DECEMBER 14, 2005
Three drivers vie for McLaren testing deal
Alexander Wurz, Gary Paffett and Lewis Hamilton are all in line for the second testing role at McLaren, alongside Pedro de la Rosa, who already has a contract for 2006.
Alexander Wurz, Gary Paffett and Lewis Hamilton are all in line for the second testing role at McLaren, alongside Pedro de la Rosa, who already has a contract for 2006. McLaren boss Ron Dennis said that a decision will be made shortly but that all three drivers want to be part of the McLaren team, despite offers from elsewhere. It is believed that all three men have received offers to be the third driver at BMW.
The team implied that the most likely scenario would be Hamilton to race in GP2 and not do any F1 testing until after that series is over before moving into a fulltime testing job in 2007. The team said that it would be funding Hamilton's drive in GP2 and that the youngster could join the champions ART without having to sign a Ferrari option, as was the case this year with Nico Rosberg and Alexandre Premat.