Alonso worried over his F1 future

[CNR]

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/75445

Former double world champion Fernando Alonso has admitted he is worried about his own future, and where Formula 1 is heading, as the row over new regulations showed no sign of abating at Monaco on Wednesday.
With Ferrari having lost its legal bid to prevent a voluntary budget cap being introduced in F1 next year, the sport is set for an intense few days to resolve differences between the teams and the FIA on cost cuts.
Alonso, whose Renault team has said it will not enter F1 next year unless the rules are changed, has confessed that the situation has left him very uneasy.
When asked by AUTOSPORT if amid all the political turmoil he feared that he would not be racing in F1 next year, Alonso said: "Yes. It is very worrying."

[Dave B]

How I bet he wishes he'd gone to Honda when he had the chance!

Renault likely to quit (no matter what the rules, they want out) and the possibility of his dream job with Ferrari vanishing before his eyes.

Still, there's always the slim chance Briatore could buy Renault's assets and run it as a private team.

[Tazio]

Or FAD could take up a new sport! :arrows:

U502uzVmcAE

[gloomyDAY]

lmfao! Bobby DeNiro ladies and gentlemen.

[donKey jote]

:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[donKey jote]

How I bet he wishes he'd gone to Honda when he had the chance!

yep, but how was he to guess they'd be where they are now - legally ! :p :

http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/16/16_3_166.gif

[woody2goody]

Alonso's being overdramatic just like Ferrari, Renault, BMW and the rest.

He says F1 'will not be interesting' with the new teams instead of the manufacturers, but I disagree. If the worst comes to the worst, we will still have Brawn, Williams, McLaren, Red Bull, STR and Force India. These will probably be the top teams, but then throw USF1 in, Lola, maybe Prodrive/Aston, and others and we will still have a great battle for the title plus a close midfield hopefully.

F1 will survive without those teams, and sadly without Alonso and co. too if it comes to it. Fernando is a fantastic driver, and Ferrari are a fantastic team but they are not, and will never be above Formula One.

[donKey jote]

they are not, and will never be above Formula One.

neither should max be...

[F1boat]

I prefer Ferrari to Max. I enjoy the new season very much and I am extremely happy for Jenson and Brawn, but I still think that the cars are ugly and to me the whole effort to make F1 a socialistic "all-equal" sport is extremely dumb. Boo, hiss, Maxy...
If Ferrari go to Le Mans, I will most likely follow sportscar racing with more passion than Formula Remnant...

[Bagwan]

Has anyone signed up ?
Until they sort this , they have nothing .

Does anyone think that those new teams facing the same deadline want a look in at a series in this kind of atmosphere ?
Do they want a watered-down field ?
Is F1 as desireable a place to be if you don't get the chance to beat Ferrari's , and Renaults , and BMWs , and Toyotas ?

Yes , they want in cheap , but do they want a cheap series ?

The real deadline approaches , and the real resolve of FOTA is about to be tested .

Max went into that court with documents showing he had a number of entries dependent on the $40million price tag for a season , but I have seen statements from some that say that the issues must be sorted before the entries are finalized .

I expect that FOTA reps are presently in contact with all the potential teams , explaining the situation as they see it .
I expect Max has reps working the phones doing the same .

Those new teams are the key . If they come on side with FOTA , the war will be won .
And , it only makes sense that they do , as they may be applying to be F1 teams .

In the end , the series will be decimated if the old guard leaves , and the new guys must realize this .

Max may have won in court , but , until he actually gets someone to sign up , he has dick .

[F1boat]

It is interesting that Tom Kristensen said that sportscar racing is near a new golden era... I wonder whether this has something to do with F1's trouble...

[wmcot]

but then throw USF1 in, Lola, maybe Prodrive/Aston, and others and we will still have a great battle for the title plus a close midfield hopefully.



F1 will BE the midfield! If Max has his way, it will be a spec series in a few years and everyone will be equal - and equally dull!

[wmcot]

It is interesting that Tom Kristensen said that sportscar racing is near a new golden era... I wonder whether this has something to do with F1's trouble...

Hopefully! In ALMS and LMS you can do all kinds of things like use technology in your design! What a concept! Look at the cars in LMS/ALMS and you will find that they are already technically superior to F1 and that there is infinitely more freedom of design available.

The old saying says, "You get what you pay for." If F1 want low budget teams, you'll get low budget racing.

[CNR]

now this is not adding up

http://www.ansa.it/site/notizie/awnplus/english/news/2009-05-21_121347905.html


Speaking to the BBC, Alonso also expressed doubts over the quality of the new entries and added ''to have these three or four new teams and lose seven of the big manufacturers makes no sense. Not only will you lose the big teams but also the best drivers in the world.'' On this aspect Alonso made it clear that ''if the big teams and manufacturers leave, I'm not going to stick around to race against the small teams. It wouldn't be Formula 1 anymore and there are other categories I can race in''. Ferrari drivers Felipe Massa and Kimi Raikkonen have already said they will follow their team whatever it decides to do, while Red Bull's Mark Webber agreed that losing Ferrari would spell the end to Formula 1.


10 teams - 7 teams = 3 teams + 3 teams or (4 teams) = 6 or 7 teams

[F1boat]

Hopefully! In ALMS and LMS you can do all kinds of things like use technology in your design! What a concept! Look at the cars in LMS/ALMS and you will find that they are already technically superior to F1 and that there is infinitely more freedom of design available.

The old saying says, "You get what you pay for." If F1 want low budget teams, you'll get low budget racing.

Actually I finds Le Mans racing thrilling. The cars are spectacular, different and sexy.

[christophulus]

I'd have thought the only way Renault could be persuaded to stay with F1 is if Alonso stays long term. I'm pretty sure they'd pull the plug without their star driver.

Alonso won't be short of work though. F1 will carry on as before, few quid knocked off here and there and Max will get re-elected. It's just how the world works (annoyingly)

[V12]

Both myself on this forum, and a few days later, Tom Kristensen, no less, on autosport.com are quoted as saying "sportscar racing is the future". If F1 heads down the spec route I can see manufacturers, constructors, teams and (proper) fans heading over there en masse. It could theoretically have everything - variety in technology and circuits, a less commercial/entertainment/marketing-driven ethos, and if all the top drivers follow their employers - the top drivers too.

BUT having said that - if the manufacturers were to all simulataneously sod off and leave a proper battle of specialist constructors in F1 BUT without standard parts, standard engines or any of that BS, maybe I could enjoy both disciplines equally like I did in the 1990s when the manufacturers did sportscars (and touring cars and rallying) and left F1 to the actual constructor teams, just supplying engines.

[ioan]

If the manufacturers leave F1 they will not supply any engines.
First because they have no interest developing engines for peanuts and 2nd because Max wants everyone to run Cosworths.

[V12]

If the manufacturers leave F1 they will not supply any engines.
First because they have no interest developing engines for peanuts and 2nd because Max wants everyone to run Cosworths.

Yeah that was just me eulogising about the '80s and '90s. Back in the real world, if F1 adopted a spec engine "formula", i'd be gone in a flash :)

[tintop]

Fernando is a fantastic driver, and Ferrari are a fantastic team but they are not, and will never be above Formula One.

What is formula one now really, a one man vendetta? Anybody and any manufacturer can be above that. F1 in its current dysfunctional form needs to be eliminated and reconstituted by new players.

[F1boat]

What is formula one now really, a one man vendetta? Anybody and any manufacturer can be above that. F1 in its current dysfunctional form needs to be eliminated and reconstituted by new players.

Yeah, Fernando and Ferrari might not be above F1, but nor is Max. By the way, the same way of thinking killed CART. Penske, AGR and Ganassi are not above the sport. Yeah?
No.

[leopard]

Uncertainty that set him in situation very uneasy will not discourage him from keep competing in F1. Losing drivers like Alonso or teams like Ferrari would be an obvious great loss. Being worried over the future is psychological characteristic that all normal human beings have in common.

When everything gets rough, he only need to endure and solve the problem, becomes motivated to do whatever to solve the problems, or something along those lines. When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going!...

[wmcot]

Ferrari are a fantastic team but they are not, and will never be above Formula One.

Actually, there are quite a few teams above what F1 has become!

[LeonBrooke]

Yeah that was just me eulogising about the '80s and '90s. Back in the real world, if F1 adopted a spec engine "formula", i'd be gone in a flash :)

But what about the '70s, when everyone who wasn't Ferrari ran a Cosworth DFV? Not really much different...

To be honest I've grown very tired of this whole thing. I don't really give a damn about what they all do any more. I'm thinking: seeing Fernando, Kimi and Felipe driving a factory LMP1 Ferrari at Le Mans would be awesome...