So with the news today that Mercedes look set to confirm Lewis Hamilton next week the big question is who will replace him at McLaren? Heikki Kovalainen has been linked with a return to the Woking squad however it emerged yesterday that his management team have held talks with Ferrari about next season.
The latest report to emerge today is that Sauber's Sergio Perez could be set replace Hamilton at McLaren. If this is true, McLaren would have to weigh up their options as to whether or not it would be worth signing Perez from a financial point of view. The reason for this is because Perez is part of Ferrari's Young Driver Academy so any McLaren deal would have to be signed off by Ferrari and I doubt they would be willing to release their star young driver to their main rival.
From a commercial point of view it would make perfect sense for the team as Perez is sponsored by the Telemex Telecommunications company and it is widely believed that McLaren's title sponsor are extremely keen to enter the Latin American market.
Another stumbling block for McLaren would be the fact that they would also have to pay Sauber a hefty compensation package as the Swiss team would be losing their star driver so in affect the team would be paying double.
So I believe that McLaren are pushing like crazy to retain Hamilton for next season. However if Hamilton is determined to leave the team you can be assured that he and his management team at XIX Entertainment will do all they can to get him into Mercedes.
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