You write as if ALO was all of a sudden faced with the fact that Vettel just took his seat. How do you know if this really happened? What if he made his decision to leave Ferrari in September, as he claims, and Ferrari (Mattiacci) then makes Vettel an offer?
Perhaps McLaren already made ALO an offer then?
Doesn't look like he's standing out in the cold to me. Remember that ALO made the announcement to leave. Nobody else. In the meantime everyone else gets fired.
You pay $40 million for a driver, cause you know he's still the best around. Like it, or not.