Spanish indecision
Posted by Nick Trott at 4:30PM on Tuesday 07 August, 2007 8 Comments
Fernando Alonso is refusing to deny rumours that he is thinking of leaving McLaren at the end of the year.
At least that's what's being splashed all over the papers today. The Times even reckons that Ron Dennis has told Alonso he can leave the team at the end of the year.
Not sure if I believe that. Imagine the financial/corporate/sponsorship issues.
Santander and Vodafone are no doubt chuffed to bits that their logos are splashed all over the helmet and car of a double world champion, and Ron Dennis isn't going to let arguably the best driver in the world simply waltz off to another team.
If Alonso is as unhappy at McLaren as the press is speculating, then Ron could say, 'OK, you're free to leave. However, I have a contract with you until the end of 2008 and you can't drive for another team until then.'
Question is: how would Alonso feel about a forced sabbatical?
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8 Comments for "Spanish indecision"
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This is ridiculous, if Alonso is seriously considering leaving Mclaren over this then they should let him go, because he will obviously throw a hissy fit every time things don't go his way.
Hamilton is at least being sensible about these things he acknowledged he made a mistake and apologised, if Alonso should have cooled his temperament and accepted his apology rather than playing silly beggars during qualifying, then he might be winning more races this season.
I think this stems mainly from Alonso expecting to beat Lewis easily from the start of the season and he's just had his cage rattled by Lewis' performances.
He needs to grow up a bit and get on with his job, frankly if I was Ron Dennis I'd be disappointed in my expensive double world champions attitude.
Come on, Alonso is not crazy... if he sits out 2008 he'll be seriously out of shape, there's no chance of this happening.
Some newspapers and websites no doubt will speculate a lot about it, we'll have to wait and see how things develop.
I agree with Eddie Jordan: "I believe McLaren is giving Hamilton a car that's good enough because of what Alonso has brought to the team. So whether he likes to believe it or not, Hamilton has a benefit from Alonso being in the team."
Spoken like a true prodigy.
Let's be brutally honest here for a minute folks. First of all: One of those oft-cited pair of championships was a gift from Formula 1 to Renault and Alonso by way of stupid rules pertaining to tyres and the changing thereof.
The second, it could be argued, Alonso did win through his own merit.. and an entirely uncharacteristic mechanical failure of one particular Ferrari. Alonso, in spite of his credentials, has only rarely been tested thoroughly, and at least this season, he hasn't dealt with it particularly well.
Is he a great driver: yes, he wouldn't have won either championship without at least being quick and consistent.
Is he the best in the world: a dubious claim in my humble opinion.
Forza Ferrari, and that failing, Hamilton has my support.
I think Alonso is perfectly justified in being a little upset about what happened this past weekend. The team has tried to give both drivers an equal number of opportunities to have an advantage during a race weekend. When Alonso was told to back off he did.. when Hamiliton is told to back off to give Alonso a chance to qualify well, he ignored the team and adopted his own strategy.
Everyone is quick to say that Alonso is being a baby and throwing hissy fits, but he has cooperated with McLaren's team strategy so far, while his teammate has not.
He is the senior driver, no matter how impressive Hamilton is, and he is not getting the treatment he would if he were, at say, Renault. It would be a devastating blow for the team to lose such a talented driver, especially when Ferrari is fielding two very impressive drivers.
I hope cooler heads prevail and we can see this outstanding duo return for another season.
First off, Pat, Alonso always throws a hissy fit when things don't go his way (see: Monza 2006, Spain 2007, Germany 2007, and Hungary 2007). Thing is, though, Ron is so loyal to Lewis that he'd be willing to part with Fernando for another driver if Hamilton wants him to.
There are a few teams that are trying to make themselves look attractive to Alonso also. BMW still have yet to confirm Heidfeld for another season, Toyota will probably offer Fernando insane amounts of money to finish 11th for them, and Renault is basically rolling out a red carpet and begging Alonso to come back.
Since Ron always puts the team first (or so he says), he'd let Fernando go if it meant a happy team (and a happy Lewis).
Hey leave Alonso alone! This is a double world champion totally getting thrashed by a rookie.
I think that Alonso should go back to Renault. He was treated more fairly there than where he is at now. You never know the tables may turn, Alonso could end up as a triple world champion
Ron should have stood on Alonso's head a long time ago! You could nearly be fooled into believing that Alonso moved to McLaren to be alongside a rookie who could act as a step up to his third world championship.
I think Alonso expected Hamilton to be an understudy, the rookie who could block/ruin the chances of Raikkonen and co. whilst he ran away with the title.
As for a forced sabbatical... that would only serve to damage the sport with one of the top drivers absent for a season. Hamilton is a cocky wee sod, but he is paid to race. And boy is he good at it...
This year's F1 circus is really becoming what the name suggests: a real circus thanks to the strange decisions of the FIA.
A month ago it decided that McLaren did not have an unfair advantage after 780 pages of Ferrari blueprints were found in the possesion of their chief designer!?!?
Last Sunday that same team was deprived from winning points due to personal actions of their rubbish (referring to his character) driver Alonso. That same driver was 'pushed' 5 places back on the grid so that he can score points!? For the same accusations, last year Schumi was sent to the pit lane in Monaco. Is this FIA a serious organization or a neighbourhood watch? As to whether Alonso will leave McLaren, I think they deserve each other.