we've seen that happen before...
But I don't think it's a good idea to start your career at McLaren, just think about Magnussen. Expectations are very high and once you're out of the car...
And of course there is the money...
Btw, I read somewhere ART is seriously considering entering F1, probably for 2017 with the new rules. That would be great since Stoffel is currently driving for them in GP2 and we could certainly use some extra cars on the grid.