UPDATE Since writing this article, I have discovered an article confirming that McLaren’s Spanish sponsors will stay with the team as the terms of the contract “make no reference” to specific drivers. However, the points in this article still stand - the sponsors certainly would want a Spanish driver.
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When Ron Dennis announced the departure of Fernando Alonso from the McLaren-Mercedes team, he was very careful to give a mention to McLaren’s Spanish sponsors (or ‘Partners’, as McLaren likes to call them - the capital ‘P’ being exceptionally important). No doubt these sponsors will appreciate the mention, as they are almost certainly fearing that their investment in McLaren is about to go to waste.
The actual contents of sponsorship contracts are known only by the parties involved (and claimed to be known by Tom Rubython) but we can assume that a large part of the deals that clinched the Santander and Mutua Madrileña contracts would have been the involvement of Fernando Alonso.
So, there is a real possibility that the terms of the contract dictate, in the eventuality that Alonso may leave the McLaren team, some sort of compensation may have to be paid to these Spanish sponsors. Though Banco Santander is pushing its international profile (it is widely anticipated that Santander will soon re-brand recent British acquisition Abbey under the parent company’s name) and will be largely unaffected by the loss of Spain’s national hero, the value of Mutua Madrileña’s involvement with McLaren must surely have gone down in the wake of Fernando’s departure.
So what can McLaren do to allay the fears of their Spanish partners? The answer can be found in the picture that accompanies this article. They can sign Pedro de la Rosa as partner to Lewis Hamilton for the 2008 F1 season.
The logic of signing de la Rosa goes much further than pure business. Though several drivers have been suggested as possible replacements for Alonso, none of them could, or would, partner Hamilton.
Let’s look at the candidates.
There is little chance that Nico Rosberg, a driver whose star is most definitely rising, would want to partner Hamilton. Though he’d love a drive in a faster car than a Williams, could he risk losing to Hamilton? Being a number two driver does nothing for your market value. Just ask David Coulthard.
The same could be said of Heikki Kovalainen. There is a big risk that the poor Finn could be out of a job next year, as Renault is threatening to reward Fisichella’s lack of pace and get rid of Kovalainen, just to keep Alonso happy (don’t you just love the politics of F1?). But Kovalainen would do better to sit out next year than play second fiddle to Hamilton.
By giving Hamilton a drive, McLaren have shown themselves to be good at picking out the talent and some have predicted that another McLaren protégé, Gary Paffett, may finally get a drive. But you should never place all your eggs in one basket, nor put two drivers of the same nationality in one F1 team as it makes little sense for sponsors, so that rules Paffett out.
And you can use all of the above to explain why Jenson Button, another driver pipped to replace Alonso, would never take the McLaren job. Jenson has seen off former world champions during his time at Honda and he hasn’t been beaten by a team mate since Fisichella (when he was good). He won’t want to risk ruining his good run and the McLaren sponsors won’t have him either.
Who else is there? Kubica? See Rosberg and Kovalainen. Or Webber? A possibility, but another Anglophone is nearly as bad as another Brit. Ralf Schumacher? Now that would be funny.
No, the best option all round is a driver whose career is not on the up, who won’t mind losing to Hamilton, and who will keep the Spanish sponsors happy. Whether they like or not, de la Rosa really is McLaren’s only choice.
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Photo: Phillip Asbury - Some Rights Reserved
