23/11/2013
NEWS STORY
Martin Whitmarsh claims that a rival team which had agreed to run Kevin Magnussen in 2014 reneged on the deal, thus ‘forcing’ McLaren to drop Sergio Perez.
The astonishing claim came to light in an interview with the official Formula One website and is sure to have fans guessing the identity of the team.
Whitmarsh claims that his aim was to keep Sergio Perez alongside Jenson Button in 2014 and farm out Magnussen to another team in order that he could gain experience before moving to the Woking.
"I hoped and tried to find him a cockpit,” said Whitmarsh. "I even did a deal and shook hands with a team principal up and down this paddock, an absolute deal, but he stepped back.
"Even after 25 years I find that difficult to deal with," he continued, "I know I shouldn't, but I am still hopelessly naive. I still think that if you look somebody in the eye and shake hands then that's a done deal. When it turns out like in the Magnussen case, then I'm shocked... and I tell myself 'learn, don't be naive'.
"If Kevin didn't exist, probably Checo would still be driving for McLaren next season," said Whitmarsh. "But Kevin does exist. My first choice for Kevin was to put him in another team and do a year or two and then bring him back. That was my first choice, and if that was not possible apart from some very small teams, he joined us."
Though he refused to identify the team, Whitmarsh admits he is sorely tempted.