mikeerfol wrote:oT v1 wrote:Any rumours on the main sponsor yet?? Even with honda money and a budget surplus going into 2014, it's a wasted year if don't get anything :\
mikeerfol wrote:Nothing to do with the 2014 team
Come on man, it's as valid as any other Honda talk in the thread, and let's be honest will have a huge effect on the team!
Maybe, but remember there's the "Honda back to F1" thread.
do people actually read?
it's not a wasted year at all. they'll be having 100 MILLION USD each year handed out from honda certainly as of 2015,
but one might wonder whether they'll perhaps be getting some for 2014 already. VODAFONE, just to repeat for the thousand time, payed 50% of their sponsorship contract for 2014. they didn't pay 100% because they left early.
in the meantime, they've refreshed their santander deal. Apart from that, just take a look at the list of partners on their official website.
absolute rubbish to think they'll have a wasted year. apart from that, this has been discussed dozens of times through dozens of topics.
Mclaren is healthy as can be, won't miss out on anything, and their only concern for 2015 will be if the car itself is a better product than last year's doghouse, which isn't really hard to be honest. They'll have the benefit of a strong reliable and competetive merc engine, and benefit from the renault struggle. Their only concern of competition for this year will be Ferrari and Mercedes AMG. Ferrari's ace in the hold is the driver combo, i think the Ferrari engine is great, but i doubt the car will be.
The only real concern for Mclaren is their driver pairing. Button has proved his abilities and by the looks of it, this new format fits his profile. Magnussen is a gamble, even though i must say i didn't really have high hopes for him, but i'm starting to warm up to this guy. Still a risk though, but let's face it; Kovalainen was concidered a well driver but underwhelmed, and Alonso didn't fit in there. So the 'best drivers' in 1 team is no guarantee.
But the Mclaren re-organising will surely help the team because it reminds me of the format mclaren ran when they actually did home in championships. Mclaren under the helm of Whitmarsh was a pleasent breathing team - they looked like a great place to be - at the cost of actually doing what is their goal: winning championships.