Bye Bye Alonso !

[pino]

Fernando will tomorrow announce, his exit from Ferrari, at the end of this season !

[Mark]

No surprises there. He expected to come to Ferrari and win but that did not happen. Even if they got rid of the Red Bulls they still get beaten by Mercedes.

[Rollo]

Dear Ferrari,
this is the choice you should have made in the first place:
http://www.grandprix247.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/130103_new.jpg
Love, Rollo

PS: I did not kiss the editor of the Radio Times.

[Mark]

It seems mad that he will end up at McLaren after his history with the team but F1 is odd like that!

[zako85]

After all these years of observing Alonso in Ferrari, and sometimes mocking him, I feel bad that his dreams have not materialized after joining the Ferrari team. He is undoubtedly one of the greatest, if not the greatest, drivers of this generation, and yet in the last five years he hasn't been given a car he deserves to drive.

[pino]

Italian media says, Vettel is on pole to replace him at Ferrari.

Why would Vettel leave a winning Team like Red Bull, to join Ferrari ? :eek:

[pino]

As for Alonso, it's very sad, seeing him leaving, although I understand why. Too many promises by Ferrari to a driver, which he's the most complete of today's F1. Fernando wants to win another title, and doesn't want to wait for ever, in a Team like Ferrari...

[Bagwan]

How do you know this , Pino ?

[Mark]

Vettel to Ferrari has been rumoured for as long as Alonso was originally! I think all great drivers want to drive for the Ferrari at some time in their career.

[Mark]

If Alonso wants to win another WDC then McLaren is not the obvious choice!

[Bagwan]

If Alonso goes to McLaren/Honda , Dennis will not be there .
Gotta be part of the deal .

[pino]

How do you know this , Pino ?

Know what ?

[journeyman racer]

They said something about this on radio. Unfulfilled as far as a title goes, but has established himself as the undisputed no1 driver. That title will remain with him til he retires. Ferrari don't seem to have to have any idea how to get out of the trough they're in. The interest now will be to see how bad they could get.

[Tazio]

If McLaren really are offering Fred €35 per year It's a no brainer really. Interesting that Mercedes seems to be in the mix, which driver would they dump?


Fernando Alonso will not be driving for Ferrari in 2015. According to Cope Radio's programme, 'El Partido de las 12', the Spaniard and the Italian racing team have reached an agreement to put an end to their relationship as soon as the present season comes to an end.
Alonso has not been convinced by Ferrari's project for a while now and, according to Cope Radio, has various offers on the table to choose from.
McLaren and Mercedes seem to be the big favourites. Apparently, McLaren have an offer of €35 million that would see the driver double his salary overnight.
I guess it might be time to get another tatt.

http://www.hardtuned.com/feature/tattoo/tat-racing/20110610f1mclaren.jpg

:angel: :wave:

[Bagwan]

Know what ?

How do you know for sure that he will announce it tomorrow ?

[pino]

Not 100% sure, but there's a big chance, that it will be tomorrow. That's according to Italian TV and media !

[Bagwan]

Not 100% sure, but there's a big chance, that it will be tomorrow. That's according to Italian TV and media !

Oh , it sounded like you'd been talking to Fred , yourself .
Which , by the way , wouldn't have surprised me .

Sorry . Didn't mean to be in your face about it .

[pino]

It's ok Baggy ;)

[Bagwan]

Don't you feel like talking him out of leaving ?

[Doc Austin]

I've always liked Alonso, but Ferrari not so much. I'de be ok with him moving to another team that I do like.

[Tazio]

If Alonso goes to McLaren/Honda , Dennis will not be there .
Gotta be part of the deal .Why so Baggie? Both of them have more money than they know what to do with, and I think Fred's talent trumps any lingering grudge Ron may have. Personally I don't think either hold a grudge, this is business, and aparantly Ron has signed off on Fred.


McLaren is making a final push to convince Sebastian Vettel or Fernando Alonso to lead the team in its new Honda era, AUTOSPORT has learned.
Team chiefs Eric Boullier and Ron Dennis are focusing their efforts on securing the two highly-rated top Formula 1 stars as soon as they can.
Although both drivers are under contract for the immediate future - with Vettel committed at Red Bull until the end of 2015 and Alonso a year longer at Ferrari - that has not proved a turn-off for McLaren. Plus I really think Ron wants another F1 title for McLaren while he is still among the living. It has been quite a while now, and I doubt he cares about trivial matters in his pursuit there of!!
JMHO Meat!

[ShiftingGears]

Well I wouldn't have expected Alonso to drive for McLaren after 2007. I also wouldn'tve expected Alonso driving for McLaren after this year - I understand he feels he needed a change but McLaren seems like a significant step down. I wonder if he is banking on the Honda engines being rockets.

[Hawkmoon]

I'm disappointed but I understand why he wants to leave. Ferrari really haven't held up their end of the bargain for most of Alonso's time at Maranello.

What I don't understand is a move to McLaren who are in worse shape than the Scuderia. Honda aren't guaranteed to produce a magic engine next year and even if they did, McLaren haven't made a decent chassis since 2008. Red Bull aren't an option having already announced that Kvyat will replace Vettel. Mercedes? Not likely, at least for 2015. I'm not really sure what Alonso hopes to gain by leaving Ferrari now.

[dj_bytedisaster]

I'm disappointed but I understand why he wants to leave. Ferrari really haven't held up their end of the bargain for most of Alonso's time at Maranello.

What I don't understand is a move to McLaren who are in worse shape than the Scuderia. Honda aren't guaranteed to produce a magic engine next year and even if they did, McLaren haven't made a decent chassis since 2008. Red Bull aren't an option having already announced that Kvyat will replace Vettel. Mercedes? Not likely, at least for 2015. I'm not really sure what Alonso hopes to gain by leaving Ferrari now.

He's recently started talks to acquire a cycling team. Could it be that he takes a sabbatical to get that going and comes back after knowing how good/bad Macca is? Other option might be a takeover of Lotus together with Briatore. Rumours about that have been around for some time, too.

[Mark]

The cycling team thing was over a year ago now and hasn't appeared to come to anything.

[jens]

I'm disappointed but I understand why he wants to leave. Ferrari really haven't held up their end of the bargain for most of Alonso's time at Maranello.

What I don't understand is a move to McLaren who are in worse shape than the Scuderia. Honda aren't guaranteed to produce a magic engine next year and even if they did, McLaren haven't made a decent chassis since 2008. Red Bull aren't an option having already announced that Kvyat will replace Vettel. Mercedes? Not likely, at least for 2015. I'm not really sure what Alonso hopes to gain by leaving Ferrari now.

Moving from Ferrari to McLaren doesn't seem to make much sense indeed. I have a suspicion Alonso has fallen out with the new Ferrari management. With LDM and Domenicali there weren't many problems, but once the leadership in Ferrari changed, automatically something changed with the Alonso situation too.

Alonso is a complicated personality, and has fallen out with teams before. So there is substance to the theory. But it is impossible to know, what exactly has happened behind the closed doors, because Alonso has parted ways with this new Ferrari management rather quickly after they took power in the team.

[janneppi]

It may very well be that the new bosses at Ferrari didn't really want Alonso to stay that badly. He's been there for what, five, six years without the team winning much. Any other top driver would have been under lot of criticism for those results(regardless of how bad the car is).

[zako85]

It may very well be that the new bosses at Ferrari didn't really want Alonso to stay that badly. He's been there for what, five, six years without the team winning much. Any other top driver would have been under lot of criticism for those results(regardless of how bad the car is).


Sounds like you haven't paid close attention to Ferrari's accomplishments in the past five seasons. Alonso's utter dominance over Ferrari's most recent world champion Kimi Raikkonen and his utter dominance over Ferrari's "almost a world champion by one point" Felipe Massa for five years should finally give you a hint just how good Alonso is. By now it is clear that if it was not for Alonso, all this time Ferrari would have been an ordinary midfield team whose main goal is to stay ahead of Force India or Sauber. Just try to imagine where Ferrari could have been if during 2010-2014 seasons, it was racing with Massa and Raikkonen. Alonso exposed both of them as good but relatively ordinary drivers. I think Ferrari's top managers know very well that they're losing an incredible talent. But what else can they do? Alonso has more money and Ferrari cars in his garage than what he knows what to do with. What he needs is an honest to god race car that can compete at the front, and Ferrari hasn't given that to him since 2010.

[airshifter]

I'm really not at all shocked.

Regardless of what Ferrari claims, they haven't delivered since Alonso has been back. Given a car good enough for even a shot at the title, chances are by now Fred would have another. He has been pushing Ferrari pigs well beyond what should be expected of the car for years, and by now I think the Ferrari title means less to Alonso, and a shot at another WDC means more to him.

TBH, I couldn't fault Alonso for leaving even if it was for a lesser brand than McLaren. Ferrari have failed him, and he has continued to provide 100% through the years of the bad cars.

And in the high stakes game of F1, I'm sure Alonso and Ron will figure it out. Ron needs good drivers, and regardless of their rocky past relationship, he knows Fred is the best out there right now.

The only question I have is if the Honda money will be enough to create another great car. They threw a lot of money into cars before the Brawn dominated for a single season, and really that was almost all just the proper exploiting of the diffuser rules. If they gave Fred a car like that, the season would be wrapped up early.

But in any case, we will see how good the car is. With Fred as the pilot, there will be little doubt what the car is capable of.

[janneppi]

By now it is clear that if it was not for Alonso, all this time Ferrari would have been an ordinary midfield team whose main goal is to stay ahead of Force India or Sauber. Just try to imagine where Ferrari could have been if during 2010-2014 seasons, it was racing with Massa and Raikkonen.
Judging from the average from 2007-9 anywhere from 1-5.



Alonso exposed both of them as good but relatively ordinary drivers. I think Ferrari's top managers know very well that they're losing an incredible talent. But what else can they do? Alonso has more money and Ferrari cars in his garage than what he knows what to do with. What he needs is an honest to god race car that can compete at the front, and Ferrari hasn't given that him him since 2010.
Maybe it's the team that lacks engineering talent, maybe it's the combination of Alonso and team that doesn't quite reach the top, or maybe it's Alonso's driving style that doesn't result in a winning car the same way RedBull has done over the previous years.
Now they are apparently getting a 27-year old 4 time WDC to replace a 33- year old 2 time wdc who's won a championship 8 years ago. ;)

Don't get me wrong, IMO Alonso is a very good driver, but it's really a long time for a one of the most respected drivers in decades not to win anything.

[zako85]

Don't get me wrong, IMO Alonso is a very good driver, but it's really a long time for a one of the most respected drivers in decades not to win anything.

It's a long time, but it's due to combination of bad luck and seat assignments we have observed. For much of that time Alonso was driving subpar cars. We can't underestimate the bad luck. Alonso could have won the 2010 title if not for a bad strategy call at the last race, and he might have won the 2012 title if he wasn't almost decapitated by Grosjean's flying Lotus in Belgium.

Yes, I can see Ferrari now considering that having 27 year old driver is better than a 33 year old for the long term, although personally I think that there is still a lot of blood left in Alonso. But Alonso probably will not last another seven winless seasons. He needs a good car _now_, and it's quite a gamble on his part to leave Ferrari for the unproven McLaren. I guess Alonso may have some insider knowledge that Ferrari may continue going down.

[jens]

I agree that Alonso has taken a lot of of those cars throughout 2010-2014. And has been one of the best assets of the team.

We don't know, what happened between Alonso and the new Ferrari bosses. But looks like something major.

What seems clear is that those new Ferrari bosses have decided to act radically and shake this team up properly, because I believe they got too stale and conservative throughout years, which has contributed to the gradual stagnation and fall.

How was Alonso on their way in this re-structuring? Or do the new bosses think like Red Bull - hey we need to have a youthful image and get some younger drivers than we have now. Then why would Alonso leave and not Räikkönen?

Alonso is known to be a tough character, and probably so are the new bosses. It is hard to blame Alonso for the consistent failure, but if year-after-year you are part of it, you could be considered guilty by association. Alonso may have had some strong opinions, and the new bosses decided to have none of it and send him away, deciding that even though this guy is a great driver, he might be an obstacle in our attempt to build up a new Ferrari.

[jens]

He needs a good car _now_, and it's quite a gamble on his part to leave Ferrari for the unproven McLaren. I guess Alonso may have some insider knowledge that Ferrari may continue going down.

He certainly knows a lot about Ferrari, and if a team is in a phase of re-structuring, chances are it would take a few more years before it could possibly bear fruit. But Alonso can't wait.

However, the thing with McLaren is that they are basically in the same phase as Ferrari. Also been getting worse year-by-year, and also undergone major re-structuring recently. Plus unknown Honda. Even if Ferrari's shape isn't great, I don't see evidence McLaren is going to be better. Who would be better in the future? It is also tough call. Maybe Alonso hopes McLaren-Honda has greater chances of surprising out of the blue, while Ferrari is less likely to have immediate impact post-restructuring. But it is a pure gamble at this stage.

[Mia 01]

Kimi and Sebastian are close friends, I like.

Fernado, the man who can choose which team to drive for, I whish good luck to him.

[Tazio]

I don't know which I want worse, Kimi-meat to punk Seb, or Seb-meat to punk Kimi. :confused: :p:

[Mia 01]

No suprise there T.

[Koz]

I don't know which I want worse, Kimi-meat to punk Seb, or Seb-meat to punk Kimi. :confused: :p:

If Kimi punk'd Vettel, I think his reputation would be worse than Nelsinho, and Alonso cemented as the greatest of all time.

[Tazio]

Racing in 10 minutes mates!!

[steveaki13]

Wrong thread :D or are you letting Fred know?

[Tazio]

Busted for being a little bit pissed :crazy: :laugh:

[steveaki13]

Busted for being a little bit pissed :crazy: :laugh:

Thats what Newcastle does for you ;)

[Tazio]

I'm drinking Pacifica tonight mate :bandit: :beer:

[truefan72]

i think alonso outplayed himself with his silly season negotiations
he should have made firm contact with rbr and a decent salary option for a winning car

I think he tried to do a 1 year deal with ferrar and they were asking for 3 etc

now it seems his only chance is with mclaren and that is no guarantee based on the simple fact that he cost them $100million and headaches

to me it is 50/50 that he will be mclaren or sit out 2015 which would be a big shame,
lol or join verstappen at STR for 1 year
or back to lotus if mclaren sign grosjean

[Tazio]

i think alonso outplayed himself with his silly season negotiations
he should have made firm contact with rbr and a decent salary option for a winning car

I think he tried to do a 1 year deal with ferrar and they were asking for 3 etc

now it seems his only chance is with mclaren and that is no guarantee based on the simple fact that he cost them $100million and headaches

to me it is 50/50 that he will be mclaren or sit out 2015 which would be a big shame,
lol or join verstappen at STR for 1 year
or back to lotus if mclaren sign grosjean

http://e2.365dm.com/14/10/660x350/ron-dennis-mclaren-fernando-alonso_3212369.jpg?20141004105028

http://www1.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/9502382/ron-dennis-denies-that-mclaren-have-already-signed-fernando-alonso-for-2015

[jens]

he should have made firm contact with rbr and a decent salary option for a winning car


I understand that Alonso contacted Red Bull, but they said "no thanks" and signed Kvyat.

[A FONDO]

I understand that Alonso contacted Red Bull, but they said "no thanks" and signed Kvyat.

No way RBR would sign Alonso, he wants enormous salary while the youngster could agree to about 5 mil.

[zako85]

No way RBR would sign Alonso, he wants enormous salary while the youngster could agree to about 5 mil.

This "explanation" is ridiculous and overly simplistic. You should realize that RBR has a bigger fish to fry than save a few millions on driver salaries. RBR is not there to make profit or even break even. RBR's goal is to win.

And by the way, where did you hear that Kvyat will be paid 5 mil? Considering RBR's stingy nature, I think Kvyat will be paid significantly less.

I think the real reason RBR did not consider Alonso is because Red Bull wants to project an image of a youth oriented drinks brand, the youth who are into extreme sports of all kind. Hiring a talented Russian youngling bodes well with this marketing campaign. And I think Red Bull is right. Regardless of where the drivers end up assigned next season, Red Bull will be the most fun team to observe IMHO.

[Storm]

^most fun in what sense?

[steveaki13]

^most fun in what sense?

Kyvat getting thrashed probably.

I mean he might do OK, but seriously he has 8 points to 21 of Vergne. What do they see. I have seen two really good drives and some OK ones. I know Ricciardo was the same, but Vergne matched and beat Ricciardo so why they seem to want him out is bizzare.