Alonso 2 Renault !!!

The good thing about all of this is that we're going to have an exciting season next year. Ferrari, Mclaren,Renault and BMW all fighting for wins. Can't wait till March.

 

Runner up to the hamster in GP2 in 06 cant be that bad but I agree though pity Flav wont let them race each other to begin with at least..

Heikki Kovalainen in the Mc seat then..?

 

Two 'rookies' without much development experience? Uh, uh... Mr. de la Rosa's wife won't see her husband very often next year, then...

 

He mimicked M Schumacher's contracts with Ferrari I suppose...

 

I doubt Renault will get any win next year and BMW is a big question mark as well.

 

...which would be a very wise move for him. He and MCL could be champions today if there hadn't been all those internal fights....

 

Ermm yes... but still young guns taking the on rest would be fun

True..

 

The question is:

Can Renault/Alonso with a clear #2 driver in support, be competitive with Mclaren and Ferrari with 4 guys gunning for he title? Should make for a interesting series, even if Renault is a slight bit behind in technology.

 

Yes I'am sure they can make in roads same with Honda should be good as long as Max butts out.

 

I'm glad to see Alonso back at Renault and just watched Mclaren will probably struggle next year without his insights into car development. I hate the guy but let's face it he's probably the best all-around driver in the field.

Hope we see a nice battle next year between Alonso and Lewis (battle for 2nd that is since Kimi will hopefully repeat as WDC).

 

It will! I'm really looking forward to 2008. Can't imagine when a new season looked that promising beforehand...

 

No amount of driver developement can improve much on a dog of a chassis.

 

Alonso wanted #1 status. While he'd gotten it with Fisi, Fisi admitted as much the other week; Fisi was still close to Alonso's performance at the time. Heiki did have a decent year and showed as good as speed as Fisi so he could possibly give Alonso some fits. I'm sure Alonso didn't want to get into another Hamilton situation and wanted someone in the seat that had had NO interaction with team members. He wants a situation where he's the man with No. 1 status and all of the alliances. A new guy at the team gives him both.

 

Yes a great outlook..

BTW My Le Mans leather jacket and Gulf T shirt just arrived wow great service thanks for the tips

 

The reason Kovalainem is no longer at Renault is not because of Alonso not wanting him to be the second driver but because of money. Carlos Slim simply wanted Nelsinho on the Renault.
Also Alonso's contract with Renault it is for 2 years with an option for the 3rd.
His website stares that he has only a 1 year contract, obviously referring to the provision of his possibility of exiting at the end of the first year based on performance and probably other clauses that we do not know. His paycheck will be 35 million euro per season contrary to the figure of 25 million euro published recently in the press.
Alonso also said he enjoyed reading every morning in the papers all the gossip and speculation of his future.

 

Bingo.

I don't think it was so much to get one over on Ron, but I have absolutely no doubt that Bernie and Max both knew that Alonso was going to Renault subject to them not being fined. Neither of them have a beef with Renault or Flavio, and they both wanted to let him off and they found a way to do just that because it's better next year to have three teams, each with a top driver, fighting for the title.

 

Luca is a smart man - as much as I think he's an ******, he's not a dumb ******.

I am willing to bet that he would happily take an option on Alonso for '09. Why wouldn't he? I doubt he paid anything for it, maybe some LOI for a set salary or something but I'm sure it's an open thing with no firm commitments.

That way Ferrari is covered. If Kimi DOES retire in 09, Luca snags Alonso knowing that Hamilton ain't coming to Ferrari anytime soon. If Kimi doesn't retire, he can let the option expire.

And I think Alonso is dumb enough to take this flaky LOI and use it as a bargaining chip with Renault. Alonso is desperately wanting to drive for Ferrari, and he is hoping Kimi leaves and Ferrari gives him the #1 spot. But thats probably not going to happen... so Alonso will be at Renault, their car will suck. He may have a blow-up with the team or he may not... if he does, he is totally screwed, nowhere else to go! If he gets along with them OK, but the car sucks, then his only choice is to hope and pray that Ferrari calls in their option on him (which is a very unlikely proposition).

If I was Flavio, I'd do the same thing - 3 year deal contingent upon performance of the car. He has nothing to lose - he knows Alonso ain't going back to Renault and he knows he probably won't land at Ferrari, so all he has to fear is Alonso jumping to BMW or Honda or something... not a huge risk for him really.

 

Well, let's face it that when a driver changes teams they take an incredible amount of technical information along, and there wasn't a whole lot of information that Renault received from McLaren last year that would amount to a hill of beans compared to what Fernando would be able to bring them this year, and that is a bigger punch in the eye to Ron than Fernando just going to Renault; Renault is going to benefit from the information Fernando brings over and the FIA doesn't seem inclined to do much about it.

 

Was anyone else really surprised?
Should be interesting next year if Alonso can make an uncompetitive car competitive again, and give Renault those "two tenths" he brought to McLaren

 

Correction: "his eyebrow (unibrow) will drop off..."

 

Flavio seems to have a good amount of confidence in Piquet. I'd like to see Heikki win a race next year.

 

True, but Ron knew that before he agreed to let Alonso out of his contract... don't forget that Flava Flav had already offered Alonso the job so Ron knew he was gonna run back to Renault with that info if he decided to let him out of the contract... so not necessarily such a slap in the face as an inevitable outcome. But then again, Renault already had all of McLarens info and got off scot-free so what can Alonso really add?

 

Ferrari brakes! Renault engine, cooled by McLaren radiator, stopped by Ferrari brakes...talk about spec cars...

 

Renault F1 has confirmed that Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet Jr. will drive for the team next year.

The news comes just four days after Renault escaped penalty in the spying affair, after the uncertainty meant that neither the team nor Alonso could commit to renewing their partnership.

Renault had wanted a three-year commitment from Alonso, while the driver has been offering his services for only one year in apparent anticipation of a move to Ferrari in 2009.

Alonso was reportedly getting increasingly anxious in recent weeks, ringing teams such as Red Bull personally rather than dealing via his manager. However both sides appear now to have settled for a compromise of two years.

“I am delighted to be returning to Renault,” Alonso was quoted as saying. “This is the team where I grew up as a driver in Formula 1. Now it is time for us to begin a new chapter together. I am very excited about working with this great team once more, and confident that together we can move back to the front of the field. Renault had a difficult year in 2007, but I know that the team has real strength in depth. I am confident they can produce a fast and competitive car and be back at the top in 2008.”

Piquet’s inclusion has been predicted on this site for some time. South America is a huge market for both Renault and title sponsor ING, and he will also appeal to any Spanish sponsors who might come with the Alonso package.

“First of all, I want to thank Flavio and Renault for putting their confidence in me for 2008,” said Piquet. “It is a fantastic opportunity to make my Formula 1 debut with one of the top teams on the grid, and alongside one of the very best drivers in the sport. This drive is something I have been working towards since the end of 2006, and I am proud that my performances as test driver have earned me this position. I am looking forward to teaming up with Fernando, and learning from him. As a rookie, there is no better way to start your career than to have a double world champion as your reference point.”

 

The contract with Fred probably has more holes in it than Swiss cheese.