Banking on Alonso: Santander ditches McLaren for Ferrari
Back in the day, Marlboro sponsored both McLaren and Ferrari. The former wore the sponsor's colors, while the latter stayed all red until Philip Morris decided to stop hedging its bets and went all Italian. McLaren was scorned, but got even... eventually. Several years, championships and sponsors down the road, McLaren poached European telecom giant Vodafone away from Ferrari to be its title sponsor. Right above Vodafone's logo on Hamilton's racing suit, however, is that of Santander, the Spanish financial concern that has been rolling out serious bucks for F1 presence the past couple of years. So Ferrari has gotten even by stealing them away.
The switch for Santander, which seems to be taking an aggressive approach to the financial crisis, was confirmed by its president Emilio Botin, to take place starting in 2010. But that's not all. Botin added fuel to longstanding rumors of Fernando Alonso's possible move to the Scuderia by stating that the Spanish bank hopes to work with "the best driver in the world" again soon. The plot thickens.
[Source: F1-Live, Photo by Clive Mason/Getty]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
pmiddle5 6:40PM (12/03/2008)
So that does make me feel like Alonso will be at Ferrari then. That sponsorship will definitely push for his existence in the team.
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Franz 6:51PM (12/03/2008)
This news is a week old... but I'm not complaining. I'm glad that Autoblog carries F1 stuff. This was expected... Santander only came on board with McLaren because of Alonso. They would've left a long time ago if it weren't for the fact that they signed a three year deal with McLaren.
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pmiddle5 1:44AM (12/04/2008)
I bet they would have gone to Renault if there wasnt an ING deal there already. Word?
Richard 9:59PM (12/03/2008)
As a driver, Alonso is the current best. By a very, very long way.
I hope Massa can win the championship next year or in 2010. Both Felipe and Kimi are contracted to the Scuderia through the 2010 season. But, if Kimi has a 2009 similar to his 2008, Santander and Spain's #1 son could be reunited sooner rather than later. Of course, that will pretty much kill Felipe's opportunity to become World Driving Champion.
And, if the team management and engineering are there, Alonso in scarlet will be totally unstoppable.
Promise.
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Colonel Guaranty 10:43PM (12/03/2008)
@Richard:
I totally agree with you. It's refreshing that everyone hasn't jumped on the Alonso hate train and had their judgement clouded.
Richard 11:00PM (12/03/2008)
@Colonel,
Only the English hate Alonso.
exkart 1:38AM (12/04/2008)
so you are saying Alonso is better than Massa and Hamilton. Hmmm...
pmiddle5 1:47AM (12/04/2008)
I do not like Alonso, straight up.
He is one ONE of the best drivers on the grid though. Not necessarily the best but he is the only double world champion currently driving...
He is determined, has extremely good development skills, can motivate his team quite easily if they lay trust in him, and a million and a half other good qualities.
But dont forget he has as many faults as every other driver on the grid currently. I'd still say Robert Kubica is a better driver then Alonso and Kimi is capable of being far better then everyone on the grid but is not capable of doing it consistently.
Franz 2:53AM (12/04/2008)
I dislike Fernando Alonso with a passion: his attitude stinks, he's spoiled and unappreciative and rarely acknowledges his team mates and the effort they put into giving him world class machinery to run with... and I don't mean this season or with McLaren: he used to issue threats about leaving the Renault team whenever he hit a dry spell... even in his world championship years. He's a cry baby... he expected to be given number one status at McLaren when it was clear that Lewis Hamilton was keeping pace with and surpassing him on track. Finally, he's a huge media wh0re... always talking sh*t about somebody & trying to be in the spotlight...
... That said he is unquestionably one of if not the best driver on the grid currently. (IMO, on raw talent, it really is splitting hairs between him, Hamilton & Kimi) His knowledge of car setup & chassis dynamics is unparalleled among this current crop of drivers IMO, and nobody will ever hear me say anything bad about him when it comes to his abilities as a Formula 1 driver. I just really, REALLY dislike his attitude.
Richard 7:57AM (12/04/2008)
@Franz
+1 on that.
I may be a little more forgiving on his attitude (I was married to a woman with that Latin temperament). It is that temperament, however, which, properly channeled by really good team management @ the Scuderia, will lead to a Schumacher-like run of WCs.
IMHO.
jo 3:22AM (12/04/2008)
actually, McLaren dumped Marlboro.
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Dave 9:26AM (12/04/2008)
Kind of funny about Santander.
When I first saw the logo at an F1 circuit, I just assumed it was a brand of tea. The "S" in the logo looks to be representing the steam rising of a cup of tea, with the circular part being the cup.
I eventually learned that it was a bank, but I still think of a cup of tea whenever I see that logo on a uniform or track signage.
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