Earlier this week, the well respected British motorsport web site grandprix.com posted a news titled "The case of Bruno Spengler".In this accurately documented article, the author suggests that the name of Bruno Spengler now appears on the short list of a remplacement for Fernando Alonso at team Vodafone McLaren-Mercedes.The article mentions that "his name was first mentioned in connection with F1 in the summer when there was talk that he would be one of the drivers of the planned Prodrive F1 team. We hear that he spent some time this summer in the McLaren F1 simulator in Woking and did very well", which is the truth.Although Spengler has not driven a single-seater for the past three years, he has shown great potential in the McLaren simulator. Spengler, 24, is now managed by Belgian Didier Coton, the man who oversaw the careers of Mika Hakkinen and Olivier Panis. Today, Coton enjoys a strong relationship with both McLaren's Ron Dennis and Merrcedes' Norbert Haug. Additionally Spengler is super fit, he is big star with the fans in Germany, and he speaks English, French and German fluently. And he is a Canadian.Spengler has two crucial fans who could help him dearly in getting that ride at McLaren: Mercedes boss of competition Norbert Haug and Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars. Mercedes-Benz is a co-owner of the McLaren race team.The graduation of the Canadian in Formula 1 would help to keep the interest in the sport alive in North America. Since the retirement of Jacques Villeneuve, Canada has no focus in Grand Prix racing and with the United States Grand Prix and Scott Speed both disappearing this year, there's a urgent need to maintain the level of interest for F1 in North America.Norbert Haug, who has supervised Bruno Spengler's career since 2003 when the Canadian became a member of the Mercedes-Benz Junior Team in Formula 3, made interesting comments last weeks. He publicly declared to the medias that "the successful candidate needs to be 'quick and inexpensive', two qualities that fit Spengler perfectly.In his past two seasons in the DTM series, Spengler, a member of the works HWA-managed AMG-Mercedes race team, has been put to test on numerous occasions, showing great car control, coolness in all circumstances, aggressiveness out on the race track, and the ability to think correctly despite the intense pressure.Team McLaren and Mercedes certainly don't want to repeat the chaos that ruined the season of Lewis Hamilton and Alonso. This time, they will certainly not want to place a confirmed F1 driver alongside their beloved Lewis Hamilton. They will certainly prefer give the ride to a lesser-known driver with a smaller ego who will help Hamilton clinch the title in 2008. Spengler is definitely the perfect candidate.
Spengler to McLaren - really?