Eurosport - Sun, 28 Dec 11:05:00 2008 Fernando Alonso has a secret agreement to join Ferrari for four years from 2011, according to Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport. 2008 Brazilian GP Renault Alonso The twice Formula One world champion has never hidden his desire to go to the Italian team and Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo recently fuelled the ongoing speculation by refusing to rule out the Spaniard's future arrival. The newspaper said the deal had several get-out clauses for both sides but added that Alonso could join Ferrari even earlier, in 2010, if 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen follows this year's disappointing season with another bad campaign. By contrast, Alonso was in impressive form after returning to Renault following a difficult season at McLaren, despite not having a car competitive enough to challenge for the title. The 27-year-old won two races, in Singapore and Japan, and finished fifth in the standings for Renault, with whom he won the 2005 and 2006 world championships. Ferrari have Raikkonen and this year's title runner-up Felipe Massa under contract until the end of 2010, while Alonso's current deal with Renault also runs for two more seasons. A Ferrari spokesman would not comment on the reports, apart from saying: "We can only repeat that we have two drivers signed to the end of 2010".
That the contract exists I have no doubt as rumors have been circulating for a long time. Both LDM and Alonso when asked have not denied it and LDM words have been sibylline. The news report was specific in stating that the 4th year contract was tied to an option. I am sure the contract has all kind of clauses and escapes and therefore we can only speculate whether we will see Alonso in a Ferrari. The news leak may also have occurred to put pressure on Kimi since he would not be able to survive at F with another dismal year and thus permitting Alonso to start in 2010. F has also placed Andrea Stella with Kimi since he and the engineer appear to get along together. In the meantime we hope that F will have a great season in 2009.
oh man, here we go again, a chance for my favorite driver and favorite team to join forces.............and again it won't happen, STOP TEASING US ALREADY!!!!!!!!!! they should have signed him this year(for next season/before the Renault get's better and he wins in it again!!) and be done with it!!!
F.A. = the T.O. (Terrell Owens) of F1... Sorry, someone had to say it...too many similarities not to notice...
Exactly! Geez folks...let's get through 2009 first. ...and see how many more GPs get sold by Judas.... errr, I mean Ecclestone.
Team poison my ass, it's all about winning. If they guys in the cars now can't get it done, and they haven't been, (Kimi was very lucky in 07) Ferrari is obligated to get someone in there that can. This isn't a popularity contest.
as much as i dislike Fred, he kept his mouth shut the whole of 2008 and by far is the best driver out there at the moment. If Kimi does another 2008, i really hope to see Fred there as early as 2010.
It'll be interesting to see if KR gets it together. I'm sure he's got '09 to prove himself and that's it.
http://www.worldcarfans.com/9081229.021/alonso-and-ferrari-ink-deal-for-2011---report Fernando Alonso has an agreement to switch to Ferrari in 2011, Italy's authoritative La Gazzetta dello Sport reports. The Spanish former double world champion, who is often linked with the famous Maranello based team, could even switch to Ferrari in 2010 as an early replacement for Kimi Raikkonen, who performed disappointingly last season, the newspaper claimed. Gazzetta said the agreement with 27-year-old Alonso is quite open, with numerous two-sided exit clauses, but that if fully exercised could see the driver race at Ferrari until the end of 2014. A Ferrari spokesman said only: "We can only repeat that we have two drivers signed to the end of 2010." Alonso's current Renault contract also runs for two more years.
Not a done deal FA to Ferrari yet....... But 2011 is still far away... 29/12/08 15:35 F1Live.com Too early for any confirmations Fernando Alonso's manager has admitted that the Spanish former double World Champion wants to race for Ferrari one day. "That Fernando has expressed some interest in racing for Ferrari is no secret," said Luis Garcia Abad, following reports in the Italian media that Alonso, 27, has inked a secret deal to switch to the Maranello-based team in 2011. Abad, however, told the news agency EFE that any suggestion of a done deal would be premature. "2011 is still a long way away," he said. "It is too early to talk about that. " "Formula One is going through a time of great difficulty from an economic point of view, so it is difficult to think about the future."
