If The Guardian has its rumors sorted, it may be a bad year to be Adrian Sutil or Paul di Resta in 2014. According to the story, departing McLaren driver Sergio Perez will team with departing Sauber driver Nico Hulkenberg to Sahara Force India for 2014.
McLaren have made it clear that their attempt to place young driver Kevin Magnussen was all but sealed until a team down the grid backed out of the deal forcing team boss Martin Whitmarsh to pull his option on the development driver sooner than they had expected. This effectively left Perez out of a seat for 2014 and Whitmarsh says he was saddened by the situation and has tried very hard to find a home for the Mexican driver.
McLaren’s technical partnership with Force India must have played a role in arranging the seat and Hulkenberg’s move would signal a return to the team after leaving for Sauber in 2013. Whitmarsh says he’s glad Perez is not leaving F1:
“I’m delighted for him that we’ll see his smiling face in the paddock. He is a friend of the team now but we know he’ll go out there and try to beat us, and I hope that’s the spirit in which he takes it.”
As for Di Resta, the Scot has been rumored for a return to the German DTM series or possible taking his retiring cousin Dario Franchitti’s place in Indycar. Whitmarsh says that a tough situation:
“It’s a complicated sport these days and there are drivers with less talent than Paul who will be in the sport – either entering the sport or remaining in the sport – and that’s sad. It hasn’t been announced yet but it’s been fairly well speculated that [his departure] is what is likely to happen.”
Complicated indeed.
