So he can test in Spain next week. My question, will McLaren release Kimi from his contract so he can test for Ferrari before January 1? Or is my opinion of Ron Dennis truly accurate?
He didn't want to let JPM out of his contract, either. He wanted to fire him AND not let him go anywhere else.
It's quite ridiculous that either team is holding on to the drivers. But then again it doesn't matter that much anyway with the Holidays coming. Regarding Ron Dennis: I can't stand the guy. He is pure evil.
It's all business now more than ever-no different in MotoGP either as Honda made Rossi wait til 12:00am 1/1/04. Contrast today's F1 with the excellent pictures from Watkins Glen circa 1976-1979 on another thread where everyone could check out the cars, talk to the drivers, etc...
Don't know about that, but Ron Dennis has the reputation of ALWAYS respecting a contract and in exchange expect everyone to do the same.
Tell me that cannot change ? To something like 'until 2 weeks after the after the last race of there year, UNLESS the driver or chassis wins the championship, in which the contract will be in force until (pick a date, 4-6 weeks later) so the current sponsorship can take advantage of it'. After all, they paid for it.
While it does suck, I can see why he'd do that. Ferrari is likely to be faster than McLaren next year. The more familiar Kimi is with the Ferrari, the more chance that they will be further ahead. Ron is paying Kimi though end of 2006... why give something away for free that could benefit the competition? Think about the money they spend on tiny performance gains - tens of thousands of dollars on simple items like bolts or making minute aero differences. Who wouldn't take advantage of a freebie that certainly won't hurt, and may help? Yep, I know about sportsmanship, but money has trumped sportsmanship for years now.
Yet he's asking Renault to release Alonso early... But anyway, it's up to Ferrari to ask Ron to do the same, not the other way around. Best, Peter
By the same token, if something is free - like asking to have a driver released - why not request it? The worst they can say is no, and he's where he is today. If they say yes, he benefits. I don't see the problem. The only issue is that some may feel Ron is being two-faced, asking for something he himself would not do. But haven't we all done that from time to time? Besides, maybe there is a different situation with Flavio than between Ron and Ferrari. They do like to gang up on Ferrari, so maybe Ron and Flav have no problem helping one another out to Ferrari's detriment. I don't particularly think it says anything too bad about Ron. I'm not sure Frank Williams or Mario Theissen or many others would do it any differently, but it *does* get heavily reported when it's Ron.
I think for the right amount of money Ron would release Kimi, but Ferrari simply hasnt asked. After all, didnt he have the intentions of releasing Montoya from contract provided he agreed to forfeit his McLaren earnings for the reminder of the season? By contrast Id be very surprised if Flav released Alonso early. Flav helping Ron out! Thats like Bernie saying he earns too much from F1 and would like to give it back to the fans!
One of the reasons could be that some drivers are contracted to do some PR until the end of their contract. Many years ago, when I was working for Shell here in UK, the teams that received Shell sponsorship used to bring their drivers for some corporate entertainment at Christmas time at the HQ in London. Their circuit was not only Shell UK, but also Shell Oil US in Houston, Deutsche Shell, Shell Francaise, etc... This is how I met many drivers from Matra, Porsche, McLaren. etc... I remember one year Ayrton Senna was dragging his feet to renew his contract with McLaren and said he wouldn't attend the gathering in London(he re-sign at the begining of the next year), prefering to enjoy the sun in Brazil. McLaren proposed Jonathan Palmer as substitute to partner Alain Prost as guest of honor during the dinner. That was almost accepted until the Chairman heard about it and is reported to have said: "Do you know how much we are paying this guy!" The legal department at Shell quickly contacted Ayrton and advised him that he was under contract until the 24th hour of December 31st and would be in breach of contract if he refused to fullfil his obligations and come to the function, with the threat of a law suit. Ayrton was on the next plane to UK.
Rossi took the entire team with him. Honda was pissed. However, it wasn't like they didn't deserve what they got from him. They thought he was stuck there, but he sure proved them wrong. They got the world championship this year because Yamaha had a lot of bad luck, but I sure wouldn't count on that again if I were them. Art
