I just can't see the logic in this; "Prior to Monza, Alonso is actually closer to 100 points behind Mercedes' Nico Rosberg. It doesn't mean Alonso will jump at the chance to leave, but Britain's Telegraph newspaper reports that - despite their history - McLaren chief Ron Dennis has made an astonishing offer of $32 million per year to Alonso." Why, when you are so far behind in performance and development, have a rumoured underpowered engine unit for 2015 would you invest so much money into a driver who is in the twilight of his career? It would make more sense to invest in a driver pairing for the future I.e. Young! I don't dispute that Alonso is a quality and seasoned driver but he can't be viewedas long term option surely!
It's stuff like that that makes me still think this is a smokescreen to try and keep Button's wages down by making them think he's in competition with Alonso. He might not be a viable long-term option either but he's a good development driver, and if all Mclaren want is one of them there is zero point in paying huge wages to bring one in from outside the team.
Which one does Alonso think will be competitive again first? As it seems to be formula engine, Ferrari or Honda?
Button? Said this on here before but i don't think he is, seems too sensitive to the car balance to give engineers useful feedback. The vast majority of his success has came in cars where he has an established team mate, whenever he has been a defacto team leader anywhere he seems to be stuck with cars that are generally absolute dog **** and never really get better. Whilst a lot of that will be the teams fault for not really making a car that is fundamentally to his liking, it doesn't exactly paint a picture of a driver who is consistently providing excellent feedback to help the engineers deliver parts to sort it. I'd say similar of Kimi btw, Like Button, if the car was to their liking i bet they could provide tonnes of info for engineers, but you can bet any feedback he gives this year will be along the lines of "the front end is ****, i dunno, i can't really feel anything without the front end being there". Alonso is good enough to drive around problems, as proven by what he has done for years in what have been a string of consistently average cars (which seem to be more down to Ferrari's disorganisation than Alonso's feedback). Something McLaren are suffering from too, Something McLaren are trying to sort. I reckon he is a great fit for them. I reckon Hulkenberg would be a great choice if they can't get Alonso but could get him, has a knack of scooping up points as well as generally seeming to be in cars that get stronger as the season goes on, which paints a good picture of him as a development driver.
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/115657 Honda's motorsport chief has spoken about their plans for F1. The main points: - Honda's deal with Mclaren is only exclusive next year - Open to customers in 2016 and beyond but Mclaren will remain 'factory' team - Simulation testing of next year's engine begins soon - Engine will not be tested on track until next year - Honda believe they can win races
Fernando Alonso has ruled out leaving Ferrari despite another year of frustration with the Scuderia and the flattery of McLaren making their interest in re-signing him public. The Spaniard, a two-time title winner with Renault prior to a tumultuous single year at McLaren alongside Lewis Hamilton, is still widely regarded as the best driver in F1 but has cut an increasingly frustrated figure this year with Ferrari unable to keep pace with runaway championship leaders Mercedes after four successive seasons of playing second fiddle to Red Bull. But after committing the second-half of his F1 career to Ferrari, the 33-year-old Alonso is not for turning. "It's not my intention at the moment to move, I want to win here and finish the job that we start some years ago," Alonso told Sky Sports News HQâs Rachel Brookes in an exclusive interview ahead of this weekendâs Italian GP. âThere has been a lot of talk since last summer but from my mouth there never came any interest to leave Ferrari or any words saying l would join another team. There was a lot of speculation, which is not disturbing but it created a little bit of tension and stress. Yet you also feel happy and proud that the best teams have an interest in you,â he added. Marco Mattiacci, who replaced the ousted Stefano Domenicali as Ferrari Team Principal in April following their dismal start to F1âs new turbo era, announced last week that both Kimi Raikkonen, who has endured a torrid season in the ill-handling F14 T, and Alonso would be retained for 2015. According to the team, Alonso is under contract until 2016, although paddock gossipers have speculated that his deal contains a release clause directly related to the teamâs position in the Constructorsâ Championship â third at present, but just ten points ahead of Williams. Alonsoâs renewal of vows with Ferrari is likely to be good news for Jenson Button, with the Englishman kept in limbo while McLaren pursued the possibility of luring Alonso back to Woking.
Alonso is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Ferrari doesn't look like improving in the near future, and although McLaren is a gamble, it also means swallowing his pride a little. I think Alonso is hoping that if he sits tight a Mercedes seat may become available in a year or so, maybe even Red Bull if they can turn around the engine issues.
He's going to be waiting a long time for that I think. If Mercedes want rid of one of their drivers I'd expect their first port of call to be Vettel, and I imagine that going down as a straight swap. I *could* see Alonso at Williams in a couple of years, if they keep up their pace. Think he might be more open to a paycut, and I think Ferrari will be looking to bring in someone younger by that point. It would be funny if after all the years linking Alonso with a move away Ferrari just get fed up and fire him.
Alonso should stay at Ferrari, any panic moves now are going to be silly. It's their debut season and Ferrari have gathered data and should have worked out flaws from this season.
I think it varies from "a little behind Mercedes" to "a lot behind Mercedes". I haven't seen anything claiming it'll be the dominant engine. That also doesn't factor in any improvements Mercedes make to their engines. Is engine development allowed over the winter or is the engine frozen now it's been raced?
There's some sort of rolling freeze. They can change 80% this winter then 60% next winter etc. Not sure of actual values.
Just to clear things up, who are engine freezes beneficial to? The giants at the front of the grid or the poorer teams at the back?
