That is 100% correct. It is a painful position btw: When my fav driver is not in a Ferrari or when an unfavourite driver is in the Ferrari. Only once in a while the planets align and I get my fav driver in the Ferrari. It finally happened with Kimi.
I'm with Andreas on the point that Ferrari should sign the best drivers available and to me Alonso is certainly one of the two best drivers available, hence if given the opportunity, Ferrari should sign Alonso with hesitating. That being said, I like Massa as a person and I still think he is an underrated driver. In the battle between Alonso, Raikkonen, Hamilton and said Massa, he is certainly holding his own. But if he has to go in order to welcome Alonso to the team, then so be it, and no, I don't like Alonso AT ALL.
The problem is that there will be many losses inbetween the wins and that is when alonshole will open his pie hole and stick his foot in. Italians will not put up with it.
I thought you'd might say that, but at Zeltweg the Ferrari's weren't racing each other. They were way ahead of the field but since the descision for the win was made by the team, Schumacher wasn't racing Barrichello and Barrichello wasn't racing Schumacher. There is no telling that Schumacher wouldn't have won that race if he had the permission to attack Barrichello's leading position, but given the abilities of both drivers it is at least probable that Schumacher would have taken victory if such an event had occured. There is no way that the victory was out of reach for Schumacher, he was just told to wait untill Rubens moved over. Since Zeltweg I have lost all my sympathy for Barrichello. He was mourning the loss of a victory that wasn't his to begin with. He knew he wasn't going to win that race, he knew he just happened to be leading that race, being closely followed by Schumacher. He knew that Ferrari were so far ahead of everybody else that they had the luxury to decide amongst themselves who was going to win that race and he know that decision was always going to be in favour of Schumacher, since he was on his way to winning the championship. The only reason why there was such a big fuss over it was because the execution of the decision was done so friggin obvious and that was ALL on the part of Rubens Barrichello. He willingly and knowingly put his team and even more so his teammate in an awkward position, having to face a hostile crowd that apperantly fails to understand how a team operates when it is en route to an early drivers title. I never understood why Rubens wasn't sacked on the spot. I know I would have.
The tifosi weren't too keen on having Schumacher amongst their midst either. Once Schumacher got the italian language going and started on bringing the team forward (Schumacher took in his first season more wins than the team had scored in their 1991, 92, 93, 94 and 95 seasons combined) they warmed up to him. Once Alonso fights the same battle (Ferrari against the rest) and succeeds in doing so, they will honor him like their only true hero. Let's not forget, Like Schumacher, Alonso looks like he is the decisive factor in bringing a team their championships. Like Benetton, Renault wins two back to back titles with Alonso, but was nothing near victory post- and ante-Alonso. McLaren could be the same story. They bring in Alonso and voila, their battling for the title and even look set to win it.
didn't read the whole thread so sorry if this is a repost. Todt already said alonzo will never drive a ferrari so this is all mental masturbation
I think that is correct. Zeltweg is the town nearby. Zeltweg was the name of the old track, A1 of the new one. The track itself however underwent massive changes. They kept the overall shape very similar, but the track itself was completely new. The original was longer and had bigger elevation changes. The new track was a sanitized "Disney" version of it. Still I loved both of them and miss them very much. It was my favourite track on the PC.
...good to hear Kimmi is your dream come true...but I can feel your pain mate. My dream driver was Schumi...hated BERGER to the bone...he was a racer, only SLOW!
If ferrari feel they can cope with Alonso's needs so be it.. But you can't dress a pig in a suit and expect him not to grunt.. Same goes for Alonso in a red suit..
My dream driver was Schumi until he turned winning F1 races into a production line. Not his fault really, but my support vanished. Never had a soft spot for Berger. The Austrian press (of which I got a lot) adored him, even when he didn't do a darn thing. They could report what he ate for breakfast and called it F1 news. I adored Schumi, but he sat in the wrong car. I was going gaga when he joined Ferrari. I was going really gaga when he didn't win the title for them. Year after year.
The day Ferrari signed Schumacher, one of the Ferrari/Fiat principals (I forget who) made a comment I'll never forget: 'Now, if we don't win, we know the problem isn't with the driver'
There is a lot of truth to that and it motivates a team tremendously. I think part of that happened with McLaren as well when Alonso joined.
Don't blame FA. If Ron Dennis, or Coughlan (sp?) had turned over the documents immediately, they would still have their points and $100m.
No. They lost all of their points because they cheated and got caught. If Alonso's manager hadn't alerted the FIA about the emails, I'm sure somebody else would have or Ferrari would have figured that one out eventually. The FIA hammer wouldn't have come down right now, but later. There were way too many people involved in this for not to come out eventually. Which is why I really don't understand a guy like Dennis who goes in front of the press, tears in his eyes, swearing that they are an ethical team.
Alonso + Ferrari + Luca de Mozzarella + Giant Egos = Recipe for disaster. I wouldn't care if Alonso went to Ferrari, but it would blow up like a gigantic nuclear bomb within 2 years TOPS, probably inside of one year. First of all, I tend to think a lot of smart hard working guys at Ferrari would not put up with Alonso's whiny BS. I think Luca would clash with him and when things were not going well, there would be blow-outs. I think Alonso is not nearly as good as he thinks he is, and not NEARLY good enough to command the stated #1 driver slot. The only place Alonso can really be happy is at a team that does not attract a top star like Kimi, Lewis, etc. Because those guys will always give Alonso a run for his money, and that will always cause him to blow up. Alonso would be perfect to have stayed at Renault. He would not work at Ferrari and it would be a mess. But if Luca wants to sign him, then let him. I think Luca is an ****** and him and Ferdo deserve each other. Luca would do well to learn to LISTEN more and TALK less. Todt is a pretty sharp guy and has forgotten a LOT more about winning in F1 than Luca has ever known.
I think you're right about supporting the team no matter what if you're a real fan. Much like many McLaren supporters here stood by their team even though they cheated... If Ferrari made the mistake of signing Alosno I still wouldn't turn my back on them. But I would be very sad for them. Like when you see an athlete resort to steroids. It may seem like they are gaining an advantage at the time but there's bound to be a lot of problems down the road. Renault saw this a few years into the relationship when FA accused them of not wanting him to win the WC because his motor blew in Italy (as if they did it on purpose!). McLaren saw it much sooner. I'm sure it will come to tears at Ferrari also. Especially when he realizes that Kimi is faster and the team refuses to artificially slow him down in order to grant Alonso #1 status. Ferrari has a great driver in Kimi now that he has settled in to the team. If they want to upgrade Massa by hiring Heidfeld or Button, thats fine. I just hope they stay away from the cancerous alonso.
Yes McCheater brought in alonshole and all their mechanicle failurs ended He went to the right team at the right time.... period. Schumacher brought Ferrari out of a HUGE hole deeper than the Grand canyon. They are hardly in a hole right now. They may even win the WDC. So why get desperated and sell our souls for alonshole. It wont matter who he has as a partner, there will be trouble. I can just see it now when he losses 2 races and says " the team is no behind me" or the team favours my teammate because he is Italian.......Oh I can see the headlines in la gazzetta now. This past weekend he was 1 inch away from wiping out both him and his teammate........He is an arrogant azzhole.
