MX-5 Miata Forum - Silly Season starts in ernest! Alonso to Ferrari so the dominos began to fall (2024)

On James Allen's site Alonso goes to Ferrari, Kimi back to McLaren and Jenson or Ruebens may not have a seat at Brawn!!??

If Ruebens goes Peter Windsor's USF1 team should grab him. He would be a great person to help set up a car. Partner him with a young driver and the young driver may be able to learn a thing or two. A seasoned vet may help them shake out problems earlier and easier.

and

Rosberg to Brawn?
Kubica to Renault

The best part is having Massa/Alonso and Kimi/Lewis together, won't be a boring season!

The press in Spain is happy; they’ve been pushing this ever since things went sour at McLaren. The sports press in Spain has quite a bit of influence in soccer, so they’re used to being able to exert influence by starting campaigns that link an individual to a team he isn’t yet a part of. Obviously they can’t influence Ferrari’s decisions, but they can and did influence Spanish fans and possibly sponsors. They made this look inevitable.

They also erased the enmity that used to exist between Alonso and Ferrari. Back when Schumacher was the main rival, Alonso said things like it was worth more to win the championship in a team other than Ferrari, and Todt (I think) said Alonso would never race for them. I was in agreement – part of the reason I never developed an attraction to F1 before 2005 was because the sport seemed to be a race to 2nd place behind Ferrari. (I got my driver’s license in 2000, and became interested in motorsport a couple years later.)

While it’s never had anywhere near MotoGP’s popularity, there were some Spanish F1 fans before the coming of Alonso, including my grandfather. I think it’s safe to say they were mostly Ferrari fans; it’s easier to fall in love with a brand than a team named after some old dude from another country. And Spain and Italy are somewhat connected when it comes to cars, because SEATs were FIATs. It’s different in motorcycles and soccer, where the riders and teams are competitive with each other so there’s a strong rivalry between the two countries. In cars, it’s more of a little brother / big brother relationship.

Alonso was always a McLaren guy at heart before going there, so many of the Spanish Ferrari fans never liked him nor the bandwagon fans that he brought to the sport (like myself). They’re excited now, and perhaps they feel vindicated, but they haven’t forgotten the things Alonso has said about Ferrari. The other Spanish fans – we bandwagoners, and the press – are excited to see Alonso move to McLaren’s big rival where he can get revenge on the team that betrayed him so badly (that’s how the press spun it, and most of Spain would say that’s only a slight exaggeration).

I’m still not a “FIArrari” fan, but I think it’ll go well. The atmosphere there looks like a better fit than Ron Dennis’s disciplinarian approach, and Massa is too likeable for anyone to get into a fight with. The misunderstandings that exploded at McLaren were partly due to initial expectations that the team never seemed to address or clarify; it’s only logical to assume that everybody on the grid learned from that. And this time there are no mystery rookies, no surprise paternal relationships, and hopefully the feeling that Alonso is joining, not creating, a team. Recommending a few engineers to hire is fine, but he doesn’t have the political savvy for anything beyond that.

SPEED was reporting during the Singapore coverage that Rubens has confirmed that he will be back at Braun next year.

Nico to Braun makes sense from the perspective that MB wants a German driver.

Seems Barrichello will end his career in Williams
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/79043

How about Villneuve talking about coming back to F1....that would be helluva switch back wouldn't it?

Think one of the backmarker teams will take him onboard?

I did see him at the Singapore GP.

Analogeeze

Ferrari confirmed Alonso a few minutes ago

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/79061

And Stefano Domenicali is supposed to keep him straight?

Ron and Flavio in the cheering section will be hard to control.

I have a feeling that Toyota is going to pull out next year.

It will be an interesting season next year.

I think it's more appropriate to say that Braun won't ANNOUNCE until the championship year is over. They have had to make moves/conversations behind the scene already otherwise they'll be left with the scraps after all the other teams choose.

Domino's should start falling quickly now that Ferrari made their move. Man... Alonso may be a heck of a driver but too much "misfortune" follows him around. I'd rather opt for someone that plays for the team and has some ethics.

I think Alonso will be a great fit at Ferrari. Besides Schumacher, he seems like the one driver who can motivate a whole team to raise its game due to his experience, feedback on cars, superior driving, and--surprisingly--personality if he fits in with the team's culture, which I think he will with the Scuderia (he sure didn't at McLaren).

I wonder if Kubica will end up being the loser in this season's shakeup--a year ago, you'd have pegged him as someone likely to get a Ferrari or McLaren seat sooner rather than later, so I wonder if Renault or Williams are alternatives that are going to make him the next Fisichella or Heidfeld--a guy who was very highly rated early in his career who never quite managed to land a top-flight drive, and eventually faded into comparative mediocrity. I could be wrong, but I think Renault is not going to be at its best in 2010 after what happened this year.

All I have to ask is who is the # 1 driver, Masa (who has been very loyal to Ferrari, came within ONE stinking corner of winning a championship, and has been driving really well over the last few years) or Aloso (2 time Champ)?

Oh, and it's not as if they've not had run in's with each other on the track. And both are of an emotional culture (as is the team).

Should be a fun season to watch, especially if they are not winning.

I doubt his confidence will be affected, he has no memory of the incident and it was not really a mechanical or driver issue. But he could have some minor brain damage that has not been detected.

His year at McLaren was "unfortunate" but that's all he's really been involved in. I still think the only indicator of impending doom in F1 is how much Max Mosley hates your team director.

==

As for Massa, I think he's a better qualifier than Alonso and if the car is good enough to get a few poles then Massa will have a few opportunities to beat Alonso. That won't take Alonso by surprise so I don't expect it be a problem. If the car isn't that great, then I would bet on Alonso.

More info on that one?

Doesn't anybody remember Alonso's 2006 Championship year at Renault?

"I feel all alone". "The team is not working for me to win". etc.

Alonso under pressure, fighting for the title, had him whining against the team. His issues at McLaren ("the team isn't on my side") weren't exactly new, it's just that Briatore was better at coddling him than Dennis. I don't think there's much evidence of Alonso pulling a team together from the past - when pressured, Alonso tended to withdraw to himself and his very small band of hangers-on.

It will be extremely interesting to watch Alonso vs. Massa at Ferrari. Massa is family there, just as Hamilton was at McLaren. Alonso may be in for a surprise. He needs the team around him and focused on him - whereas Kimi just gets in the car and drives. Kimi, if he does move back to McLaren, could be brilliant next year - he knows McLaren, will be happier there without Dennis, and will be accepted for just getting on with the job in the car. He also won't be bothered by Hamilton or the attention given him across the garage.

James Allen suggests that we may be in for another golden era of F1 starting next year. Think Senna and Prost at McLaren in 88, Piquet and Mansell at Williams in 86 - or 86 overall, Senna vs. Mansell vs. Prost vs. Piquet. The inter-team rivalries at Ferrari, and Mclaren with Kimi vs. Lewis, will be intense, and if they can produce competitive cars next year could well be brilliant.

The rumor mill says McLaren. Most of the drivers that have left McLaren angry seemed to complain about Ron Dennis, and he's gone. Less-reliable rumors say Mika Hakkinen might've had something to do with pulling Kimi in.

But mostly it's because Mercedes is moving closer to Brawn and they want a German driver there - Rosberg, who seemed to be first on McLaren's list. (Mercedes isn't dropping their association with McLaren, but they know the McLaren brand is too strong for Mercedes Benz to completely take over - they'll have more power at Brawn.)

That would kick Barrichello out, likely to Williams.

Meanwhile, the Spanish press says that if there's one person at Ferrari that Alonso might have a problem with, it's Schumacher. They say Alonso has asked the team to clarify Schumacher's role.

Think Alonso would win that battle?