Montoya offered one year extension at McLaren
Although Michael Schumacher revealed at the Spanish Grand Prix that the decision on his Formula one future could be as late as the end of the season, causing many critics to claim that the reason behind the wait is to see the outcome of the 2006 season, if he is champion he will retire, if not, he will stay for another season. However, that is not really the case because even though he CAN wait until the end of the year, it doesn’t mean he will.
What it does mean is that the pressure is now off and there is no need for constant questions on the matter. However, it is thought that reading between the lines of Jean Todt’s announcement that they would more than likely make an announcement at the Italian GP in September it looks as if the splendid Ferrari-era of Schumacher, Todt and Brawn could be coming to an end.
According to our spies in Spain, Schumacher’s statement was also unofficial confirmation that Kimi Raikkonen will be racing for Ferrari from 2007 onwards and now even McLaren is realizing this so they have set a date for Kimi to tell them if he is planning on driving for them in 2007 or not. This deadline is set for the Monte Carlo weekend, hence the reason why Ron Dennis stated that an announcement was imminent.
It was also revealled that Juan Pablo Montoya was offered a new one year deal with the Woking based squad, however the Colombian racer has yet to give the team a response. If he fails to re-sign, Ron Dennis still has other very viable options for a teammate for Fernando Alonso, such as highly the talented Gary Paffett and Lewis Hamilton as well as Pedro de la Rosa, so they certainly won’t be without a strong line-up, regardless of what happens. As for Montoya, he has a few options, one of which is Renault, but the worse his performances become, the less chance he has of securing a good seat somewhere else.
GP2006.com
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Eiköhän Kimin talli ole sitten selvä...tai ainakin jokin muu kuin maclaren :idea: