Fernando Alonso

[stemll]

Steamer said:

Heard them mention that last night - 2 years of just F1 for Renault.. would that make him too old for Indy after that?.. as said, he might be awesome, but just dropping into Indy Car for one race title in modern times - thats a pretty big ask.

Indy car racing at the 500 looks mental!

Plenty of Indy winners over 40, Sato is 43. Alonso will be 41 in two years time.

[DanielSan]

thegreenhell said:

Apparently he's been told by Renault that he can't race anything else but F1 for the next two years now. Given that will almost certainly be his last gasp at F1, he'll be free to commit to anything he wants after that.

I honestly think he'd be better off issuing the public apology and trying his best to get into something Honda powered in Indy for 2 years. If he's serious about this triple crown that what he really needs to do.

[entropy]

WickerBill said:

indeed. doesnt matter how talented you are, it takes hard work and commitment to be at the front in any level of sport.

i dont know whether it shows arrogance that he thinks he can jump in and win or what.....

....lets not forget the second leg of of the triple crown was 'relatively easy', being one of only 2 hybrid cars in the race....he had a 50% chance of winning. in identical cars, its an entirely different story.

I agree but he wasn't too shabby in his rookie race, was he? and looking like a contender?

Being in one of the best teams is just as important to go with preparation.

DanielSan said:

I honestly think he'd be better off issuing the public apology and trying his best to get into something Honda powered in Indy for 2 years. If he's serious about this triple crown that what he really needs to do.

Or beg to drive for Penske

[DanielSan]

entropy said:

DanielSan said:

I honestly think he'd be better off issuing the public apology and trying his best to get into something Honda powered in Indy for 2 years. If he's serious about this triple crown that what he really needs to do.

Or beg to drive for Penske

Also that, either way 2 full seasons in the US will give him a better chance than cocking about and being disappointed in the Renault

[spunkytherabbit]

ash73 said:

WickerBill said:

Other drivers around Alonso on the grid, Power, Pagenaud, Ferruci all either lead or ran top 5.......whats Alonsos excuse? even before the clutch issue he was below the top 20 all race, and the clutch issue didnt affect him once up and running, just in the pits, with all but 1 (maybe 2) stops performed under yellow flags.

What point are you trying to make?

He didn't have a great race, that's how it goes sometimes. He's still a great driver, one of the best.

He's out there putting his life on the line to entertain his fans... what are you doing?

Whoa there. Whilst I appreciate and somewhat agree with the sentiment, I think you're mistaken about who Alonso does this to entertain. It is for himself, not for the fans. I can't imagine there is a single racing driver who races for anyone but themselves. Alonso just happens to be the epitome of that. If that is in a good way or a bad way is simply one's viewpoint. But don't ever be under any illusion that Alonso's motivation isn't anything but 100% to do with himself.

[TheDeuce]

thegreenhell said:

Apparently he's been told by Renault that he can't race anything else but F1 for the next two years now. Given that will almost certainly be his last gasp at F1, he'll be free to commit to anything he wants after that.

Oh I'd missed that bit. Is his Renault contract for two years as well?

[spunkytherabbit]

TheDeuce said:

thegreenhell said:

Apparently he's been told by Renault that he can't race anything else but F1 for the next two years now. Given that will almost certainly be his last gasp at F1, he'll be free to commit to anything he wants after that.

Oh I'd missed that bit. Is his Renault contract for two years as well?

The quotes I'd read were more that the packed F1 calendar clashed next year with Indy 500 test days, qualifying days and race day and there is little room for fraternising with other racing. Rather than it be Renault saying 'you can't do this and that'. But who knows? The quotes could've been mis-quotes, that I then mis-quoted!

[entropy]

DanielSan said:

Also that, either way 2 full seasons in the US will give him a better chance than cocking about and being disappointed in the Renault

It's clear he's not fully interested in Indycar, just the Indy500, because he would be racing in Indycar by now be it full or partial season. All he has cared about is to leave a legacy to make up for not having the desired 3 F1 WDCs.

There's something about F1 being the pinnacle; drivers like Kimi & Alonso have/would love to come back to F1.

[Fundoreen]

Facinating that for some reason you are meant to race for someone else's enjoyment. How does that work? Wheelspins and sideways out of every corner and waving at the crowd lol.
Remembering to thank a long list of people in a monotone voice is the standard in motor racing to keep everyone off your back.
Anonymous performance by Alonso yesterday and maybe he has got it out of his system. The fact that every year someone you never heard of seems to win shows what a lottery it can be.
2 times indy 500 winner Sato should be snapped up by mercedes or red bull F1 teams as he certainly showed them all he is the best.
Bet he got the special engine again. The last time he won the other hondas blew up including Alonso's one.

[Teddy Lop]

DanielSan said:

I honestly think he'd be better off issuing the public apology and trying his best to get into something Honda powered in Indy for 2 years. If he's serious about this triple crown that what he really needs to do.

funny I said the same thing to the mrs last night.

He supposed to be this badass racer who can't quit chasing greatness and recognition, but if he wants to win Indy so bad then is it such an ask eat some humble pie for the stupid stuff he said and apologise a bit?

[glazbagun]

Teddy Lop said:

funny I said the same thing to the mrs last night.

He supposed to be this badass racer who can't quit chasing greatness and recognition, but if he wants to win Indy so bad then is it such an ask eat some humble pie for the stupid stuff he said and apologise a bit?

I must have missed this, has he been mouthing off about Honda again?

I remember his GP2 comments and general moaning in F1, and his first Honda engine failing on his first indy, but not him putting the boot in.

[TheDeuce]

glazbagun said:

Teddy Lop said:

funny I said the same thing to the mrs last night.

He supposed to be this badass racer who can't quit chasing greatness and recognition, but if he wants to win Indy so bad then is it such an ask eat some humble pie for the stupid stuff he said and apologise a bit?

I must have missed this, has he been mouthing off about Honda again?

I remember his GP2 comments and general moaning in F1, and his first Honda engine failing on his first indy, but not him putting the boot in.

I think the point is he hasn't apologised as publicly as he insulted them!

They want to be in F1 to excercise their talents and draw brand appeal, not to be slagged off by a Muppet. Anyway, Honda have since proved they can address issues and win GP's. Has Alonso..

Maybe humble could be a good idea. We could call him Alonso 2.0

[Teddy Lop]

glazbagun said:

I must have missed this, has he been mouthing off about Honda again?

I remember his GP2 comments and general moaning in F1, and his first Honda engine failing on his first indy, but not him putting the boot in.

not since his honda-mclaren days, but Honda haven't forgotten being consistently publically shamed by him and by all accounts see to it that he has no access to their engines.

[DOCG]

I never understood why British F1 fans are so anti-Alonso.

[spunkytherabbit]

DOCG said:

I never understood why British F1 fans are so anti-Alonso.

Because he was seen to have stabbed in the back a British racing institution and helped set of a chain off events that was a significant factor in the start of a decline for Mclaren. From which they are only just recovering.

To blame him so singularly for his role in spygate and the long term consequences for Mclaren is being over simplistic, but that's what we do as the public at times. Couple that to the fact that he never made any meaningful apology or real contribution to the team once he returned, the majority of British racing fans aren't going to like him so much.

We can sit here and say how much we value 'pure racers', but the reality is, we all have our own rules and exceptions we apply and have reasons why we can dislike someone like Alonso widely acknowledged as a such a driver. I do certainly.

[TheDeuce]

spunkytherabbit said:

DOCG said:

I never understood why British F1 fans are so anti-Alonso.

Because he was seen to have stabbed in the back a British racing institution and helped set of a chain off events that was a significant factor in the start of a decline for Mclaren. From which they are only just recovering.

To blame him so singularly for his role in spygate and the long term consequences for Mclaren is being over simplistic, but that's what we do as the public at times. Couple that to the fact that he never made any meaningful apology or real contribution to the team once he returned, the majority of British racing fans aren't going to like him so much.

We can sit here and say how much we value 'pure racers', but the reality is, we all have our own rules and exceptions we apply and have reasons why we can dislike someone like Alonso widely acknowledged as a such a driver. I do certainly.

I initially saw it as a great thing for a driver to get so actively involved in the team, and thought the Japanese might appreciate that sort of commitment and involvement too. In principal it is a great thing and more drivers should get stuck in beyond scheduled engineer meets and token factory visits etc.

But having taken that role on he then proved useless at dealing with the politics involved without making it personal and pissing people off. I feel it reasonable to blame him for not realising the weight he had in terms of both motivating AND destabilising the project. He didn't give that influence sufficient respect ahead of opening his gob.

Comparing the Honda PU to a 'Formula 2 engine' is the sort of pre-meditated insult that someone thinks up ahead of time and drops at the perfect moment to cause maximum upset. It did, both in terms of the broken relationship between Honda and McLaren, subsequently dismayed British fans and, naturally, Honda ain't gonna forget it!!

[sgtBerbatov]

DOCG said:

I never understood why British F1 fans are so anti-Alonso.

Schumacher retired.

[angrymoby]

sgtBerbatov said:

DOCG said:

I never understood why British F1 fans are so anti-Alonso.

Schumacher retired.

so an attempted blackmailer, whose actions ended up costing a team $100m & a WCC (& another $40m)?

& a driver, who punted off a competitor in the final race to win a WDC?


yeah, no idea why those pair cop so much flak ...& you should probably also have a look in the Dan Ticktum thread to see how even British unsporting drivers are treated

[TheLimla]

Alonso should have just rolled his sleeves up and got on with the task at hand which was to beat a rookie rather than silly shenanigans!

[sgtBerbatov]

angrymoby said:

sgtBerbatov said:

DOCG said:

I never understood why British F1 fans are so anti-Alonso.

Schumacher retired.

so an attempted blackmailer, whose actions ended up costing a team $100m & a WCC (& another $40m)?

& a driver, who punted off a competitor in the final race to win a WDC?


yeah, no idea why those pair cop so much flak ...& you should probably also have a look in the Dan Ticktum thread to see how even British unsporting drivers are treated

I forgot Alonso was in charge of McLaren's design department.