Luca D not keen on Alonso-Kimi pairing

I think that if Kimi leaves Ferrari and Alonso is still around, then he most likely will be a Ferrari driver at some time.

 

and when Kimi has two championships - then what?

 

Facts are the only thing that count.

 

+1
I believe this to be absolutely true as well.

 

Actually, I don't think any team has ever put two former WDCs in thier cars that I remember. It would be a first, Senna was teamed with Prost in 88 but Senna hadn't won a title yet. Mansell and Prost were at Ferrari but Mansell hadn't won yet either. Piquet and MS were at Benetton but MS wasn't champ yet. Am I right in saying that no past WDCs have ever been on the same team?

Anyway, I actually do agree, it wouldn't be a good idea. Fun to watch though.... I'd love to see it happen.

As far as Alonso crossing lines, we've already had that argument.

 

I think di Montezemolo is on the money ... Alonso is not a team player... the stuff that made him strong at Renault killed him at McLaren... and I dont think Ferrari want to put the team thru all of that... I think McLaren not only had Alonso problems but then you have the guys who wrench on his car... they get all caught up etc... it really destroys a team.

Ferrari are better with who they have or they find a young guy like Marco Andretti... and groom him...while Kimi goes out an wins more championships... if he can.

 

Luca never said Alonso was not a team player.

 

I must say it made my day hearing this. I really don't want Alonso at ferrari at all. I haven't really warmed up much to Raikkonen being there yet to be honest.

 

I just dont know why this has to come up every few weeks. As I said before, Alonso will never ever drive a Ferrari in F1.

 

Do you own the team? Nuff said.

 

Quote from Luca "I want two equal drivers that work together," the president told Tuesday's Gazzetta dello Sport.

So what's Massa doing there then?

 

How exactly did Alonso destroy Mclaren? All the crap that happed last year is in the end Ron Dennis' responsibility as team manager, part owner and boss of all the clowns that made last year an infamous season for Mclaren.

 

Prost was WDC in 86, Senna's first in 1988, they were both at McLaren in 1989.

I would not want to take the chance of having two WDC's on the same team. We can read between the lines of Luca's statement all we want, I am guessing that he knows that neither driver would be happy. I will again use the Senna/Prost pairing, even worse, Villeneuve/Pironi. That internal competition got Gilles killed. Winning races takes all of a team manager's attention, dealing with driver personalities is too distracting. Kimi is not as easy going as some think, he and JPM mutually complained about favoritism while at McLaren.

There has been no example of two strong drivers ultimately getting along after both have been successful except for the Raikkonen/Massa pairing, and that will change if Massa were to win the WDC this year. Kimi wants to go MotoGP racing, if Massa wins, I would not be surprised to see Kimi leave for two wheels by 2010.

So from mangement's perspective, bad idea. Ask yourself why Flavio let Heikki go, he is definetely better than Piquet. Flavio knows better that to have to deal with driver personalities.

And Luis, you can't ignore the lines that were crossed. Alonso knowingly used stolen Ferrari information. Alonso is a bright guy, he knew what he was doing, the dossier didn't just drop from the sky. Do you actually think that will just be overlooked by a team manager? If I were hiring, and one of the candidates was known to have used proprietary information about my product, do you think I would hire him?? Would you??

No way.

Besides, Alonso is home now, Renault will give him a strong car very soon. Flavio is like his father, they work well together. He will win again.

 

I know, what I meant was two drivers signed for the same team after they had already won the WDC. Prost and Senna in 89 doesn't really count because Senna had signed that multi-year contract in 88 before he won the title. I guess the closest thing we've had to two good drivers in the same team were Mika and DC. DC may be past his prime but he was in the title hunt many times with McLaren. Kimi/Massa is only working becuase Kimi knows he has the measure of Felipe.

 

So we can expect Massa to stay put at Ferrari as long as Kimi is there.

 

Maybe longer. Kimi has hinted at retirement a few times. I don't think he will but you never know.

 

The buck stops at the top. Ron Dennis has shown in prior occasions he is not a good driver manager.

 

Senna won his first WDC on the 4th of april of 1988.

 

No he didn't, he won it on October 30th 1988. He signed for McLaren in 87 BEFORE he won the title. I mean two guys signing for the same team after they have both already won a WDC.

 

OK, I see your point about the two WDC's. My point is that once you have two WDC's on a team, no matter the timing, attitudes change.

As for Raikkonen's opinion of Massa, I don't think Kimi thinks this at all about Massa. At this point, there is a mutual respect. Massa gave Kimi a lot of suport in 2007 when Kimi was still trying to figure out the car. Kimi was bothered by the obvious speed advantage that Massa's car had over his at Bahrain, and Massa even had more fuel. This relationship will change if Massa wins the WDC. Kimi would likely retire soon after (MotoGP), and only then with the help of the The Pope will there be a chance of Alonso at Ferrari.

Life is stranger than fiction, so anything is possible.

 

I feel you're right for the most part, but I think Kimi is aware of Massa's being a bit mistake prone. He is in a stronger position in the team than Massa right now, and is generally ahead during the race. Kimi just seemed off in Bahrain, it happens. The best chance that Massa had to win the title was last year when Kimi was floundering. If Massa ever did win a title i'm sure attitudes would change within the team but I suspect unless Kimi were to have a huge meltdown somewhere along the line, Massa's going to be made to assist Kimi most of the time.

As far as Alonso goes, anything is possible. LDM's has denied signing a driver before. Maybe not next year, but if Kimi does indeed retire after 09, there would only be one proven winner that you could plug into that car and win a title immediately.

 

Leaving aside Prost/Senna in 1989, just off the top of my head I think of Lotus in 1968, pairing Jimmy Clark and Graham Hill.

 

Sooooooooooo.....

You are finally admitting that Massa is second-rate.

 

1. Massa is not successful, he is a mediocre #2 and both he and Kimi know it, even if you don't.

2. Andretti/Petersen. Prost/Rosberg. Hill/Clark. Hill/Stewart. Stewart/Cevert. Lauda/Piquet. Fangio/Collins. Hulme/Brabham. Shall I go on?

 

Yeah, like Massa winning the WDC...