Alonso looks to be...............leaving

Yes and no. Alonso would certainly do better than the current drivers, but Newey didn't really impress me with the current car. I expected a lot more. Granted some of the trouble was the gearbox, but still. We'll see.

 

i hope so. we need more stronger teams to challenge the front 2 at the moment

 

Yeah, it's even more 'romantic'
than Massa kicking Kimi's components on the track until Monza,
developing the car and generally carrying the team.

Glad Alonso's leaving. LH will have the opportunity to demonstrate the leadership he's lip serving,
and maybe Alonso can help develop another contender. Hopefully he doesn't go to F, as he wouldn't
go as #2 anywhere, but the principal thing is he's leaving. Prima++

 

I was more impressed with the new car then you. If Alonso brought 6/10's to Mclaren, then he could bring at least that much to RBR. In Brazil, with 6/10's, he would have out qualified himself. This is in a first year car on a team with substantially less technical background and capabilities.

 

Maybe I expected too much. Let's hope for 08.

 

...coulthard went over cause Adrian Newey was there, even 2 of the high class designers from McLaren are over there...maybe they really need is some input from fast driving instead of Webber excuses, or coulthard grayhair...and right now, a very fast one is on the market...

Id be glad to se Alonso on a lesser car, with lesser chances...I´ve always thought he won BOTH WDC making the lesser mistakes, instead of being the fastest or the better...

Maybe in RBR HIS time to prove he´s the next Schumacher will come...and will add to the overall spectacle...Im a lot more worried about the show than Ferrari at this point...I can see Ferrari is rolling on the right lane...

 

We shall see. However you are looking at who will want Alonso in 2009, from the 2007 viewpoint. I think things will be markedly different after a year.

First of all, if Kimi wins WDC in 2008, he has everything going for him that Alonso does, but without the baggage and demands for #1 status. Ergo, I highly doubt Ferrari would sign Alonso when they have someone. I doubt the "two #1's" argument will fly because we have very clearly seen how that played out in 2007 at McLaren. I am confident that Alonso will only be at Ferrari in 2009 if Kimi is not. And where would Kimi go? He is a WDC winner (likely 2xWDC winner by that time) and he sure won't go back to McLaren. Most likely he is at Ferrari for the long haul which IMO negates any chance Alonso has to drive there in 09.

So where does that leave Alonso? He is no way going back to McLaren - ever. I also highly doubt Renault is in line to win another WDC against McLaren and Ferrari anytime soon, so if he goes there I doubt it means a WDC. He doesn't have the work ethic, the charisma or the talent to pull a Schumi and build up someone like Toyota, Honda or RBR to Ferrari-esque status.

So what exactly are Alonso's chances to be a WDC winning driver again? Now that Hamilton is on the scene, and has shown he is as fast or faster than Alonso, that is both of the top WDC-winning teams buttoned up for a few years to come.

Next year, wherever he ends up, it will not be that fast a car. He will start out with slight complaining, then progress to outright anger and vitriol towards his team. He will be 2 years removed from being a WDC winner, he will be seen as a whiner, and the top two teams already have equal or better drivers on long-term contracts. So where can he go and win a WDC? I don't think he can.

But we shall see!

 

The whole 'I brought half a second to McLaren' statement has always bothered me. In reading the World Motor Sport Council decision - to me - the timing of when McLaren turned the corner this year coincides with the testing dates when data started to exchange hands. let's make no bones about it - Alonso is a mega-talent. But look back at his double World Championships. 2005 was a farce. the rules were designed for one reason; stop the Ferrari/Schumacher onslaught that endured in 2004. You would be hard-pressed to find anyone admit that the one tire rule was good for the sport. Ferrari/Bridgestone were way behind in testing due their arrangement. (Minardi & Jordan don't count much during that era).
2006 was a really good Championship; Alonso won fair & square.
But the R26 was also the class of the field that year. Plus Schumi's inexcusable act at Monaco screwed his Championship chances, which was evident by Brazil 2006.
I just don't buy into the theory that the majority of the developmental gains this year were attributed to Alonso.
Is it obvious I'm no fan of his?
I just hate whiners - in sport & business.............
Kevin S.
Orchard park, NY

 

There are plenty of questions about Schumacher and his support of Irvine's title bid. Did he do everything he could or did he sandbag to prevent Irvine from bringing the title back to Ferrari? This is another topic for another thread.

Discussed ad nauseum already.

The only team Schumacher drove for was Team Schumacher. He interacted with the mechanics? He couldn't be bothered to learn Italian until Rubens, fluent in Italian, joined the team. If he did anything at all with anyone else at Ferrari, it was to ensure that they worked their tails off to help him win. Nothing wrong with that, any true champion ought to be doing the same, but don't waste bandwidth trying to romanticize Schumacher into this selfless "team" player that he never was.

A team player subordinates his personal ambitions to further the team's goals. Rubens, who sacrificed victories for Schumacher, was a team player. Massa, who supported both Schumacher and Kimi's title bids, is a team player. Schumacher never once sacrificed a single personal ambition for the team's betterment. NEVER ONCE. He did everything he could to prevent Kimi's signing, even though his own career was winding down and the team needed to secure its future. He would have gladly prevented the team from signing the best available prospect for its long-term success in order to give himself another year at the top. Team player? Baloney.

 

I am not saying he actually did bring 6/10's to Mclaren but I would bet anything he is 6/10's quicker then Webber.

 

Qvb - it was Alosno that said it - that's what bothered me.


"I remember the car I drove and the results they had in 2006 and now I brought to the team half a second, six-tenths, whatever, and I don't see anything giving me back. That's the only thing."

 

Senna3xWC -
Good points. I should re-state that I viewed Schumi as more of a team leader, than a team player.
As much as I liked the Schu - I agree he had plenty of faults.....
Kevin S.
Orchard Park, NY

 

It's kinda funny: You list all the reasons why a battlefield hardened and tested two times WDC cannot win another title. And at the same time we have people on here who strongly believe that Massa is the next WDC.

 

Well that's another bet I'll take (not with you - we're on the same page!) - I bet Massa will never win a WDC in his entire life at Ferrari or anywhere else!

To my point above, the only way I foresee Alonso winning another WDC would be at Ferrari if Kimi is not there, and I only see Kimi leaving if he has a fall-out with the team (doubtful), get hurt (hope not!), or retires. Thing is, by the time Kimi retires, I bet Alonso will be the David Coulthard of F1 - the strange smell of F1 - that nobody really knows how it managed to stick around so long but it just won't go away

 

I would like to see FA at BMW. LH at McMerc, KR at Ferrari, and FA at BMW. Should make for some great battles.

 

Several good points have been raised in this thread...

In particular I am unsure how much a contribution Alonso makes towards car development - I have never gotten the sense that he is particularly enthusiastic or active in doing that. IMHO the relationship between Alonso's presence and a fast Renault or McLaren car is likely to be coincidence.

I just don't think a driver - any driver - can bring 6/10ths in todays F1. So what is Alonso's attraction other than marketing? He certainly has a lot of negatives. I doubt that his going to any team is going to suddenly elevate their finishes.

My contention is that the car/engineering is all important since all the drivers are so good. That's why we get consistent finishes according to team - 2 Ferraris, then 2 McLarens, then 2 BMWs, then... independent of the drivers. Also it is why a (very solid) rookie can match a 2x WDC in an equal car.

If I were a team owner I wouldn't even consider Alonso - I would be trying to buy top engineers rather than drivers.

 

Luca says Alonso is not coming to Ferrari in 2008. I believe him. Maybe 2009.

Alonso has a dream. Maybe he wants to buy a team or start a team. Who would he blame then? Himself?

With Alonso on another team he will be more free to run into Lewis...they had a few misses this year. Sorry FA will not be at McL as the disharmony was good for Ferrari.

BMW and Renault could benefit from FA's services the most. Their only chance of winning a championship IMVHO.

 

So where's he going? Renault or Toyota, realistically? Toyota may try to throw a ton of money at him in which case that may be a very good option for him. I think it'd be a challenge he'd welcome. He'll be paid extremely well and if the team turns it around this year he can claim to be the reason for it. Perfect

 

If Renault doesn't snatch him up, I would love to see him in a BMW. Seeing him fight in a car that isn't as fast at the Ferrari or McLaren would be fun. I say Heidfeld could go. However it goes, I still think BMW will win a race in 2008.

 

Here is how i see it:

Alonso figured out pretty quickly that he was slower than LH. If he was ever gonna be champ again it had to be at Ferrari so he started making excuses and saying the team was favoring LH.

He knows that he'd always be outshined by LH and the only chance he had of being champ again is in a faster car and the best chance of that happening is at Ferrari. If he'd stayed another year at Mclaren it would have been obvious that LH was faster and the alegations of favoritism would be seen as just whining. Ferrari wouldn't want him at that point. If he blames this year on favoritism and hides in a second rate team for a year that nobody expects him to win at then there is no apples to apples comparison and he still has a chance at Ferrari.

This is his strategy IMO.

 

We'll see just how fast LH is next season when he doesn't get to use a 2x WDC's car setup.

 

+1000
Well said.My thoughts exactly .Alonso wasn't 6/10th faster in Bahrain,Canada ,USA, Hungary and Brazil.

Agree %100.
He's fast but no more than Kimi, LH and FM. To say that he's the one who made Renault and Mclaren quicker is an insult to the engineers and designers on both teams. If he was driving an 05 BMW or an 06 Mclaren he wouldn't have been two times WDC. IMHO both championships came down to one thing ;tires.

I hope he really goes to RBR or Williams next season so we can really see what he'll do in an inferior car.

 

I rather fancied RBR's chances in "07 to make some noise as did Andreas-I remember reading somewhere that Newey didn't design the entire car, which I found odd as he favored the Renault engine over the Ferrari because it could make due with smaller radiators; maybe 2008 will be their year...then again maybe STR will spank RBR...

I think that FA will be in a Renault first, Toyota second....

 

Your entire post has lost all credibility because of that. Please pass me whatever you're smoking.

 

I'm sorry you feel that way but I gave facts . What are your facts.?? I would love to hear them.