Very much agree. Plenty of exciting drivers in the sport today, Max, Leclerc, Ric that all provide as much if not more excitement as Alonso did...money is far better spend getting an exciting engne into the sport!
Renault is about to announce their cost cutting measures in a few days to counter the economic losses due to the virus. Here, in France's most respected daily, le Figaro, right wing, it is said that there are strong rumors that they will close four factories. the shocker is that the one in Dieppe is mentioned: that is where the brilliant new Alpine bare bones sportscar is made...it has rave reviews in all European magazines, even Germany and the UK, but you hardly ever see them on the road...so if they cancel Alpine that is like Chevrolet cancelling the Corvette altogether...It would signal a major shift towards bland electrical cars and away from anything to do with performance...Including motorsport? So a big salary for Fernando Alonso is the last thing on Renault management's mind and would not be accepted by the communist unions while people lose their jobs, they would raise hell and block everything as usual... History repeats itself, in the 80's the Renault F1 team wanted Niki Lauda and he negotiated with team boss Gerard Larrousse...but there was much strife with the same leftist unions back then and so management decided it was not feasible to cut jobs on one side and pay a huge salary to Lauda, end of discussion. Let's just hope the F1 team is allowed to continue... https://www.lefigaro.fr/societes/renault-envisagerait-de-fermer-plusieurs-sites-en-france-20200519
"The only limitation on how fast the cars can go should be dimensions, weights, tires, and fuel." Well . . . . yeah. That does pretty much sum it up, doesn't it?
Interesting Marc, thanks. Does Renault's involvement with Nissan/Infinity come into play as well? What is being mentioned there? BHW
You told me once that I was prejudiced against Renault. Here is the reason why. There is no continuity in its approach to racing. Everything in France has to be politicised to death. It's a good job that Red Bull, and now McLaren are dumping such an unreliable partner.
Hi Barton, Right now Renault and Nissan and like two heir cousins who never talk with each other stuck in a broken elevator on the way up to the law office for the will reading Verrry awkward. The Japanese basically wanted out and certainly not to be run by westerners any more, apparently no western CEO ever lasted in Japan. As I wrote here years ago if Renault is really in a bind they could call the F1 team Nissan...for a few years. Ghosn was hugely pro F1 and his departure, because of the Japanese coup -which is absolutely what that was- does not help either. Here is an amusing cartoon about his Houdini like escape Image Unavailable, Please Login
Well I am no fan of Renault and would drive the other French brands 100 times over them but in F1 I would like to see them succeed again, I don't like or rate Abiteboul and the old guy above him, at least they have Prost, wish he could run things. The investment has been important the factory has grown a lot in facilities -Ocon said he was getting lost when coming back for the first time- and staff so this year I do expect progress. I think in a normal season Ricciardo would have waited a bit longer to make his decision. Regarding the board and the way they come and go yes I don't like that either. Politics alas is also a major issue... Still I hope to cheer for them this year at some point.
This comes down to what you think the meaning of the word "can" is. Those limiting factors you mention are always at play. But, many, if not most, can be controlled or mitigated by the team and driver. What I object to is the external limitations placed on current cars by highly restrictive and highly detailed technical specs that masquerade as innovation, and are anything but. Of course, the " can" is tempered by two other words, "and finish." But if Ferrari, as they did historically, think that a V-12 engine is the key to that, while Merc think it is a V-6 and BMW think it is an I-6, let them prove it. And the same applies to virtually every other technical aspect. As someone else mentioned, rules used to address displacement, overall size, weight, and tires (Ken Tyrrell notwithstanding).
I hope Alonso doesn’t come back. Geeez. Hasn’t he done enough damage already? Alonso reminds me of uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite. This is his future right here:
Probably something like $20-$30 million would get him to yes. Prototypes and Sports cars can’t pay. Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat
The little socialists in Renault wouldn't be very impressed if Renault shuts several factories (which they are doing), and then give 1 man a huge salary with give or take zero result. *forgot that Liberty might foot that bill. Still. Would the socialists be happy to shut real factories that stand a chance at making some money yet keep open a loss making entertainment platform?
For French speakers : The Economy Minister warning that Renault could disappear following a 80 to 90% drop in sales. Minority shareholder (15%), the French state may support a rescue, but only if Renault undertakes to produce his next generation of electric cars in France, and not abroad. Bruno Le Maire sur Renault: "Flins ne doit pas fermer" https://www.bfmtv.com/economie/bruno-le-maire-sur-renault-flins-ne-doit-pas-fermer-1918680.html "Oui, Renault peut disparaître" En tout cas l’avenir de Renault, dont les ventes se seraient écroulées “de 80 à 90% ces dernières semaines” préoccupe sérieusement le gouvernement. “Oui Renault peut disparaître, oui les grands industriels peuvent disparaître”, a déploré le ministre. Mais Renault peut rebondir et Renault va rebondir”, a-t-il martelé, estimant que l’objectif était d’en faire “un des constructeur les plus avancés technologiquement de la planète”, ce qui “suppose de réorganiser sa capacité de production en France”.
I suppose it's "too big to fail" according to the formula. Renault will probably be rescued by the French state, to avoid mass redundancy and the social unrest that would follow. Renault owns 40% of Nissan, so they could sell that.
Sorry, but in that specific matter, it is simply not true: it is not politicised anymore. The State only holds 15% of Renault's stake, and as such, was not able to exert any control whatsoever on Renault decisions or strategy for the last ten years. The members of the Board representing the State were against most of Gohsn decisions (and against his salary...and, well: against him) but unable to prevail (which, when you hold only 15% of the stakes, is proper corporate governance). I have to say that I find rather amusing all those "daring entrepreneurs" calling for State money at the first obstacle: always the same principle: "let's privatise the profits, but nationalise the losses". The real trouble concerning the F1 program is that when they decided to come back, they wanted to succeed on a tight budget. And furthermore, it was never fully supported by the board. It was Gohsn idea; now that he isn't here anymore... As a tax payer, IF state money is used to save Renault, then I want them to save every penny they can; including axing the F1 program. It is that simple, really. The F1 program makes no sense, it is a half-hearted approach; let's get rid of that, if cost-cutting is a necessity. Rgds
You are right. If there is state intervention, it's to save jobs in France, and not to spend it on a F1 team.
On one hand; not that I am rejoiced about it, but these are exceptional times, and I think they would not be the only ones to ask for a state loan. After all, the german government is having the State taking a 20% stake in Lufthansa, for instance. On the other: if no state money is involved at Renault, nevertheless I don't understand their approach: when they decided to come back, they had a goal and an agenda; which they didn't reach. Now, they are playing the "Rolling agenda" at the end of each season, pushing their goal further and further: at the beginning, it was "well, we will need four years to win races"; now, four years later, they say "we will need three more years at least": how long will this last? Reminds me of the famous "season of transition" that Guy Ligier used for an excuse for years... Isn't it time for them to make a choice, even without the question of the state money or not? Either they do it, and they do it fully, or they don't; but this half-hearted, half-baked strategy makes no sense, really. If they think that they cannot make it work, then let's pull the plug and stop. Rgds
Off topic but about Alonso: In 1999 Alonso was already racing in Formula Euro Open, a sort of F4 back then, but decided to contest again the Karting World Championship. He had been junior world champion in 1996 but was unlucky when he graduated to the "senior" class, the Formula A, and didn't conquer any titles. In 1999 he took a break from Formula Open to contest the world championship at Formula Super A, the "Formula 1" of karting. Here is the pre-final and final races of that 1999 FSA World Championship: 1- At 15m25s he spins by himself while running in 2nd in the pre-final; 2- At 36m44s and 37m16s he abandons with a technical issue in the final.
