Fernando Alonso says he is not ruling out joining the Ferrari team in the future after the Italian squad confirmed both their drivers for 2010. The two-time champion had been linked with a Ferrari seat for some time, with Kimi Raikkonen delaying an announcement about his plans after the 2009 season. But the Finn extended his contract with Ferrari until the 2010 season, closing the door to Alonso at least until 2011. Alonso said he was not too surprised by Ferrari's announcement. "No, because there was talk that it would be like that, so in a way I knew that they would renew his contract," Alonso told Cadena Ser radio. "And once you know it, you have to think of 2009. I was not too worried about 2010. The most important thing is too see what is the best place to be in 2009." The Spaniard is yet to announce his plans for 2009, with Renault, BMW and Honda hoping to secure his services. The Renault driver insisted the French squad are his first choice, but he made it clear his future could be at Ferrari if the chance comes up. "As I always say, Renault is my first option because I know the people and I know things can be done right here, even though this year things haven't gone well," he added. "And if not, we'll see what we can do. "I'm 27 now and life changes a lot and if I race in Formula One for another eight or ten years I might get the chance again to end up there (at Ferrari)." The Spanish driver said he has not seen much of Renault's car for 2009, and he admitted he has to be cautious when judging the team's optimism for next season. "I haven't seen much, because we are focused on the remaining races, but I'm sure it inspires confidence because at this point of the year every team is nearly completely sure that next year they will do well," he said. "They are all very optimistic and it's up to you to believe them or not. "Normally I believe them, because they've given me a lot of joy and two cars to win titles with, so it's easier to believe them than others." Alonso is currently in seventh place in the championship and is yet to climb onto the podium in 2008.
Sad. This is like seeing Schumi stuck at Toyota for lack of available seats. I was hoping Renault would deliver this year, but they haven't.
How can Renault improve when their main driver is looking for another team before the season even started?
Dosh out quarter of a billion dollars only to feel butt hurt and sit in a corner because Alonso is shopping around? I would hope that their desire to succeed doesn't come from needing unwavering devotion from a driver.
He's living in fantasy land if he thinks Ferrari will be interested in him even further down the road.
I dont wanna see this prick in red.He's a cool guy n all,but he is sort of a mortal rival for the battles of 05-06.I aint a sore loser but Schumi was robbed in 06 and those stupid tire regulations of 05 were even stupider.
+1 in about 2 yrs he will not be in view for Ferrari. There other talents developing that will or have eclipsed him already. You never know though, F1 is a strange and quite unpredictable world.
These young guns are still unproven in comparison to Alonso. He's the only multi WDC in the field right now. Ferrari will be watching him carefully for a while yet. Vettel is massively impressive and so is Kubica. With they way their current drivers have been running they could change both of them. Kimi is out to lunch and I think they are not totally comfortable fully backing Massa for the title. Anything is still possible. As Alonso once said F1 contracts are flexible.....
Regardless if I am an Alonso fan or not, from a purely F1 driver POV, IMO, he is an upgrade from Kimi should Ferrari does chose to sign him.
+1 right, And that combo is the only one that could wipe the smile of Mr Mc Hamster. And I'm not FA's biggest fan.
At this time, considering the rumors about Kubica and BMW, my guess is that Alonso will be moving to BMW for 2009 & 2010 seasons. Which means it is possible that we just might see Alonso at Ferrari in 2011 as both Kimi's and Massa's contracts ends. IMO, the wildcard is how will Vettel mature in the next two seasons, should he proven to be a real deal, I would love to see him drive for Ferrari and take the fight straight to Hamilton & McLaren and beating them. My question now is, considering how Kubica is reacting now, about the lack of support from the team at Spa, how will he co-exist with Alonso should they indeed does become teammates next year.
It was only a matter of time before the "Alonso will be at Ferrari in 2011" thing started. First it was 2009 then it was for sure and no doubt about it 2010 and now its 2011. Come on now...
Alonso is the Forrest Gump of F1. Despite seeing his beloved girl (team) constantly screwing around with other guys (drivers), he still loves her and hopes one day she will realize his true love and give him a shot. Run Forrest, run!
Yeah screwing around with losers. The reality is Alonso would have made a joke of the field had he been in a Ferrari this year.
NS +100 ! This past Sunday Dave D. once again asked Bob V. about Alonso going to Ferrari and Bob V. once again stated that the higher up's at Ferrari do not and will not ever want Alonso in a red car. Bob V's actual word's "Ferrari view Fernando as 'damaged goods' and he is not to be trusted"!
Unlike you, I do not possess the ability to look into the future. Maybe Alonso will become a Ferrari driver or maybe he will decide to retire for good by the end of this season, I don't know. I can tell you one thing tho, in the 80's, a lot of the fans felt that Prost will only drive for Ferrari when Hell freezes over and that no one would have predicted how F1 will lose drivers such as Clark, Villenuve or Senna to accidents. For all we know, Hamilton may be driving for Ferrari next year because Ron Dennis fired him after finding him in bed with his ex-wife/daughter or both. Point is, anything is possible and as fans, all we can do is speculate because no matter how much you love or hate Ferrari, you can not make them win or lose a race or help them decide who to hire and who not to hire.....unless you have some type of special connection to the team that none of us knows about.
I dont think anyone is doubting Alonso's skill in a F1 car but his antic's in '07 have proved he is not to be trusted as far as he can be tossed. He has brought everything upon himself and nobody else is to blame except him.
I actually hope that's true, because Alonso really dicked over McLaren and the whole team there just to benefit himself. So if Ferrari doesn't want him because of that, then it serves him right. I know some think Alonso was just "being a man of honesty" by threatening to go to Max, but he wasn't, he was blackmailing the team and that's as low as low goes. If Ron, after airing that little fact to the public, detonated Alonso's chance for ever driving at Ferrari, then I guess Ron gets the last laugh... because Alonso will never again drive a McLaren, and Renault has no shot of being a WDC contender in the next few years, and if Alonso will never drive at Ferrari, then it means he will serve out his career as a whining has-been and that would make me laugh heartily!
Massa and Raikkonen have been up and down all year long. Kimi has truely dissapointed me this year. Perhaps loser is too harsh but I don't know what else to call it. Massa has raised his game but if LH had been more consistent this year the title would already have been clinched.