Each year, we look forward to Formula One's so-called Silly Season, where speculation and rumors of drivers switching teams and teams dropping drivers dominate the paddock. As the 2015 Silly Season ramps up, though, it's facing a challenger for our attention from, of all things, a TV show.
Rumors are flying over who will join new Top Gear host Chris Evans, but this latest piece is probably the most tantalizing we've seen. According to the UK's Daily Mail, McLaren-Honda F1 driver and 2009 World driver's champion Jenson Button may be set to take up a position on the rebooted motoring show, with an anonymous source saying an "announcement is imminent." Grains of salt all around.
According to the Daily Mail, Button is a close friend of Evans and was featured twice during TG's Clarkson/Hammond/May era. At 35 years of age, he's a relative old timer on an F1 circuit that's becoming increasingly populated by young drivers, like 17-year-old Max Verstappen and 21-year-old Daniil Kvyat.
Adding a driver of Button's caliber would be a dramatic change for Top Gear, though, and could spell bad news for the show's anonymous test driver, The Stig. An unmasked professional racing driver would essentially make the beloved Stig obsolete, while also bringing the show more in line with its rival, Fifth Gear. The majority of that show's cast has professional racing experience, including Tiff Needell, Vicki Butler-Henderson, and former host Jason Plato.
With McLaren-Honda struggling this season and Button's repeated failure to match his 2009 Cinderella season, is now a good time for him to step away from the top echelon of motorsports? Would a show helmed by Chris Evans, Button, and another host work? Do your thing in Comments.
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Rumors are flying over who will join new Top Gear host Chris Evans, but this latest piece is probably the most tantalizing we've seen. According to the UK's Daily Mail, McLaren-Honda F1 driver and 2009 World driver's champion Jenson Button may be set to take up a position on the rebooted motoring show, with an anonymous source saying an "announcement is imminent." Grains of salt all around.
According to the Daily Mail, Button is a close friend of Evans and was featured twice during TG's Clarkson/Hammond/May era. At 35 years of age, he's a relative old timer on an F1 circuit that's becoming increasingly populated by young drivers, like 17-year-old Max Verstappen and 21-year-old Daniil Kvyat.
Adding a driver of Button's caliber would be a dramatic change for Top Gear, though, and could spell bad news for the show's anonymous test driver, The Stig. An unmasked professional racing driver would essentially make the beloved Stig obsolete, while also bringing the show more in line with its rival, Fifth Gear. The majority of that show's cast has professional racing experience, including Tiff Needell, Vicki Butler-Henderson, and former host Jason Plato.
With McLaren-Honda struggling this season and Button's repeated failure to match his 2009 Cinderella season, is now a good time for him to step away from the top echelon of motorsports? Would a show helmed by Chris Evans, Button, and another host work? Do your thing in Comments.
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