And with Fernando Alonso alongside him, Jenson has had some very good races, even though McLaren are further back than they’d like to be.
Clive Mason/Getty Images
Do I think it’s a dead cert that this is the beginning of the end for Jenson? I hope not, because I still feel he has a lot to offer both McLaren and F1 as a whole.
Logically, you’d think McLaren-Honda will improve. Okay, that’s not a given, but it’s a pretty fair assumption to make — and his experience would be invaluable in helping to take them back up the grid.
The sensible choice were he to be leaving F1 would be for Jenson to have announced it here in Japan, the country his wife hails from and almost a second ‘home’ race for him. He’s not done that and so I’m none the wiser.
I was saying to the other guys at Sky that we need to get a body language expert in to read him when he’s talking about next year.
I remember for me there came a point where I was no longer enjoying it. That’s when I knew it was enough.
If he’s got to that point, that’s a big thing and such a stance is usually irreversible. I hope for Jenson — and the sport — we’ve not got there yet.
