Will McLaren drivers eye Champ Car?

McLaren drivers have a dilemma – there's too many good ones and not enough race seats. Pedro de La Rosa is often the fastest in testing, yet he remains a test driver. McLaren's Young Driver Support program has 20-year-old Lewis Hamilton who has won nine of the 12 Formula 3 Euro Series races this season, the most recent two victories coming on the streets at the Norisring last weekend. Winning more than 50% of the races in a major Formula 3 title is a rare achievement and most of the drivers who have achieved that have gone on to leap straight into Formula 1.

Back in 1979 Alain Prost was signed by McLaren after winning seven of 12 European F3 events; Ayrton Senna collected 12 wins in 20 British F3 races in 1983 and Mika Hakkinen won nine of 17 in 1990. In modern times Takuma Sato won 12 of 26 British races in 2001 and went to Jordan in 2002 although he was dropped by the midseason.

Regular drivers Juan Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen are not going anywhere, and what about the other test driver Alex Wurz? Something has to give and with Champ Car gaining strength rapidly, one has to wonder if one or more of these excellent drivers will eye Champ Car. In part from Grandprix.com