Ummm.... As his Ferrari contract expires at the end of 2016, wouldn't he have to sit out 2 seasons? If so, that's not ideal for an F1 driver and puts Ferrari in a much better bargaining position!
He can get out because of the lack of performance clause down to the car. But if he waits until Ferrari replaces him with Seb, he gets more $
In true Bernie Ecclestone style: [BERNIE] But if he doesn't have a car to drive then he cannot have a claim about it lacking in performance! You simply cannot say: "The car I haven't got is not as quick as it should be!" Based on that, the exit clause is not valid and so he must wait until his contract expires at the end of 2016! [/BERNIE]
I doubt that the writer has a real insight in the contract of Alonso so I do not think it is more than speculation. If the contract between Alonso and Ferrari is not suspended by both parties it would be negligent to do a deal with McLaren. If Ferrari would not release him from the contract at the end he would be defaulting with McLaren and after his story with McLaren in the past this would become very expensive... I guess the only thing that has that much impact might be the rule with a third car as this might change everything
How do you know? IMHO there is a really good chance that one of the several theories mentioned on here actually hits the nail on its head. I for one am sure the latest explanation is the most sensible. Eventually we will find out and then we can see who was right.
Because up to now there clearly has been no confirmation - whether or not that is the plan is not the point : after four weeks and four hundred post the thread title remains inaccurate
Alonso is very clear in that he has made up his mind. To me that means leaving Ferrari. Sitting out a contract until 2017 wouldn't neccesitate a making up of the mind. What puzzles me is how Alonso can be so firm in his decision and if Ferrari hiring Vettel is the cause or the consequense of that decision. Be that as it may, the fact that both parties refuse to announce anything is of course all about contractual tactics. There is no other reason to remain silent. Vettel annoucing his departure and Horner openly saying (not speculating) that he is Ferrari-bound, is therefor all the more remarkable.
Wrong. You can't say whether the thread is inaccurate or not until you really know what is going on. The thread remains indecisive.
Exactly. Here are some interesting speculative tidbits: SPEEDWEEK Formel 1 - Ferrari & Sebastian Vettel: Fernando Alonso blockiert According to this article Marchione waits until Abu Dhabi to confirm Vettel. Nothing will be announced in Austin as the CEO is not flying to the States. The article also mentions that within McLaren/Honda the distribution of ownership percentages has not yet been finalized, which prevents that team from announcing Alonso's arrival. Meanwhile I'm sure Horner is grinning from ear to ear by having let the cat out of the bag way too early.
There are tons of theories in this thread, someone has to be right, even if it´s just by coincidence.
I beg to differ. The thread title is written as a statement, not a question, that's what makes it wrong. Having said that, it's hardly unique in that regard either; "F1 set for three car teams" and "Vettel to Ferrari" are but two more examples of misleading titles. And I'm not even going to touch on the interminable "F1 is dead threads"..... Cheers, Ian
What if Ferrari decide to keep Alonso and give him a second grade car to let Vettel win rather than just keep paying him or let him drive for McLaren, beating them?
Your welcome! BTW FIA refused the third car so maybe the big possibility is that Alonso goes to Honda.....(which personally i doubt)... We will see...
