McLaren not talking to Nico Hulkenberg as weighty issue counts against tall drivers

Martin Whitmarsh says he "expect things to work out" with Sergio Perez and has confirmed McLaren are not in talks with Nico Hulkenberg as F1 wakes up to a weighty issue of its own mis-making.

Another driver fretting over F1's unanticipated weighty issue is Paul di Resta. Just a year ago, the Scot was being linked with the likes of Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes. Twelve months later, it's far from certain that he will still be in F1 next season. "It is a concern for a driver like me," the Scot told The Daily Telegraph. "I am at the upper end, to the point where I am three or four kilos under what I would like to be to be healthy. I'm four kilos lighter than when I started in F1, and I was pretty much on the limit of what I thought I could get to then. "I'd like to see the weight limit raised because it would make no difference to the smaller drivers. It's a little bit of an unfair advantage to be a smaller guy because not only can they move the weight in the car to the right place but they can keep themselves in a healthier state." But according to Button, there is little prospect of the minimum weight being increased because of the sport's natural inclination towards self-interest. "Some teams might not want to change the weight because they have light drivers and know they can make a light car and engine package," the 2009 World Champion said. "That might be us but we should all agree to be fair and raise the weights. I would love to be able to eat again. "In the past three years, I have probably had four races where I have lost half-a-tenth or a tenth of a second because I have been overweight. It sounds small but in qualifying that could be a position or two and in the race it could be five or six seconds. "It is a big deal and something that goes unnoticed." In the meantime, the one big deal that can be all-but ruled out for next year is Alonso's return to McLaren. "As far as I know, he's very firmly contracted for next year. It's an interesting piece of speculation, but probably not relevant to next year anyway," conceded Whitmarsh. "There's no rush and, for the moment, I would rather Sergio concentrated on his own form. He's doing a good job, we enjoy having him in the team and, when it's all done, we will make the announcement."