From the Monegasque Rumormill: Alonso to Ferrari in 2010
They say a rumor repeated often enough will become true. If that's the case, then one of Ferrari's drivers had better start updating his CV, because the rumor-mill's a churnin' again over Fernando Alonso's speculated move to the Scuderia. The report was flying around Monte Carlo, where the F1 circus made its most recent stop. But while previous reports placed the two-time world champion in the red racing suit for 2009, the latest reports push that off a year until 2010.
Alonso, of course, beat out Ferrari's mega-star Michael Schumacher two years in a row to win the world title before leaving Renault for McLaren. That arrangement most famously didn't work out, resulting in Alonso's release from his contract and his subsequent return to Renault. The contract was said to be for two years with an out clause after one, but the French team has failed to perform this year and Alonso has scored a paltry nine points six races now into the season. He's been angling for a Ferrari drive and the Scuderia has been rumored to take a liking to the accomplished Spaniard.
However, the renewed reports raise several questions. Most pressing is which of Ferrari's current drivers would be given the oust to make room for Alonso? Kimi Raikkonen scored the title for the team, but this year Felipe Massa is following very shortly behind the defending champ. Second to that comes the issue of sportsmanship and teamwork, both of which are highly prized in Maranello and severely lacking in Alonso's demonstrated character. But while these and other issues seem prohibitive, we wouldn't be all that surprised to see how quickly they can be dismissed in pursuit of a dominating championship.
[Source: GrandPrix.com, Photo by Vladimir Rys/Bongarts/Getty]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Soccer Mom 2:39PM (5/27/2008)
Dude, focus on driving, not on changing teams every second Monday.
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Throwback 2:40PM (5/27/2008)
I wouldn't be shocked if Kimi is shown the door. He has talent but the gap between him and Massa is small. I doubt Kimi would take to being the number 2. If Alonso goes to the Scuderia he will want to be the top dog.
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Blake 3:35PM (5/27/2008)
...regardless of whether or not he deserves it.
tankd0g 4:27PM (5/27/2008)
I wouldn't be shocked if Kimi puts an ice pick in Alonzo within a month of working together.
Richard 6:11PM (5/27/2008)
1. Kimi's contract runs through 2009. If he wins the WDC in either of the next 2 years he will retire.
2. Felipe's contract runs through 2010.
As much as anyone - seemingly everyone hate Alonso - he IS the best pure driver out there. I rate Louise second and down from there. A mature Alonso @ the Scuderia - with proper team management - would be very difficult to beat...and the Italians would absolutely love him!
But DiMontezemolo has publicly said: "No." For what that is worth...
Michael 8:34PM (5/27/2008)
Richard, Kimi is not even 30 yet, why would he retire?
Logik 10:49PM (5/27/2008)
He (RAI) has repeatedly stated that he has [other] things he wants to do, and does not wish to hang around F1 forever.
Ian 2:45PM (5/27/2008)
Did anyone complain about Alonso's "sportsmanship and teamwork" while he was winning 2 WDCs at Renault?
Has anyone complained about Alonso's work ethic and teamwork this season in the poor Renault?
If anyone wants to complain about "sportsmanship and teamwork" they should look at the way Hamilton 6x disobeyed team orders on the radio from Ron Dennis at Hungary and ruined Alonso's run the for pole in that race. Sure Alonso THEN gave it back to Hamilton in the now infamous pause in the pits, but this was a direct result of Hamilton's unacceptable prior behavior.
Summary: Too many love to hate Alonso and love to forget Hamilton's poor "sportsmanship and lack of team work".
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The Doctor 3:18PM (5/27/2008)
You think Alonso's none-too-subtle hints that he wants to drop Renault and drive for Ferrari show much sportsmanship and loyalty?
Franz 3:23PM (5/27/2008)
Alonso was always a whining little bastard. He never had trouble with sportsmanship at Renault because he was always given number one status at Renault. It's also common knowledge that in the past he used to threaten Briatore with cries of jumping ship whenever he felt the car wasn't performing up to his lofty standard... he's done it already this season as well, after only 3 races... that story ran on GP Update. He's a crybaby who has to have his own way, and blames losing on everyone and everything else but himself.
If you check the stories, he never argued too much about being treated unfairly... he wanted clear number one status, not equal status. That's why he stopped sharing setup info with Hamilton and the rest of the team. That's why we threatened Ron Dennis with those emails and text messages he had. And I can guarantee you that if Piquet steps up and starts finishing ahead of him this season, you'll see more of the same. That's just how he is. he's a brilliant driver no doubt, but his Prima Donna attitude stinks.
I'm in no way condoning what Hamilton did... that was inexcusable, but that altercation stemmed from him being told to stay behind Alonso even though he was clearly faster at last year's race in Monaco. And you can hardly call not allowing Alonso to pass him and take advantage of a slightly longer fuel burn period "ruining his run for pole". Alonso did that to himself and Lewis when he sat in the pits for no good reason, and got pushed back on the starting grid.
Ian 3:30PM (5/27/2008)
Renault built a BAD car for 2007 and have built a poor car for 2008. Only Alonso's driving skills are enabling them to have 9 points this season. Alonso has also admitted the Mr B is a near "father figure". Alonso's clearly pointing out that he can move teams, if Renault cannot build a better car, looks aimed at telling the engineers to pull their fingers out and perform. Looks like they need every push to understand the urgency. It's NOT likely that Renault will entertain forever a losing F1 team costing hundreds of millions of dollars a year. Goshn can act swiftly. I therefore find nothing wrong with Alonso giving everyone on the team a true sense of urgency.
The Doctor 4:06PM (5/27/2008)
It must be some new kind of motivational scheme I've never heard of "Come on guys, do better or I'm leaving!"
Franz 4:21PM (5/27/2008)
Well, I call that putting himself on a pedestal... there's a reason it's called a team. How do you expect everyone to rally behind you when you act like you might not stick around? Remember, Renault got screwed just like that when Alonso moved the first time... they had tailored the development and suspension setting specifically to suit Alonso's style of driving, which is very distinctive. It was this necessity to go back to the drawing board that left them floundering last season.
Right after the Australian GP this year, Alonso was complaining to the Spanish press about not having any patience with the team, and saying he might leave. After the FIRST RACE! HE placed fourth in a completely new car and was still bitching about it. He needs to check his attitude, and focus on driving. Maybe then the team will have confidence in giving him a championship winning machine, and not worry about him jumping ship every two seconds.
Mr. Oak 4:38PM (5/27/2008)
What was unnacceptable, was that last year his junior teammate rose up and challenged him, and he buckled under the pressure. Behaved like a twit.
Fernando Alonso is the only worthy cause that FA has ever supported.
But King Fernando, didn't want to race his teammate, he wanted to annointed to the #1 spot.
I bet Flavio rues his decision to have him back.
Prediction: He'll go to Ferrari and be beaten by Mclaren & Renault. Clown.
bw 5:02PM (5/27/2008)
"After the FIRST RACE! HE placed fourth in a completely new car and was still bitching about it. "
He's a two time champion, and lost by 1 point last year, which can directly be attributed to Hamilton, so of course coming in 4th is bad. Alonso's the man, the best racer in formula 1 right now, he should be the #1 driver, and put on a pedestal. He is also really good looking, and I really don't want to say that, but damn. I am a little biased, but he's proved himself time and time again.
Franz 5:20PM (5/27/2008)
@ bw:
Truly great drivers don't bitch and ask for favors on their way to the top. They just get about their business and drive themselves on up there. His two world championships were well deserved, but if you want to get technical about Hamilton costing him the championship last year, don't forget that Alonso's second championship was gifted to him, courtesy of some bad luck that befell Schumacher. If it weren't for that, he'd never have seen that second title. But that's racing... stop making excuses for his loss. You can blame Hamilton all you want for costing Alonso his 3rd championship, but the reality is he can only blame himself. Besides, all things being equal, if he had erred on the side of better judgment and not thrown a fit in Hungary, he would have been guaranteed some good, solid points that race, and probably would have won the championship regardless of everything else that took place. You'd have thought that the "best racer in formula 1 right now" would've at least had the sense to know better, and not allowed himself to get riled up by a rookie.
Ian 5:29PM (5/27/2008)
Renault lost Alonso the first time when they failed to offer the going rate for a WDC driver. He signed the McLaren contract with an enormous amount of time given to Renault to adapt their cars to new drivers. Renault messed themselves up.
If Alonso's driving style is so different to any others then how come Hamilton did pretty well copying it last year?
The first race of the season is merely the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. B4 that an enormous amount of development work is done on the new car and many tens of thousands of simulations and actual miles on track. In the first race a team can immediately see how they stand versus their competitors. It was clear that Renault was still way behind McLare, Ferrari, BMW etc.
Hey I am NOT saying Alonso is the nicest guy. He IS one of the best drivers and is very demanding of those in the team. That is what often creates success. In 2008 he is clearly driving the Renault car at 110% of it's normal capability. That effort and his warnings should make the engineers work as hard as necessary to make a better more competitive car. Piquet Jr's job probably depends on this also as a newcomer to F1 he doesn't have the knowledge, ability or experieince to drive as hard and well as Alonso. Jr faces being booted from the team because of a lack of speed. But this may well be more down to a bad car than Piquet's inate abilities. F1 is a hard world in whcih only quick success is rewarded. Alonso knows this and so should his team.
IMHO if Alonso jumps teams, because of a continued poor performance by the Renault engineers, then Renault F1 will be disbanded by Goshn. In essence Alonso is giving the current engineers "tough love".
Franz 5:55PM (5/27/2008)
I'm not disagreeing with you on Alonso's performance... that is something you will never hear me say. He is without a doubt one of the best drivers F1 has ever seen, let alone in this current field. And yes, he is clearly driving the damn wheels off a Renault that is obviously very difficult to drive, and lacking the outright pace needed to challenge for the title.
What I've been saying, and will continue to say is that his attitude sucks. And it does. Demanding more from your team, and bitching about everything, threatening to leave every time things don't go your way are two completely different things. In my opinion, that is not the attitude a double world champion should have.
4agze 2:55PM (5/27/2008)
NOOOOOOO
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Cary` 5:19AM (5/28/2008)
Massa should be replaced. He is the Nowitzki of Formula 1 (Yes, I am a Mavs fans), a choke artist. Unfortunately, Raikkonen will be the one to retire this year or next. He has said time and time again, he has other things he would like to do. I can see Alonso at Ferrari, nothing to complain about when you have 1 of the 2 most dedicated (financially and otherwise) teams in the sport backing you. IF this occurs, though I am a huge McLaren fan, I fear that Alonso will Dominate [with the capital D intended] for the forseeable future. Hamilton is an incredible driver, but for now, lacks the experience to dethrone the once and future king.