... as quoted in www.F1-Live.com: So all you Alonso knockers give it a rest Also: Thus the sport is suffering because of the stupid, you cannot copy BS ... !! F1 is supposed to be technology based sport not a "It's my idea Mummy, he can't have it ... I'm going to cry, I can feel the tears welling ... please Mummy" Pete
Um, shouldn't the technology be developed and protected independently? How far do you think the sport would have advanced if everyone just cheated off each other? Secret, pioneering technology is what makes the sport great and teams deserve to have their interests protected.
The lastest is that he may stay with Renault because they are going to make huge improvements. This guy should just shut up and drive. But we have all seen that just dosnt happen.
actually, Fred should be a bit more supportive...to the team i mean. not make statements like they're the 8th slowest team, and then Flavio had to counter those statements.
Think if Alonso did go to Ferrari and for 2 or 3 races he lost, do you really think he would keep his mouth shut there... hell no. He would be talking about a team change there in a matter of 1 or 2 races. The guy is a jackass.
Flavio will find a way to make the Renault competitive by mid summer. Alonso fits well and is appreciated by Renault, so he will stay there. Fred and Flavio share a relationship that Alonso knows he will not have at any other team. They mutually respect each other. His calm demeanor lately shows he is content even as a backmarker. I think Fred has acted admirably so far and has not blasted his own team, only stated the obvious about the car. He must still be laughing at the way Lewis kissed his ass last Sunday, ruining Lewis's race.
...and which of the Renault drivers is primarily responsible for developing the car so that he can drive it at a competitive level....Sounds like there is a lot of work to do, no doubt, but do they have a driver that can assist the team with that "tidal wave" of development? Alonso, is very good in a great car, but I am not sure he can make a marginal car good.
This drop in performance with no recovery in sight plus Alonso having been beat by a rookie ALL begs to ask weather Renault and Alonso were true champions or was it simply Michelin Tires ???
Right where it was at the start of 2007. Cheating has been rampant in F1 and any other motorsport since its inception. All teams engage in it, yes even Ferrari. Yes pioneering technology makes the sport great but history has shown it doesn't that parallel development by multiple teams moves it forward much faster than one single team.
Everyone seems to forget Renault said they were lowering their efforts in F1 about two years ago. What ever happened with that? Are they spending less time and effort now? IMHO that was one reason why FA left.
That´s a crappy newspaper. Don´t believe everything they say about Formula 1. Or even better, believe nothing they say.
I would put a good bit of it down to development work carried out mostly by an experienced Franck Montagny and second seat Giancarlo Fisichella. The Tuned Mass damper helped keep them competitive in 06, as did Michelin tires. Those advantages are gone. They are on the same Bridgestones as everyone else, they have a rookie in the second seat, and French Formula 3 Champion Grosjean as a test driver. More responsibility falls on Alonso to develop the car now than it did then. We shall see if he is up to the task.
Frank Montagny?!? You think Montagny had more to do with the Renault's development than Alonso?!? Is he even still racing, let alone in F1?? And Fisi?? If he was such a great development driver, then why didn't he do a better job once Alonso left. I agree that a great deal of Renault's deficiencies these past two years is that they have had a tougher time adapting to the Bridgestones than did other teams however to disregard Alonso's role in developing the Renault in 2003 through 2006 does him a huge disservice. Even the Mclaren engineers commented on how much better technical feedback they were getting from Alonso than they did from either Kimi or JPM. And needless to say even Hamilton will admit that he benefitted from Alonso's skills in setting up the car.
Where do you get the gumpshin to keep saying that Alonso and Renault were that good in 2005? Everyone and his brother knows very well that the change in tire rule came in to slow MS. Ferrari won a ton of races in 04 and came back in 06 and almost won it all. The only reason Renault and Alonso won in 05 is because the Ferrari was shod with bricks. I will conceed the 06 season to Alonso as he barely won but there are some serious romurs out there that Renault had some Ferrari technology on it then. I have always said that I would like to see Alonso and his great driving in a so so car....and it seems so far he has done nothing to improve the Renault...infact they seem to be going backwards....Where is all this incredible car development that Alonso is supposed to be so good at? My God the toyotas and hondas are surpassing them now....Is that because they have better development drivers? I wonder. So far Alonso has really proven very little and to me he is as much a WDC as Mansel was.
Firstly, let's not knock Nigel. Secondly, there is only so much a driver can do to develop a car. Probably 98% of the car's performance is going to be already decided by the engineers and the mechanics. So let's not blame the overall performance, or lack thereof, of a car solely on the driver, that's just ridiculous.
Yes I agree, I would say a driver who can give back good feedback as to where they think the car can be tweaked, to gain more speed, or more suited to them as a driver is more the issue, FA is probably very good at this. It's daft to think he alone can turn a dog of a car into a winning one.
Last years Renault seems to be more competitive then than this year’s car is now. From what I've read Fisi bore the brunt of development work for the team. That was the primary reason Flavio kept him on last year. IMO it was a bad mistake of Alonso's not to keep him as a number 2.
I agree with you but I would bet that if MS was simply testing the renault that you would see it be in the top 4 at a minimum by the halfway point this season. Alonso dosnt care because he is always looking elsewhere like a spoiled child who thinks he is the best. A car is improved when the driver sticks around and works on the development and fine tuning by giving his feedback and opinions on the car. Do you really think that Alonso is doing this whilst makeing the dumb ass coments to the media. I some how doubt it very much.
What a load of cr@p. Remember 2006, or am I thinking about 2005. If the basic car is flawed a test driver can not simply make a few adjustments and all is good. Ferrari fncked up and MS was NOT able to fix it. Alonso IS doing what he can, improvements are coming ... bash if you like, but we all know nothing!. Many really good drivers have been given winning packages and have not won (including Kimi at McLaren), so Alonso is above that level. Pete
Would that be the same Michael Schumacher who turned his back on Jordan, the team that gave him his opportunity in F1? Would that be the same Michael Schumacher who turned his back on Benetton after they took him to two WDCs? What was that you were saying about loyalty?
You seem to imply that a driver who is not competitive in F1 - (ie #1 driver) cannot possible be a good development driver. This is wrong in my view. Montagny, while not outright competitive was experienced and consistant, as was Fisichella. The role of a development driver is to provide development direction to the team, not to come up with the killer setup for raceday. I suspect that Alonso helped Hamilton with setup, NOT development. With Piquet and Grosjean, Renault does not have the experience to guide development. To find a driver that can be a #1 and a good development driver is extremely rare and is why M. Schumacher was so highly rated regardless of his loyalty.
