Which team should Alonso be talking to?
Discussion
Rumuours are afoot that Alonso could jump ship at the end of this year, but which team should he be talking to?
Renault have lost form this year, or did Alonso really get more out of the car than their current drivers, could a return to the team turn them around again, especially as Renault have just invested $50M in new technology at their UK HQ - but would Alonso want to go back there?
Red Bull might be an option, but their technical backbone have not yet proved themselves on the race track, but could a 2 (potentially 3) times world champion be able to mould the team around him, they have the money to buy him...
Toyota - still an unknown quantity, but again as in Red Bull's case, could the arrival of a multi winning champion give them the step up that they need - look what MS did at Ferrari. It could mean a couple of years without a title fight, but I'm sure that Toyota would do everything possible to mould the team around Alonso to secure those World Championships that they need to secure their long term future in the sport.
Finally there is BMW. Why is Mario taking so long to confirm Nick, could there be a potential swap on the cards, with Alonso and Nick playing musical chairs? Nick is a sound driver and would be a great partnership at McLaren, and Alonso could find himself in a very competitive car from the start as BMW have certainly made in-roads into the top two. The Alonso effect could be the last piece of the jigsaw and once again, BMW are a team who could afford to extract him from McLaren a year early...
Who knows what the next few months will bring.
Renault have lost form this year, or did Alonso really get more out of the car than their current drivers, could a return to the team turn them around again, especially as Renault have just invested $50M in new technology at their UK HQ - but would Alonso want to go back there?
Red Bull might be an option, but their technical backbone have not yet proved themselves on the race track, but could a 2 (potentially 3) times world champion be able to mould the team around him, they have the money to buy him...
Toyota - still an unknown quantity, but again as in Red Bull's case, could the arrival of a multi winning champion give them the step up that they need - look what MS did at Ferrari. It could mean a couple of years without a title fight, but I'm sure that Toyota would do everything possible to mould the team around Alonso to secure those World Championships that they need to secure their long term future in the sport.
Finally there is BMW. Why is Mario taking so long to confirm Nick, could there be a potential swap on the cards, with Alonso and Nick playing musical chairs? Nick is a sound driver and would be a great partnership at McLaren, and Alonso could find himself in a very competitive car from the start as BMW have certainly made in-roads into the top two. The Alonso effect could be the last piece of the jigsaw and once again, BMW are a team who could afford to extract him from McLaren a year early...
Who knows what the next few months will bring.
Alonso has dissappointed me in playing the spoilt brat this year, however, I don't think he's stupid enough to walk away from the best car on the grid.
If things really did get that bad, then I guess BMW would be his only option. At the moment Heidfeld hasn't been confirmed, but even if he had, Kubica is relatively new and therefore cheap so he could be moved aside to make space for a 2/3 time world champion.
Red Bull is a no go, Alonso won't go to a non-factory team.
If things really did get that bad, then I guess BMW would be his only option. At the moment Heidfeld hasn't been confirmed, but even if he had, Kubica is relatively new and therefore cheap so he could be moved aside to make space for a 2/3 time world champion.
Red Bull is a no go, Alonso won't go to a non-factory team.
I think he should start speaking to his current team McLaren, stop being so silly and start racing his young team mate. This is doing nothing but making him look vulnerable, with a lack of self confidence. If I was Lewis, I'd have loved hearing him sound off like this...
Edited by fatboy111 on Monday 6th August 09:02
INCUBUS said:
I'm sure there is a lot going on in the background that we don't know, but from a spectator's perspective, if you were a team owner, would you touch him with a barge pole? I wouldn't!
Yes if I was a team owner I would be very happy to have him in one of my cars. He is without doubt one of the quickest drivers on the grid and has proven twice that he has what it takes to win the WDC. You would be stupid to ignore that ability just because he has a bit of an attitude problem. peterh2 said:
INCUBUS said:
I'm sure there is a lot going on in the background that we don't know, but from a spectator's perspective, if you were a team owner, would you touch him with a barge pole? I wouldn't!
Yes if I was a team owner I would be very happy to have him in one of my cars. He is without doubt one of the quickest drivers on the grid and has proven twice that he has what it takes to win the WDC. You would be stupid to ignore that ability just because he has a bit of an attitude problem. INCUBUS said:
However, if his team mate was decent (no offence Fisi) he has proved to be a pain in the ar5e!
But isn't that sort of inevitable? Equal drivers getting equal treatment in a winning car is a recipe for a man-management disaster. Both drivers were a pain at the weekend and between them cost RD 15 constructors points. He'd have preferred them to take each other out, at least that would not have been deliberate.FA is a very expensive and valuable asset and McL are not getting the best out of him. That's a management problem, which might be a matter of corporate style.
Any other team would have him in a minute, and rightly so. He's a proven entity, and has beaten the best. I'd love to see him in a BMW
Toyota have a huge budget and are still yet to reap the rewards from all their investment. They could afford Alonso's wages and he could be the driver to help them develop the car and get the results. Whether Alonso would move is a different factor as it's highly unlikely he'd be challenging for the WDC in his first season for Toyota. BMW - a good strong team, but both drivers are solid and they have to keep Kubica due to his potential and talent. Alonso at Ferrari is highly unlikely although it would be amazing to see the difference in the styles of Kimi and Fernando. So it looks Fernando will probably be behind a 3 spoked wheel next season in my opinion.
if he has any balls he will talk to mclaren and sort out this farce that he has helped develop. jumping ship will just prove that he couldnt hack it and was threatened by Lewis. its unlikely he will get a ferrari drive unless mclaren negotiate a swop for kimi which is unlikely. if alonso goes he has run away from a straight fight and will be remembered as such. i just dont thik alsonso did his homework before signing for mclaren and either over estiamted his performance or under estiamted lewis though how he could do either is beyond me.
few people will want to join mclaren with lewis being so strong so it could be the good opportunity to get a number two in mclaren and throw some more resources behind lewis?
few people will want to join mclaren with lewis being so strong so it could be the good opportunity to get a number two in mclaren and throw some more resources behind lewis?
Alonso will not be in the Mclaren next year. A Prost style, one year sabbitical is the rumoured easy answer.
Best for all parties. Alonso gets away from Our Lewis (tm) and gets the pick of the seats for 08. Mclaren make sure he doesn't take any of this years cars advantages to any other team and they don't have to pay out the full value of his contract.
Remember where you heard it first, on the QT, strictly hush-hush......
Best for all parties. Alonso gets away from Our Lewis (tm) and gets the pick of the seats for 08. Mclaren make sure he doesn't take any of this years cars advantages to any other team and they don't have to pay out the full value of his contract.
Remember where you heard it first, on the QT, strictly hush-hush......
pablo said:
few people will want to join mclaren with lewis being so strong so it could be the good opportunity to get a number two in mclaren and throw some more resources behind lewis?
I would have thought that the majority of drivers on the grid would jump at the chance of getting a seat at mclaren at the moment, regardless of who there team mate would be. After all if they did not believe that they were the best then they would not have got to F1 in the first place.I think Alonsos problem is that he believes he is not being treated the same as Hamilton.
g4ry13 said:
Toyota have a huge budget and are still yet to reap the rewards from all their investment. They could afford Alonso's wages and he could be the driver to help them develop the car and get the results. Whether Alonso would move is a different factor as it's highly unlikely he'd be challenging for the WDC in his first season for Toyota.
Look at MS and Ferrari. Arrives as a 2 time champion to a team that is falling apart at the seams. Yes there were others who helped Ferrari turn around, but it could happen again with the red and white cars...Though I do agree with the comments about how some would view Alonso if he jumped ship next year. If he wins this years championship then I feel he will be an even stronger driver and will have erased the poor PR he created for himself in the early races this year.
pablo said:
if he has any balls he will talk to mclaren and sort out this farce that he has helped develop. jumping ship will just prove that he couldnt hack it and was threatened by Lewis. its unlikely he will get a ferrari drive unless mclaren negotiate a swop for kimi which is unlikely. if alonso goes he has run away from a straight fight and will be remembered as such. i just dont thik alsonso did his homework before signing for mclaren and either over estiamted his performance or under estiamted lewis though how he could do either is beyond me.
few people will want to join mclaren with lewis being so strong so it could be the good opportunity to get a number two in mclaren and throw some more resources behind lewis?
At the time that Fonso signed for McLaren Lewis wasn't even in the picture.few people will want to join mclaren with lewis being so strong so it could be the good opportunity to get a number two in mclaren and throw some more resources behind lewis?
Assuming he did leave, would McLaren really throw all their weight behind Lewis?
Yes, he's done well, he's undoubtedly a world class driver and may even win the WDC this year. Which would be remarkable. But he's still only 22, in his first season and shows inexperience in certain areas. That's not a criticism, it's just natural. I do think that the British press sweep his faults under the carpet (Saturday being an example - The Cock assumed straight away that The Evil Spaniard was just sitting in the car delaying Lewis without even considering benefit-of-the-doubt) but it's fairly safe to assume he's a bit handy....
So, would RD really have him as a 'team leader'? We've seen several drivers excel in a good car in their first years (Jacques Villeneuve to name but one) but you don't really know how good a driver is until he's driven a piece of sh1t. Witness Schumacher at Ferrari in '96. And Villeneuve in '97-'03
Alonso should stay where he is. I really can't see Mario-Ned Flanders-Thiessen and him getting along, he's previously said that he doesn't fancy Ferrari, he left Renault because they wouldn't develop the car enough (and I think he's burnt his bridges with Flavio) Red Bull aren't works, Toyota aren't organised, Honda are nowhere, Williams aren't works.
I really don't think he'll want to do a Schumacher and build a team around him. He just wants to win and win another WDC with someone other than Renault.
Yes, he's done well, he's undoubtedly a world class driver and may even win the WDC this year. Which would be remarkable. But he's still only 22, in his first season and shows inexperience in certain areas. That's not a criticism, it's just natural. I do think that the British press sweep his faults under the carpet (Saturday being an example - The Cock assumed straight away that The Evil Spaniard was just sitting in the car delaying Lewis without even considering benefit-of-the-doubt) but it's fairly safe to assume he's a bit handy....
So, would RD really have him as a 'team leader'? We've seen several drivers excel in a good car in their first years (Jacques Villeneuve to name but one) but you don't really know how good a driver is until he's driven a piece of sh1t. Witness Schumacher at Ferrari in '96. And Villeneuve in '97-'03
Alonso should stay where he is. I really can't see Mario-Ned Flanders-Thiessen and him getting along, he's previously said that he doesn't fancy Ferrari, he left Renault because they wouldn't develop the car enough (and I think he's burnt his bridges with Flavio) Red Bull aren't works, Toyota aren't organised, Honda are nowhere, Williams aren't works.
I really don't think he'll want to do a Schumacher and build a team around him. He just wants to win and win another WDC with someone other than Renault.
AlexS said:
pablo said:
if he has any balls he will talk to mclaren and sort out this farce that he has helped develop. jumping ship will just prove that he couldnt hack it and was threatened by Lewis. its unlikely he will get a ferrari drive unless mclaren negotiate a swop for kimi which is unlikely. if alonso goes he has run away from a straight fight and will be remembered as such. i just dont thik alsonso did his homework before signing for mclaren and either over estiamted his performance or under estiamted lewis though how he could do either is beyond me.
few people will want to join mclaren with lewis being so strong so it could be the good opportunity to get a number two in mclaren and throw some more resources behind lewis?
At the time that Fonso signed for McLaren Lewis wasn't even in the picture.few people will want to join mclaren with lewis being so strong so it could be the good opportunity to get a number two in mclaren and throw some more resources behind lewis?
He should just shut up and drive (altho the press seem to be making the most of his moaning to big up the new "British Hero"
. Kimi may have the personality of a sponge, but what he said at the weekend was so true. No other team wants another moaner in the ranks. They all have them. LH has earnt his stripes coming thru the ranks like they all do. He has taken to F1 superbly. I for one will cheer him all the way, but give them equal footing and maybe the WDC will get more exciting, something has to liven it up!
. Kimi may have the personality of a sponge, but what he said at the weekend was so true. No other team wants another moaner in the ranks. They all have them. LH has earnt his stripes coming thru the ranks like they all do. He has taken to F1 superbly. I for one will cheer him all the way, but give them equal footing and maybe the WDC will get more exciting, something has to liven it up!Gassing Station | General Motorsport | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff