I’ve dined at the Joël Robuchon restaurant at the MGM Grand in Vegas. It was good, but for me not quite on the level of the Joël Robuchon locations in Tokyo and Paris.
I don't think he made terrible team choices. But maybe some situations could have been handled better. It seems he was prone to have "emotional outbursts". His first stint at McLaren was an unpredictable perfect storm. I suppose he had some of his outbursts then but can't blame him for all that mess. Leaving the team that way was a debateable decision: he had to go through two useless transitional seasons at Renault, but I understand that he was under a high pressure at McLaren and chose the peace of mind. Then Ferrari was the most obvious choice. His biggest, by far, mistake was leaving Ferrari the way he did: such a late move forced him to take the McLaren-Honda gamble. Again probably an outburst. Idiotic decision, I've always knew it. Had he stayed at Ferrari one more year he would have avoided the Honda embarassment and would have been able to work a deal with Mercedes, or at worst, have an honourable end of career at Ferrari. He ranted too much too, but I don't think that was the reason for not finding a good seat: just bad timing. At least he got two good years. That's more than what Chris Amon or Jackie Ickx got. And got filthy rich.
Really? What driver who retired 5 years ago do you remember today? I hate to say this but even Michael Schumacher is forgotten today. At least we have his records to remember what he did. What records will we have of Alonso? Yes, twice world champ out of 17 tries. And?
Unfortunately I think you're right: most people only knows the stats. Only those who witnessed the events when it happened or who bothered to read a few books will know the full story.
Spygate again!! Almost everybody at McLaren was involved in that!! What did you expect him to do? Fill a law suit against his own team? Well, he threatened Ron to do it! And probably that was another of his biggest mistakes
Yes, as I've said, probably his second worst mistake. And probably a decision took in the heat of the moment.
Seems like a good time to give Alonzo (who needs to watch his farewell tour) and Vandoorne early releases and get replacements in the car at Spa...and let the new guys be part of the development for 2019. I'd be trying to poach Ocon and Sainz. That could force Stroll to move to Force India...and the musical chairs would begin.
I have to agree with Terra, but in all fairness the local ingredients available in the Tokyo location made it so much more wow than the others.
Hi Bob I’m not being awkward, but Alonso was part of the whole team that was benefiting from the stolen information. During that season, Ron Dennis reneged on his contract with Alonso over team leader status and there was a very personal issue between the two men that developed too.... with relations within the team totally destroyed, and Ron instructing the team to back Hamilton all the way over Alonso, Alonso saw the opportunity to get his revenge, threatening to spill the beans.. Ron was in the position of either having to face the music with Alonso looking like saint Fernando that shopped the team, or falling on his own sword and admitting things to the FIA hoping for leniency. Alonso did not steal the plans, nor did he manage the team, he simply took advantage while it benefitted his race car, and then, how else to get your own back on a team that reneged on a contract than costing them money after they tried to destroy your reputation? I’m afraid I would be on the side of Alonso in the case, and as a ferrari fan, liked giving Ron a bloody nose.
https://www.bbc.com/sport/formula1/45189980 - BBC on the FA departure. How good is Alonso? The Spaniard, 37, has not won a race for more than five years, and yet he is still sixth in the all-time list of race-winners with 32 victories, still the driver who arguably gets more out of his car more often than anyone else, and has better statistics against his team-mates than any of his rivals. Judging the ultimate talent of F1 drivers is always difficult. For one thing, their only direct comparison is their team-mate, and even then the nature of one car might suit one driver more than another and skew the picture. All great drivers have their strengths and weaknesses, but Alonso is unique in his level of adaptability - of being able to change his driving style to get the most out of any car he is given to drive. In this, he leaves even current world champion Lewis Hamilton behind. How to judge his talent? Let's let a few of his colleagues do it. First, Felipe Massa, his team-mate for four of his five years at Ferrari, who has also partnered seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher. The German won, give or take, three times as many races and titles as Alonso, and yet Massa thinks Alonso was better "because although Michael was at the top, and an amazing driver, I had an easier time with him - I suffered more with Fernando than I did with Michael." Of Alonso, Massa says: "First of all, he is an amazing driver. His talent is very complete. He is one of the quickest drivers, but also one of the most consistent, most aggressive. He has everything. "He is able to use the car in the best way, so he is very intelligent. He is able to understand the race pretty well, everything that is happening. He knows how to use his best in a particular moment." Rob Smedley, an engineer at Ferrari during the years of both Schumacher and Alonso, describes the Spaniard as "the very best driver of his generation". Pedro de la Rosa raced in 107 grands prix. He was test driver at McLaren when Alonso was teamed with Lewis Hamilton in 2007, worked with him at Ferrari, also as a test driver. He has raced against Schumacher, and watched Ayrton Senna. For De La Rosa, Alonso is: "The best driver I have ever seen in my life." Better than Hamilton? "It is very close between them," De La Rosa says, "but Fernando is more complete." Hamilton himself said: "You are going to be very hard put to find someone to beat him on raw talent." And Paddy Lowe, the Williams technical chief who worked with Hamilton and Alonso at McLaren in 2007, says: "He has more spare capacity while driving than anyone I have ever worked with. "He's a leader. He's the only driver I've ever met who came into the team and said he was going to call a meeting with the engineers. And he did it. He called a meeting with 15 engineers and chaired it. I've never seen that before. He has people batting for him because he organises it." --His time Ferrari - Sorry Kimi and Vettel you have much to do to equal his efforts. From the link - Statistically, those two years will define Alonso's career, but in many ways a more illuminating data point is that he is 10 points away from being a five-time world champion - had he scored two more points in 2007, and four in 2010 and 2012. That would be a more fitting reflection of his standing in the sport. Despite his two titles, Alonso's time at Ferrari will provide the pervading memory, the way he dragged so much more out of uncompetitive cars than they deserved and, in 2010 and 2012, came agonisingly close to the title in cars that were not the quickest. In 2010, he missed out only because of a massively misguided strategy call by Ferrari at the final race of the season in Abu Dhabi. That year, the Ferrari was on average 0.7secs a lap slower than the Red Bull in qualifying - although only 0.3secs off in the second half of the year, when Alonso put behind him some mistakes in the first half of the year and closed a 47-point gap with driving of a consistent excellence no-one else could achieve. But his finest year was undoubtedly 2012, when the Ferrari was only the fourth fastest car but he somehow contrived to win three races and lead the championship for much of the season. Only a late-season burst by Vettel after a decisive development on the Red Bull, and Alonso's awful luck in being involved in first-corner accidents in Belgium and Japan for which he was in no way to blame, cost him the title. Stefano Domenicali, Ferrari's then team boss, says: "To achieve that situation with the level of performance we had on that car was remarkable." It was one of the greatest seasons any driver has ever produced in the history of F1.
Early on (think 2014 to 2015), he had Mateschitz going at the press hard also. He can't say the complete opposite of his boss, seeing as his boss was right also... I don't think Renault was key to Red Bull winning the titles. I'll actually go as far as saying they where lucky to ride Red Bull's coattails. Red Bull would've won all those titles with Cosworth even. The Renault in the V8 era was the least powerful one around...Renault has had plenty of time to get even a reliable engine made. It's not powerful and it's unreliable. When you're paying nearly 20 million a year for some **** engines, I'd be upset, too.
All great drivers have their detractors, and he Alonso is really a great driver. A bit of an enfant terrible, but aren't most great drivers? He had a couple great seasons, some bad luck, and made a few bad decisions, but now I think the time is right for him to chase Indianapolis. Hope he has some good luck there.
Indycar, Nascar begin to woo retiring Alonso AUGUST 15, 2018 Motor racing series have already begun lining up to attract Fernando Alonso for 2019. The Spaniard and McLaren have sensationally announced that Alonso, 37, is quitting formula one at the end of the year, although he didn't rule out a return in the future. In the meantime, Alonso is wanted elsewhere. "DM us if you want to chat," the Indianapolis Motor Speedway tweeted. Indycar driver Simon Pagenaud told the Indy Star: "He would be the kind of guy who'd be fantastic for the sport. It'd be like it was with Nigel Mansell." And Indycar CEO Mark Miles told Sports Business Daily that McLaren is working on a plan for a full 2019 team effort. "McLaren is working to put all the necessary arrangements in place and we are supporting their efforts. "Fernando's announcement certainly has fuelled excitement among Indycar fans who hope that Alonso will compete throughout the championship in 2019," Miles added. Nascar invited him to the Daytona 500, saying it hopes he will "accept with pleasure". And Pedro de la Rosa, now involved in Formula E, said Alonso would even succeed in the electric series. "Fernando's talent is incredible," he told Mundo Deportivo. "With drivers like Lewis Hamilton or Fernando Alonso, they'll adapt to whatever car you throw at them." At the same time, drivers are now clamouring for the seat that will be vacated by the double world champion. Lando Norris replied to the Alonso news on Twitter with a GIF and the caption 'Hmm interesting'. Carlos Sainz is another possibility, although Red Bull has a 2019 option on him that only expires in late September. "I'm not going to be a new Fernando Alonso. I'm Carlos Sainz and I'm going to do things my way," he said. Former F1 test driver Bas Leinders told Sporza that Alonso leaving F1 is the end of a difficult period for the Spaniard. "Hopefully this is good news for Stoffel Vandoorne," said Leinders. "The chance that he stays and even that McLaren is built around him are now greater. "Alonso always got the better parts, the new developments, and that's partly why Vandoorne was in trouble. Hopefully that can be rectified now," he added. As for Alonso's F1 career, Leinders said the 37-year-old is an obvious F1 great. "But he didn't manage to get everything out of it. Last year him not doing Monaco for the Indy 500 was a sign that his interests were changing. Then with Le Mans it was clear he wasn't having much fun with F1 anymore," he added. "After Renault he made wrong choices with teams. After one year with Lewis Hamilton at McLaren he was gone and later he chose Ferrari when they were building up. "Now with McLaren. He was often at the wrong place at the wrong time," Leinders added.
Always sad to see an elite driver leave F1. Alonso is an immensely talented driver, aggressive but fair. One of the few drivers who gets more out of a car than most. Going to McLaren was a huge roll of the dice. If the Honda engine would have come up to speed, along with the chassis, in a fashion that McLaren is known for, it could have ended up being a brilliant move. Obviously, we all know that wasn't the case, and I think his motivation just started to slide.
I didn't like Alonso in his earlier years especially 2007. Since then i have grown to like him again. He is fast and one of the slowly dissapearing "old school" drivers on the grid. I admire him for racing in other forms of motorsports.
Bye Nando,finally realized the horse wasn't about to wake up anytime soon. Great driver,his victories somewhat tainted by Spygate/Crashgate and perhaps some less public events over the years. So will they put Lando in the hot seat? He is highly rated of course so makes sense,and a lil bit cheaper than Nando!
Another side to Fernando from Robin Miller yesterday on Indianapolis radio. Robin gives his inside info on all the Alonso possibilities in Indycar but also shows a window into Alonso's thoughts on the series and his mentality in general. Worthwhile listen, as you don't hear this side of Alonso that often. Link below to the Miller interview, the Alonso related stuff happens at 5:48 https://www.spreaker.com/user/9809111/hour-3-8-14-18
