12/11/2013
NEWS STORY
Following Williams recruitment of Felipe Massa attention switches to McLaren as media speculation over Kevin Magnussen reaches fever pitch.
Though the Woking outfit insists that an announcement will be made once a decision has been made, and that the decision will be made when the team is ready, much of the mainstream media, certainly in the UK, now claims the deal which will see 21-year-old Kevin Magnussen oust Sergio Perez is already done.
Not that long ago, both Perez and Jenson Button had claimed that deals with McLaren for 2014 had already been done however, the Mexican's failure to impress has led to continued speculation that he faces the chop.
Though Button has yet to be officially confirmed it is now widely speculated that McLaren is on the verge of confirming Magnussen, winner of the 2013 Formula Renault 3.5 series and a member of the Woking outfit's Young Driver Programme, is on the verge of being confirmed as the Englishman's teammate.
Team boss Martin Whitmarsh, who has described Magnussen as "pretty special" and "lightning quick", remains (fairly) tight-lipped on the situation - even though the mainstream media appears to have made the choice for him.
"There has been a lot of honest feedback both ways, which is best done in private not in public," he said. "We'll see in the future."
Should Magnussen, son of former Stewart Grand Prix driver Jan Magnussen, get the McLaren seat he will be the Woking outfit's first rookie since Lewis Hamilton in 2007.
Of course, should Magnussen get the nod, one has to wonder where Perez might find himself in 2014. The departure of Maldonado (and his PDVSA money) from Williams suggests that the Venezuelan is heading to Lotus which leaves Nico Hulkenberg as the one star bargain yet to be snapped up. So what decent option are there for Perez?