For months I have been saying on this forum that Alonso will never drive for Ferrari. I got pissed on for saying this. Tonight on SpeedTV Speed Report, they confirmed that the upper executives at Ferrari would never consider Alonso, primarily because of his behavior at McLaren. Not mentioned was Kimi's true opinion of Alonso. Massa likes Fred, but that is not enough. My friend at Ferrari may be slightly above middle management, but he is in the know 90% of the time. He was right about this one. After watching him in a mediocre car this year, I have no doubt that Alonso is an excellent excellent driver. I am actually beginning to like the guy (no Ted, no narcotics are involved). But the guy burnt his bridges, and even Luca has some sense of right and wrong. Alonso will not drive an F1 Ferrari as long as Luca, Todt, Domenicalli, Schumacher, have any say. Ted, you see, you were wrong again. Or is that wrong al of the time? ;}
I'm hoping that Alonso talking about his "out" clause at Renault is just trying to make himself look better when he stays on. This may be the opportunity for Alonso to make his career. To put the whinging past behind him, and show what he can accomplish in car development, as well as being able to drive a car with wounded aero. Schumi made his name by bringing Ferrari back after a long dry spell. Renault hasn't been out of it all that long, so between taking credit for bringing them back and just running off in the hopes of being handed the guaranteed #1 spot with a winning team -- well, do the math. If Alonso were to bail on Renault to take a spot at Ferrari, I wouldn't have much respect for either Ferrari or Alonso. Alonso can drive. This is his chance to prove that there's more to him than a prima donna driver. Besides: the series would be a lot more interesting with four teams able to win races.
+1 my opinion of him has changed greatly. OK he is still a whinger and will always be one, but I think next to Kimi he is probably the only driver amongst the current crop who could take a mediocre car and make it competitive. in all honesty I think if he was in BMW in 2008 he could be a title contender. I agree I cant see him in a Ferrari in 2009, especially whilst Kimi is there. Frank Williams made the mistake of putting 2 WDC's together in Prost and Senna, and they spent more time putting each other in the sandpit than racing.
Wow! Now you're getting greedy It was only this week that the *third* team was (legitimately) added after all...... Cheers, Ian
I've said this all along...it won't and can't happen. Yeah, its great to toss the story around in F-1, but putting Alonso in the Ferrari is a bomb waiting to explode. The ego's are too big and theirs not enough wins to go around. Alonso will be at Sauber next year, he wants a winning car, and that's the only place he would fit in.
I would agree with you about the BMW part except Dr. Theissen said this weekend that Alonso's services will not be needed at BMW next year. Bottom line Ron is that Alonso should have had it in his contract that he's #1 at Mclaren before he signed on the dotted line in 2005. He's a great racer and a fierce competitor but he needs a good manager to protect his interests and correct all the **** that he did last year and put him back in a winning car again. I agree completely on the Ferrari part . It wont happen in the next two years if ever and that's according to MS.
Never say never. I don't think Alonso will ever drive a Ferrari F1 car, but it definitely could happen. The reason I don't think he will is because I don't think he's the #1 choice for the Ferrari top guys, but IMO make no mistake, if Kimi were to leave and Alonso wanted to come on, and there was nobody better, they would snatch him up in a *heartbeat*. The top teams right now are BMW, McLaren and Ferrari. The top drivers are Kimi, Alonso and Hamilton. There are also at least a few very promising drivers who may prove to be the equal of Alonso and Kimi - guys like Vettel and Kubica. So we've got perhaps 5 really top shelf drivers competing for 3 top shelf seats. Even if/when Kimi retires, I think that Ferrari will likely have other options to choose from. If they have an opportunity on someone like Vettel, why would they choose Alonso instead? He comes with lots of baggage, not the least of which is his huge salary expectation. But, as I said in the first sentence, never say never. Kimi may bail next year and given Hamilton is tied, and assuming Kubica and Vettel are, and presuming Ferrari doesn't see anyone else to be their #1 driver, then it just may end up that Alonso gets the nod I personally hope not, but....
I don't understand that either but Kimi has said that he would't mind retiring after 2008. He has said that he isn't too interested in a long F1 career and trying to break all sorts of records, and if 08 is his last year, he will be happy. That doesn't mean he can't change his mind (and hopefully he will), especially since he will likely be the 08 WDC as well!
People don't change. Alonso will be Alonso now and in the future. Either you like the guy or you don't, but a 2 time world champion has NOTHING to prove to ANYONE. I would love to see Fernando go to Ferrari. I don't care about the whining, or what he says to the media. The guy can get in the car, develop it, and ultimately win. Bottom line, that's all that matters.
indeed. Kimi is one of those persons who seems like he just wants to live life to its utter best. I remember that, last year, the week of the first GP, all the drivers where in australia to get used to the climate etc, while Kimi was racing snowmobiles and participated in a powerboat race wearing a monkey suit. His base salary was around US$50 million last year, So if he does retire at the end of this year, he'll have plenty to life on... - Really hope that the stuff posted in post #1 is true. I hate alonso with a passion. good driver, crap personality!
So Kimi and Alonso together would be a $100 mill salary? And people wonder why I think it won't happen...
Michael Schumacher said last week, that Ferrari won't be signing Fred anytime soon in the future. yes, he's a great driver. but really terrible in terms of behaviour.
read it on f1-live.com he was commenting about how Massa played all his joker cards the 1st 2 races, and that he cannot afford to make any more mistakes. he then proceeded to comment about ALonso.
These two guys were never at Williams together. Prost was there in 1993 and Senna took over the Williams seat in 1994 until his tragic demise.
I can't stand MS, and not only should he not be making official statements for the Scuderia, but he is the LAST person who should be making comments about others' behavior given his antics on the track. I think Fernando will have the opportunity to go to Ferrari and I would certainly love to see him there, but depending on how things go with Renault, he may decide that to help bring Renault back to champions means more as a challenge than to jump to another team that has a long history of politics and infighting, even if the cars are consistently the fastest. He just seems more at ease at Renault even with the challenges they have and there is no need to have to acclimate to a new team and all its' personalities.
about Fred never driving for Ferrari then why does Ferrari have him as a option driver for 2009, an actual signed option contract? In fact it is signed by Luca himself from what I have been told by the guys at http://www.fakart.com/ And if you listen to Fred, he knows he has that option.... The option contract was signed after he burned his bridges as well, so I don't quite believe this yet. It's also the reason why Fred didn't sign with Renault right away, he was trying to get in early on the red car deal instead of having to wait for his option year.
I saw the same thing on speed report it was Bob Varsha who said there were a few Ferrari high-up execs that didn't like Alonso but like someone else said talk is cheap. If Ferrari falls short and Massa has a few more blown races, Alonso could potentially become an attractive target. I really think Alonso should go to BMW imagine his skills in that car, not to mention it'll really level the playing field between the newfound Big Three of F1.
or don't like.. Luca is a business man, he thinks with his brain, not his emotions. If it were the other way around, JT would still be at Ferrari and running the F1 team. There is little difference between Luca's desire to win and the old man's and with the Agnellis owning the whole thing I can guarantee you the only thing that Ferrari cares about is winning, no matter who the drivers are. It wasn't long ago they didn't like Kimi because he was and is a party animal, and yet today, the guy is driving a red car and loving it the same way we are...
Wow, I didnt know that. These guys all play for keeps. If Kimi or Massa slips Alonso would be a logical choice for both himself and Ferrari. I play for enjoyment, if Alonso signs I'd root for Force India over Alonso's ride.
I doubt he will be at Ferrari any time soon, I see him at BMW before Ferrari. I'm glad they (Ferrari) have a bad taste in their mouths about Alonso, he can drive but he has been bad for the sport in my opinion.
It would be even more interesting if Alonso turned that ugly ING Renault car into a podium contender just as BMW has done.
