The cars still had distinct rear ends back then. Where would they put the second stripe now? Over the rear suspension assembly/parts?

The photoshop made me think of Toyota first.

Nice Photoshop attempt. Looks too much like an Alfa Romeo though.

You just need to move the rear stripe a bit.
But as I've said in other thread, this kind of livery would make Ferrari's title sponsor pretty happy

Edit: the middle section of a giant Vodafone logo would provide the same effect.

I like it, as fan of both McLaren and Mercedes-Benz I get to eat my cake and keep it, too. McLaren gains more independence, but keeps the great engines for at least the middle-term, probably keeps some (though lower) level of sponsorship (?) and also keeps the IMO classy and very nice livery. And quite possibly again with #1 and #2 on it. I hope the star remains on the nose and steering wheel, not only is it nice if the engine is advertised but no doubt McLaren will get paid for that as any sponsor would.

Another team in Mercedes colours is nice to me, as I like Brawn and Mercedes too. I prefer to see Mclaren winning, but if not than rather Mercedes GP then Ferrari (especially Alonso).

...indeed, as Ron Dennis rightly said, win win for everyone!

anyone think the merc logo will stay on the helmet aswell? I hope so. I know one thing for sure, the merc logo on the engine cover is gonskie! I wonder if mclaren will bring back their own logo on there? I dont think they will.

The white and red were the Marlboro colours. As you rightly pointed out, Alfa Romeo (among others, like BRM) used exactly the same livery. Both the black/grey livery with red or orange undertones (West -era, though not actually West colours) and the present grey/red with some black undertones livery are way better than the mobile cigarette package - IMO. I am not a fan of the orange livery used occasionally in testing in 1997-1999 (nor of the classic livery from 1968-1972), but rather that than a return to Marlboro colours.

Isn't the McLaren logo present on the livery now, as well? It surely was in the West-era.

With Kimi gone

and Brawn trying to get Button to stay

Please, please don't offer a seat to Heikki.

Button looks like a sure thing.

With raikonen out there are 3 drives that are worth the #2 McLaren seat : Rosberg, Heidfeld, Button

2 of them will go to merc and we take the 3rd one. As far as I'm concerned they have similar pace so we won't lose much with either of them

That would be a great match up, Lewis vs Kubica.

No preferential treatment, Id say its a coin flip of whose better.

However, like Alonso, Kubica will make a fuss if not suited equally.

Brazilian comentator Lito Cavalcanti confirms Button at Mclaren. Raikkonen will drive for Citroen on the WRC.

with raikkonen gone,my pick wouldve been kubica..but i guess whitmarsh had no idea the deal with kimi would turn out that way,so kubica wasnt even approached...heidfeld seems the best option right now,,

and please no heikki...pleaaaaaaase

Jenson has signed reports BBC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/motorsport...one/8363892.stm

warm welcome... all the best Jenson

Really Im not fan of Button, but welcome!

Hopefully the British press doesn't spend the next 12 months goading them to badmouth one another. Jenson has the potential to be a great teammate.

welcome to the last year of your F1 life Jenson. Im actually feeling sad for you already.

Hamilton is the boss, he acquires different handling characteristics of the car etc. etc. he is a much better driver. But welcome. I quess it can only get better when we are used to the useless slowalinen

But im sorry, you dont stand a chance button.

Welcome on board, Jenson!

"The move leaves McLaren with one of the most exciting driver line-ups in F1" bbc

what it would have been exciting had it been kimi

Kovalainen would still be in McLaren if he hadn't proved so rubbish, Button's got a long future at the team if he can contribute to the WCC. I don't believe he can beat Hamilton over a season, but if McLaren produce good cars he should be able to contest WDCs and get more wins. Brawn didn't appear to value him and haven't demonstrated the development pace to keep a car at the front, it's hard to say he'd have been better there.

agreed, i just think its career suicide. but no doubt will he get a better car, im just afraid, him beeing at Mclaren will show, how mediocre he is

Disaster for McLaren really, failing to sign Kimi and going for Button. I am not sure Button is a kind of a driver who can take the beating race after race, I can remember a few times this year that he sounded pretty desperate when things weren't going his way in the car.

Come to think of it, it is really weird that Kimi and McLaren didn't happen, after all Kimi said it's the only team in F1 he wants to be in, perhaps it was McLaren who just didn't really want him.

Expecting that not to happen, is like believing all politicians have convictions, stick to their principles, aren't swayed by lobby groups and never tell lies. Our press are already sharpening their claws to cause friction between the drivers. If there is harmony, WTF will our press have to write about? First it will be the dads don't get on. and it will get progressively worse. At least a foreign driver, our press would have known who to support. But what are our press famous for? Build you up and knock you down and expose every little secret and detail they can. Our press in general are absolute vermin.

I'm VERY surprised. I'm gonna be stoned for saying this, I'm not surprised by his "brave" decision, I'm surprised McLaren actually wants him.

Jenson is not mediocre, he is one of top 5 drivers today. But Ham is a quicker driver in his own team, and I can only see problems in this particular issue. Overall, Ham is known for his "brainfarts", and Jenson is quite calm and can finish majority of the races practically in the same lap time, lap after lap, and that could be his chance of beating Hamster.
All in all, good news for the team.

I think it depends on the car. If McLaren produce a good car I think he'll push Hamilton a lot harder than many expect, if they produce another awful car I think he'll be nowhere.


The Ragged Edge, yes unfortunately you're probably right. It's such lazy journalism too.

I know it's hard to concede he's greedy, but McLaren did make him an offer

maybe i should give button the benefit of doubt, i know he can deliver good stable results but. I quess we just have to see. What im almost sure about is he will be in a competitive car next year. I have more faith in Mclaren then in Brawn Mercedes

But if he signed, it cant be long until press release on mclaren.com, they cant wait now thats out

he's not top 5 before he got into that Brawn rocket. Heidfeld is just as consistent, and a better racer, not to mention has a more impressive record of teammate comparison.

One thing Luciano Burti mentioned during the broadcast at Abu Dhabi is that Mclaren needs to conquer the WCC. They've been without it since 1998 and that's something they are really targetting.

Button is a driver that can bring tons of points into the board as he proved with good, but no excellent cars in 2004 and 2006. Also, with a top car he managed to become the WDC in 2009. That perfectly fits into their needs.

Hamilton is their star driver, the one that was able to match and beat Alonso on his first season, won the WDC on his 2nd season, is the youngest ever WDC, has brought a car from nowhere to win races, podiums, poles and 3rd on the WCC and also trashed Kovalainen's career, someone who Alonso himself said was an excellent driver.

So that's a perfect line-up. They have the best driver on the field to get the WDC. And they have another driver which is more than good enough for the WCC and that in the absence of the first one, can get the WDC job done.

Autosport confirms Mclaren is set to announce Button today

That's why they also had Heidfeld in mind.

Yes, Jenson has signed, and is a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Driver.

Does he have to wait until the end of the year before playing with the Mac toys, or have\will Brawn release him with immediate effect?

McLaren has done it again! Congratulations!

Alberto Ascari & Giuseppe Farina
1953 Ferrari

Jim Clark & Graham Hill
1967-1968, Lotus

Alain Prost & Ayrton Senna
1989, McLaren

Jenson Button & Lewis Hamilton
2010, McLaren

There is no testing anyway.

With Jenson and Lewis, McLaren feel they not only have the fastest pairing on the 2010 grid, but also the two most complete, professional, and dedicated drivers in Formula 1.

offcourse thats why jenson was sec choice, but ok kimis greed ruined it for himself

And the girls, don't forget the two girls.

http://new01.ugc.kontain.com/photo/2009111...b_1920x1080.jpg

http://new01.ugc.kontain.com/photo/2009111...b_1920x1080.jpg

Personally never thought i'd see the day when McLaren would field 2 drivers of the same nationality, wouldn't have thought that makes good business sense!

I wonder, will we ever find out the real reason why Kimi was never signed?

I'm a Mclaren supporter and no fanboy, but do you even believe that yourself, or am I severely underestimating Buttons ability? As far as I'm concerned Button has a pair of Gonads/Cojones the size of the Amazon basin. I'll give him that much. This season will either vindicate him as a true champion worthy of respect, or discredit his world title as 100% car related.

Three reasons for Kimi not signing

- He wanted more money than Mclaren wanted to pay him.
- He wanted to do less PR stuff than Mclaren wanted him to do.
- He wanted to do more rallying than Mclaren was willing to allow him.

Very disappointing re the 1st point as Kimi insisted it was never about the money, he swore blind it was his need for a championship-winning car that would dictate where he ended up and he only had eyes for McLaren - what could have gone wrong?

I'm sure what we know/assume isn't the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth...

Kimi wanted a top team, with WDC potential winner car plus a big salary, no PR stuff and at least 50% of the WRC schedule. And he thought that he was the last and lonely cookie on the pack.

Mclaren simply said "No, thank you." and went for the other WDC available knowing that Brawn/Mercedes thought that Jenson would never had gonades to arrive at Mclaren next to Lewis.

All of them bluffed, Mclaren, Brawn/Mercedes, Kimi and Jenson. And I think Mclaren played the cards beautifully and they are the winners as well as Button.

Raikkonen loses a bit but still gets a ton of money and will run at the WRC, fullfilling one of his dreams (1st driver to become WDC and WRC).

Brawn and Mercedes are the biggest losers.

But this is over, the driver line-up has been set and now we should concentrate on the car and how the drivers manage to extract its ultimate performance and bring a pair of titles in 2010.

I agree. Raikkonens management team severely overplayed their hand and "came a cropper" I wonder if the Robertsons have spelt out to Kimi, the cost benefit analysis of Kimi taking a 1 year sabbatical? What will Kimi's value be worth in 2011, after taking a year out of F1, when currently he is only worth £6 million? If team Raikkonen only wanted a Mclaren seat, where is he going to drive in 2011? Strange strange decision IMO.

Damn it I wanted Kimi. Jenson's quick and he'll push Hamilton and with no refuelling his smooth style should pay dividends. Still I can see this ending in tears. Arguably Jense suits McLaren less than Kimi.

once u put aside the fact that we all wanted Lewis n Kimi for the fireworks on track...let me try to be a bit objective

Jenson's main cons

He is probably not as fast as Kimi (when real Kimi turns up...but who is certain real Kimi will turn up all season?)
His driving style might not suit the Mclaren (which is supposedly being built more to suit Hammy)

these are conjectures, not facts

Jenson's pros

There is no doubt his heart will be in it from day one till the end

He is at the moment more markettable for Mclaren's sponsors

He is reportedly cheaper

While perhaps not as fast as Hammy or Kimi, he is still a very good driver that should be dependable for the WCC

We get a nice one on Brawn/Mercedes after their early week shenanigans

He may be more useful in terms of car development, instead of just turning up and driving (as reported about Kimi)...also, who knows, the challenge of making the car perfect for Button might actually help the engineers n Lewis to make the car go faster


The main thing in the end is we dont need the fastest driver in F1 in the other seat (we may already have that), we just wanted a really solid one... for the WCC and all


Shame the Kimi deal didnt work out (Kimi n Lewis would have been awesome), but Button is the next best thing on the market...and im satisfied it happened.... and who knows, might turn out to be the better move in retrospect.