YES!YES! Alkonso WILL be driving a Ferrari, 2010 at the latest!!!!!

I hope it isn't more than he can chew. I'd like to see Honda come to the front, but I'm not holding my breath. This year's car is another total disaster.

 

Alonso at Ferrari ?
The $ whores win again.

 

... *AND* Lewis. And well ahead of Alonso.

Maybe it isn't that Kimi "sucks", maybe it's that Massa doesn't. If you might consider that.

 

Massa doesn't suck, but he wasn't this close to Kimi last year. Something is different this year, either Massa made a step forward or Kimi took a step back. They are at a dead heat and it's already midway point in the season. Kimi was already a win up on Massa at this point last year.

 

I think it is a bit of everything:

- Massa has indeed gotten better.
- Kimi is slacking a bit.

But also Kimi had no luck in the last 3 races:
- Hami ruined his race in Montreal => 8 points lost
- A broken exhaust took the win away from him in France => 2points lost, 2 points gained by Massa
- Ferrari ruined his Silverstone race => 3 points lost

He could comfortably be leading the championship by now. Coulda, woulda, shoulda, I know, but it shows me that going forward under normal (read less unlucky) circumstances, he should be able to pull out a lead pretty soon.

I maintain, the title will be decided between Hami and Kimi. And it is likely to go down to the last race. Again.

 

exactly my train of thought...

and i do hope the battle hinges on the last couple of races, if not the very last... between Kimi and Hami of course

 

I understand point. I just personally see it differently and feel that there's not much difference between last season and this one concerning this issue. There's no problem with Kimi, just everything else around him that's out of his control....and yes, that's racing. No big deal. Kimi's dealt with adverse situations throughout his entire career and still became the WDC and is likely to win it again this year too.

 

Yeah, he is even consistent when it comes to Monaco...

 

have to agree here. FA has the consistency AND pace to potentially (all things being equal...car relaibility, good/bad luck, etc) being utterly dominating if he was in one of the red cars this year. for whatever reason, the consistency hasn't been there with Kimi, however, despite the terrible 'luck' these past 4/5 races for him, he's still at the top, and poised to take it down the home stretch... of course, without Hami ramming him, the exhaust bit, and the bad tire choice recently, he would have a nice lead... but as we all say, woulda coulda shoulda...it's part of racing! i still think it will be Kimi at the end, with Hami elbowing him in the ribs all the way...

 

Exactly!

 

I hope you're right. It was this way last year and he just barely pulled it out in the end. Not exactly and easy way to win a title. Now he and Ferrari have less competition than last year with Alonso in a Renault. They're basically fighting just Hamilton who's been off and on too. Bad luck, absolutely, but there were many missed opportunities as well.

 

The racing now will be about who can make the least amount of error's, with damage limitation when they make a error, this is where a #2 driver can help out. LH has established the lead driver at Mc, whether or not Massa will help Kimi gain max point's I'am not sure, he appears to be going for the WDC, and I'am not bashing him for that, he has every right, but I feel Kimi will need his help to win as is it of now and/or vice versa.

However way you look at it ,it is a good place for us watching, mid-way with a tie for the lead, watching any of the drivers is a jittery business, as a wet track will certainly favour Mc and Lewis, Massa on pole, dry track pulls it his way, Kimi when he has his share of good luck it favours him without question fast. At the min the momentum is going Lewis's way, but as we have seen it can switch as quickly from one race to another.

I tend to think/feel it will still go down to wire Lewis v Kimi, but that's what I like about F1 there is nothing for certain.
Massa and Kubica can not be ruled out as of yet.
If it rained every race, LH would have his name on WDC as of now..his feel is awesome ..read this.. http://www.itv-f1.com/Feature.aspx?Type=Mark_Hughes&id=43327

But as this thread is about FA, to get back to the point in a Ferrari, IMO he would be now leading..even if Lewis had run up his backside in the pit lane....

 

The Bastard !!!!
Now he's using " The Force ".

 

After Britain '07, Kimi was one point ahead of Massa. After Germany, he was seven points behind. The two swapped position in the hunt until Phil's DNF at Monza. After Monza, with Kimi ahead in points, Phil yielded positions to Kimi to aid in getting the *team* the WDC.

Last year, Kimi has a strong start (for one race), followed by a lackluster period, followed by a strong finish. Phil had an inconsistent but strong year.

What's different this year? (Other than Kimi hasn't started a "strong finish" yet.)

I've been saying that Massa has been consistently improving, each year. If anything, I've seen less improvement between this year and last year than in previous years. But that was because Phil had a pretty strong showing last year.

Both red car drivers have been plagued with inconsistencies. But it looks like that may be a team-wide phenomena, rather than a driver issue. Unless you figure that Schumi's consistency came from taking a more active role in directing the team than the current drivers have. But I suspect that the loss of the team Schumi brought with him -- Braun and Todt -- is more the cause than lack of late nights under the cars by the drivers.

 

There's the question though. Last year was Kimi's first with the team and a period of settling in was to be expected. We all chalked up Kimi's slow start to that. Now he should be good to go with only 2 other cars in the field that are in the WDC hunt (Sorry, Hekki is no Alonso and neither is Kubica) he should be unstoppable. Massa has seemed to always have the measure of him in qualifying, that nothing new. Kimi is a hard guy to read, it's hard to tell if he's even motivated. Alonso in the other car might be just the push he and the team especially, needs.

 

Only problem with this thoery is that it was Hami's race.
8 to him 6 to Kimster.

 

I just found out I won the Psychic of the year award for 2010.

 

Luis, think about what you just suggested. Any sponsor would want to be part of a team that represents 40-50% of the sport's fan base. Supposedly Vodafone went to McLaren because of Alonso, but they are poised to stay in Woking.

I do not believe that a sponsor's move move means much until the fat lady sings. Especially since I heard today that Ferrari wants a bunch more than Santander wants to deliver, and something about a clause in the Marlboro contract.

But then, anything is possible.

 

Ron, I get your point, but it's a sponsor from the same country as Alonso going to a team that he wants to go to. It's all a bit too coincidental to mean nothing. Vodaphone is staying at McLaren because of Hamilton.

 

+1

 

That's where we disagree. I expect that Kimi and Phil are sharing setup data. (The team sure made the same tire mistake on both cars in Britain.) I wouldn't expect to see too much "teamwork" between Kimi and Alonso. Or, for that matter, any.

It takes two to make a war, and you might lay some of the Alonso / Hamilton conflict at McLaren on Hami's daddy, but Alonso did not "work and play well with others" when challenged by a teammate. I wouldn't expect him to have any better attitude towards having Kimi pushing on him.

For Alonso to drive at Ferrari, he'd have to be the whole show. You'd have to put Sutil or Scott Speed in the other car, just to circulate around the track. Challenging Alonso for wins would lead to tantrums.

Now those who care only about the WDC and rooting for a specific driver would like to see a single focus for the Ferrari team. But it's hard to get the WCC with only one car picking up points. For me, I'm more a fan of the technology -- specifically, I'm a fan of developing technology that will appear in showrooms. So I like seeing Ferrari with two winning drivers.

Alonso just doesn't seem to fit into a team where either driver can win races. Kimi and Phil do work together, and they are both picking up races.


People have said that Kimi was short on car development. But since coming to Ferrari, I think Kimi is working on his skills at setting up the car. Last year, Kimi had some wild oscillations in results while apparently trying to get just the right handle on the new tires. This year, I get the impression that Kimi is absorbed in getting his setup just so. On weekends when he doesn't have it just right, he could be putting his focus into figuring out what's off in the setup, so he can get the next race right. But he may be focusing on that at the expense of getting what he can out of a less than optimum setup. That would be consistent with a perfectionist at work -- he wants the car as fast as it will theoretically go, and is giving that priority over "making do" with what he's got when the lights go green on the grid.

That would fit with last year, too: when he gets the handle he wants, he'll be blazingly fast. But he's losing points in the interim.

By contrast, Phil seems to stop looking at setup when it's time to race. But he drives it like it's right -- so if it isn't, he pushes past what the car can do. (And once it comes loose, he has issues with hauling it back in. Maybe he should spend some off-season time in a rallye car in the snow. )

Just my impression, from watching the racing, FWIW.

On the other hand, Kimi hasn't been doing that poorly, but he's had some bad breaks. (Breaks, not "brakes". )
In the long run, that approach could pay off. Kimi's still at the front of the points list as it is, and if he does get it just so, he could put in a late string of wins that will walk away from the field in time for the season totals.

 

Newsflash: The winner gets 10 points, 8 for 2nd spot.

 

Kimi is a former WDC and likely a multi WDC, not some rookie. Alonso will know what he's getting into and not expect to be number one automatically. If he really wants to be with the team he will have to accept this. No one would know beforehand how they will work together so I say let find out.

BTW Trulli used to outqualify Alonso on a regualr basis at Renault and i don't rememeber hearing about too many problems between them.

 

Remember this from last year? A preview of an Alonso/Massa combo at Ferrari (cursing in Italian)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgeWPMT0j2Q&feature=related

 

It's amazing to me the argument that Alonso won't fit because he'd have to be the "whole show", we couldn't win the WCC with just one "whole show" driver. What the unbelievable blue (insert choice of word here) was Schumi doing the past decade? He wasn't just the whole show, he was the show. Alonso is arguably the best pilot going right now and he has the drive to win no matter what. This is the guy to have in the car. He's demonstrated that he can win both WDC and WCC's - Ferrari needs this guy. Right now it's a bunch of fast racers making a LOT of mistakes, not particularly minding too much.