McLaren has a ‘Plan B’ in case Alonso leaves

54 comments on “McLaren has a ‘Plan B’ in case Alonso leaves”

1. 

   Setroc
   2nd September 2017, 0:07

   Maybe it’s a plan JB
2. 

   Pete (@petey84)
   2nd September 2017, 0:17

   Does the B in plan B stand for Button
   1. 

      Gabriel (@naylamp)
      2nd September 2017, 0:23

      +1
   2. 

      Strontium (@strontium)
      2nd September 2017, 0:39

      Beat me to it, dang
   3. 

      Jordi Casademunt (@casjo)
      2nd September 2017, 0:48

      But does Plan C stand for…Coulthard?
      1. 

         Chris (@cgturbo)
         2nd September 2017, 1:55

         Plan D for… Damon Hill?
         1. 

            Shrieker (@shrieker)
            2nd September 2017, 2:17

            Dill ?
            1. 

               Mel
               2nd September 2017, 6:18

               Di Resta
            2. 

               Mel
               2nd September 2017, 15:13

               To summarize…
               Plan A – Alonso
               Plan B – Button
               Plan C – Coulthard
               Plan D – DiResta
               Plan E – Ericsson
               Plan F – Fisichella
               Plan G – Gutierez
               Plan H – Hamilton
               Plan I – ?
         2. 

            Sundar Srinivas Harish
            2nd September 2017, 2:18

            Plan E for Earl Bamber?
            1. 

               Godwin Joseph (@godwin)
               2nd September 2017, 5:02

               BTW Plan A is Alonso
      2. 

         Zeke
         2nd September 2017, 9:42

         “C” for Carlos
   4. 

      Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
      2nd September 2017, 2:24

      In spite of what looks like a wide set of permutations and uncertainty, McLaren is not yet a stage where they’ll sign a lacklustre pay driver. Alonso out means Plan C, Carlitos jr in in exchange of a PU swap with STR, if that falls through, then it’s Plan Button.
      1. 

         PMccarthy_is_a_legend (@pmccarthy_is_a_legend)
         2nd September 2017, 8:27

         @peartree
         Sounds like an amazing swap deal for Toro Rosso. Here we take your best driver and you take our crap engine.
         What a nonsense.
         1. 

            Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
            2nd September 2017, 10:59

            @pmccarthy_is_a_legend Nonsense, you don’t know what you are talking about. RB almost got STR Honda engines last year, Ron Dennis blocked it. Red Bull even started to sponsor Honda in motogp, they usually only sponsor riders. By the end of last year McLaren were beating STR on a year old Ferrari, RB thought about taking a chance with Honda, they ended up pairing engines with STR. Just saying, if McLaren get Renault they won’t need Carlitos…. that’s what I said, the PU swap is not imminent.
      2. 

         Just Saying
         2nd September 2017, 9:47

         And of top of it’s been called nonsense above, it’s nonsensical as Alonso will certainly stay if McLaren does a PU swap with STR. That’s exactly what he is pushing for.

         I’m still betting on.
         McLaren and STR to swap PU in 2018. RBR to join STR and take Honda as works engine as soon as the performance and reliability is there (might be years).
   5. 

      Today
      2nd September 2017, 8:12

      Plan C = Costs a lot
   6. 

      Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
      2nd September 2017, 9:54

      I read the title and thought it was plan Button too! Since Button is already contracted with the team for 2018 and is also the current reserve driver, I don’t see why they would go for anyone else if Alonso leaves.
3. 

   Joao (@johnmilk)
   2nd September 2017, 0:42

   Fernando, Ernando, Nando, Lando
   1. 

      Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
      2nd September 2017, 2:29

      That’d be nice.
      1. 

         Rick (@)
         2nd September 2017, 6:43

         Or that other McLaren jr driver who’s scoring more and more F2 podiums: Nyck De Vries.
4. 

   UNeedAFinn2Win (@uneedafinn2win)
   2nd September 2017, 5:42

   Fantasy booking McLaren, I’d rotate Andretti Autosport Indycar drivers for the rest of this season in one of the cars. Especially if it is the last hurrah for Honda.
   Why, well why not? They have zero to lose anymore and a bunch of good press to gain. Putting an Andretti, even if it is the career mediocre one, in an F1 car is iconic.
   Next year, if/when Honda remains and The Ronin decides on a sabbatical or a move to Williams, I see a lifeline for Wehrlein, realistically
   1. 

      anon
      2nd September 2017, 7:38

      @uneedafinn2win, McLaren have already been there with Michael Andretti in the past, and that didn’t exactly work out well.
   2. 

      Ryan F
      2nd September 2017, 8:58

      Maximum of 4 drivers per team per season. So you couldn’t do this anyway.
5. 

   John H (@john-h)
   2nd September 2017, 7:07

   CoTD is spot on. Of course they won’t admit or say that, but I hope they are at least thinking that.
   1. 

      Gary
      2nd September 2017, 12:01

      If they are thinking it, Laurence Stroll will cause them to think again by increasing his payment for Little-Lance’s seat to $45 million per year.
6. 

   David (@nvherman)
   2nd September 2017, 7:47

   “I look at Seb or Lewis and think: ‘If only I had your car.’ I acknowledge they are at the top of their game but I feel I could be there as well.”

   Not while Verstappen is still driving you won’t.

   Max makes Daniel look overrated (for the record, I’ve never really believed Ricciardo to be in the same league as the likes of Hamilton, Alonso and Vettel, whereas Verstappen is).

   Only one of Verstappen’s DNFs this season can be attributed to him (Hungary), so the relative points scores don’t tell the whole story
   1. 

      Ju88sy (@ju88sy)
      2nd September 2017, 9:00

      @nvherman The Ricciardo vs Verstappen team battle was one I had high hopes for this season, but thanks to Max’s car issues it has barely got going, with Max leading 2-1 in races and 7-4 in qualifying.

      Remarkable that both Red Bulls cars have only finished three races together!
      1. 

         Slavisa (@sylversurferr)
         2nd September 2017, 9:23

         Crashstappen on same league as Alonso Vettel and Hamilton?He cant even outscore Ricciardo.THat’s the best joke I hear in a while.
         1. 

            anon
            2nd September 2017, 9:37

            @sylversurferr, considering that Verstappen has had to retire from twice as many races as Ricciardo has, meaning that he has effectively missed out on scoring points in half of the races that have been held so far this season, it is not exactly surprising that Verstappen isn’t outscoring Ricciardo.
         2. 

            Just Saying
            2nd September 2017, 9:53

            Crashstappen

            Maybe you should hashtag it and you might start a viral.
            If a loonie can become president, why can’t another start a viral :p
         3. 

            Markp
            2nd September 2017, 11:38

            Max has hammered Ricciardo and shown him up badly this year. Ricciardo is very lucky this year with reliability and situations falling to him. Performance wise he is not in Max’s league. To any looking at the points we should apply the same rule to 2015 when Kyvatt beat Ricciardo on points. Ricciardo fans say 2015 was only reliability but this year they are doing the opposite and can only argue based on points.
         4. 

            Esploratore
            3rd September 2017, 1:46

            @sylversurferr: keep crashstappen for a driver who causes crashes often, I only remember him being the victim in spain and austria this year, once due to bottas, other time due to kvyat and a mechanical issue at start, which is the only reason why he was so far back and also, are you serious?

            They only JUST said, BEFORE your comment, why verstappen is behind ricciardo in the standings, but like someone said, he’s winning 2-1 the race-battle when both cars finish and 7-4 the qualifying battle, in fact it would be 8-4 since the comment was made before qualifying started, he’s outracing ricciardo everywhere he can; your comment surely looks more of a joke than the ones you replied to.

            In fact, like someone said earlier, ricciardo got outscored by kvyat some years ago, but who knows why, kvyat is now on toro rosso and barely scoring points (look what sainz is doing) and ricciardo regularly challenges for podiums as soon as ferrari and mercedes mess up, just as a demonstration how much points let you understand.
   2. 

      x303 (@x303)
      2nd September 2017, 9:38

      Only one of Verstappen’s DNFs this season can be attributed to him (Hungary), so the relative points scores don’t tell the whole story

      You mean when Daniel DNFed and Max scored points @nvherman?
      1. 

         David (@nvherman)
         2nd September 2017, 9:44

         Yes, maybe I do.

         In that case none of them can be attributed to him.
7. 

   Adam
   2nd September 2017, 8:06

   Yes McLaren, we know you like a good plan. Problem is, none of them are any good! 💣
8. 

   Tiomkin
   2nd September 2017, 8:42

   Mclaren will bin Alonso. There is only so much revenge in the world and Alo has suffered enough. I hope he learns the price of back-stabbing now. A real dumb move to go work for the people you screwed over.
   1. 

      Sundar Srinivas Harish
      2nd September 2017, 9:17

      So McLaren’s revenge plan was to ruin Alonso’s career by ruining their reputation? I didn’t know that Dr. Evil was hired as McL’s new CEO.
   2. 

      Marian Gri (@)
      2nd September 2017, 9:56

      Not really. Some people can get over past problems and be friends again. The problem this time for the McLaren-Alonso duo is that… they have another problem. Things do not work as ALO wants… again. Back in 2007, the car was great, the problem being HAM and with hindsight, it wasn’t the best move for McLaren to promote HAM. He was too fast and consistent out of the box. Had McLaren played it more like no.1 and no.2 OR ALO+a less faster and consistent driver as team-mate, McLaren would have won in 2007 too, not only in 2008, ALO being a 4-time WDC now. Now, in 2017, the problem is not ALO team-mate anymore, but the car. ALO wanted/wants a champ winning car, a car (Ferrari) good for P3-P5 most of the time not being enough anymore for him since long time ago. Had this McLaren-Honda car been fast enough to grab podiums and even some wins from time to time, pretty sure things would have been a looot better between ALO and McLaren. So, I wouldn’t say it was a bad move completely to go back to a team where he had some problems in the past, people can get past problems easily when they have the same goal, but things are bad again because expectations are not met at all for one of the parts: he wants a champ winning car, but after 3 years the team cannot offer him even a race/podium winning car. So, yeah, it was a bad move to sign McLaren again, but not because they had problems in the past.
      1. 

         Big Joe
         2nd September 2017, 10:56

         Hamilton was too immature according to Ron Dennis. Lewis kicked off the argument that led to the Stepney-Coughlin relationship being revealed remember and got unjustifiably upset at the Monaco team orders.
9. 

   Philip (@philipgb)
   2nd September 2017, 10:08

   Ricciardo is thinking if only he had Hamilton’s or Vettel’s car, meanwhile Verstappen is looking at Ricciardo and thinking if only he had his.
   1. 

      Martijn (@)
      2nd September 2017, 10:21

      +1 :-)
10. 

    Joshua Howie (@howie987)
    2nd September 2017, 10:36

    Does anyone else feel uncomfortable about the sport endorsing Pat Symonds, the man behind Crashgate? Same for the links between Alonso and Briatore, one would think that Alonso should’ve cut ties with a man who put him in an awkward position. Maybe I’m being harsh but I think it ruins the integrity of the sport as a whole and makes me wonder what else has been swept under the carpet…
    1. 

       Big Joe
       2nd September 2017, 10:52

       You’re right. Briatore, Symonds and Stepney. All involved in much bigger controversies with Michael Schumacher than Piquet crashing on purpose. In Schumacher’s day crashing on purpose was ‘part of racing’ and went unpunished.
    2. 

       Strontium (@strontium)
       2nd September 2017, 10:58

       @howie987 yes, absolutely. I don’t understand why these people both had their F1 bans overturned.

       With regards to Briatore especially, there was a conversation on here about this a few days ago, suggesting that perhaps that is part of the reason why Alonso cannot get a good drive. Who wants him around in their team?
       1. 

          Big Joe
          2nd September 2017, 11:05

          Briatore was an excellent manager and team principle. They wouldnt want him around as they’re probably jealous of what he did with Schumacher and Alonso on low budgets. Deep down, given that the cheating and spying still goes on, he is probably respected in private
       2. 

          Joshua Howie (@howie987)
          2nd September 2017, 11:21

          Sadly I think Briatore doesn’t put off any potential suitors; only a few months ago Toto Wolff and Briatore posted a picture online of themselves having dinner with no shame.
          I understand that politics and intrigue are part of the sport, but lines need to be drawn and elevating Symonds to a position of power is a disappointing confirmation of the more subtle acceptance that has already taken place.
    3. 

       Jorge Lardone (@jorge-lardone)
       2nd September 2017, 12:38

       Yes, it is very unconfortable. To see people like Alonso, Symonds and Briatore in formula 1 after Singapore 2008 is downright disgusting.
       1. 

          Big Joe
          3rd September 2017, 3:46

          @jorge-lardone

          Luckily you wern’t watching in the Schumacher era. It was the same people only heavier cheating and crashing into competitors for points not barriers.
11. 

    Big Joe
    2nd September 2017, 11:01

    All the excitement over Button getting a drive again, as nice a bloke he is, he will end up just as miserable as Alonso.
    Let it rest.
    If he really wants to drive F1 again offer himself cheap to Williams or Force India (he has to give 40% of his salary to his investor anyway)
12. 

    socksolid (@socksolid)
    2nd September 2017, 12:57

    As for the comment of the day I think there is more to it than just the drivers. Williams is now in 5th place in the teams’ championship with 45 points. Force india is 4th with 103 points and red bull is third with 199 points. With good drivers williams could only get one better – 4th. One position higher. It is unlikely williams could challenge red bull who holds 3rd even though redbull is suffering from a bad case of renaultis at the moment. To challenge redbulls the williams need a driver like bottas and a faster car.

    It is clear as day that massa is way past his peak. At most he is at the level of maldonado. But with less money. He only looks good because stroll looks so bad. The stroll kid is all money. His podium was total complete fluke and all he needed to achieve that was to not crash. With a better driver that 3rd place would have been a 2nd place. Or even a win was possible. He only needed to be couple of tenths faster in the whole race to get 2nd. Everybody else in the grid (except ericson and palmer) would have gotten that 2nd place.

    But what would that have achieved for williams? They’d be just one step higher in the team championship. Reading the numbers how much stroll could be paying for his seat: 30 to even up to 80 million dollars!!! Only a fool would not take the money. Which is more important for williams? Extra 30-80millions income with a one bad driver and that money also helps developing the car? Or two better drivers but with far less money to develop the car. In which case would you get 4th place instead of 5th and how much would that help you financially? It would be meaningless. Losing that 30-80million income though, that could be devastating.

    F1 is about the car 95%. If your car is bad you are bad. But if your car is decent then your drivers have decent finishes as well as long as they are horrible. And stroll is not horrible. There are no horrible drivers in f1. No, palmer or ericsson are not horrible. They are maybe below average.

    If you need to choose where to spend the money then super rich pay drivers and more money to develop the car usually is the better option. And realistically the best williams could achieve is 4th place. One better where they are now. Is that worth 30-80millions, maybe even more considering good drivers want money?
    1. 

       socksolid (@socksolid)
       2nd September 2017, 13:00

       Obviosuly meant to say:
       But if your car is decent then your drivers have decent finishes as well as long as they are NOT horrible.
    2. 

       chris (@9chris9)
       2nd September 2017, 19:12

       @socksolid

       It’s funny reading past comments on how crap Stroll is after watching today’s qualifying where he showed true talent in the rain today, out qualifying a couple of world champs renowned for their past performances in the wet.

       I think he’ll do just fine in the future (prob just ruined his career with that statement though (: )
       1. 

          Esploratore
          3rd September 2017, 1:41

          Yes, stroll has a part of his game where he’s good on: wet weather flair! Really have to give it to him, he was great in every session.

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