http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/29638594 Ferrari confirm Alonso departure: For 2 reasons... a) a new environent b) at his age, he cannot wait to win again
I honestly think Aero is the key here. I think Ferrari will produce a much better car next season with Allison, but their main weaknesses will still be there, mainly in the Aero department (even though they have Lotus's old aero chief too alongside Allison) and the software department (hence their dreadful driveability this year). Red Bull have proven this season that the Aero can make an otherwise underpowered car into a winner. Mercedes (or perhaps more accurately, their customer teams) have proven that it takes more than just pure grunt to make the car a winner. It's the overall package. Ferrari's failure to lure Newey was the catalyst IMO. Meanwhile, McLaren have full works engine backing, arguably the best software team alongside whatever Honda can throw in, and the small matter of Peter Prodromu as their new head of aero.... which is perhaps no coincidence that McLaren have stepped up in pace since his first set of updates arrived on the car. Yeah, the engine is untested but as a package, they aren't in a bad place to hit the ground running if the engine is in any way decent. If the engine unfreeze comes in and they can develop throughout the season, it becomes less of a risk.
McLaren could be a fun team to watch next year. I can only assume Honda will have teething problems at the start but their rate of progress could be amazing. That said they will be at a huge disadvantage compared to the others, I think I read that the cars a 2s a lap quicker that they were in Australia engine wise alone these days. Thats with a engine freeze and just software and usage fettling. Thats a lot of data to catch up with.
That McLaren has been utter garbage with by far best engine available. They'll have to do something really special to be in a better position next season.
Mclaren will want the constructors championship. Alonso Button would be a good option to achieve that. I have not yet understood why Lewis hasn't resigned at Merc unless he doesn't trust them. Can you really drive for an outfit without trust?
Both have said they would leave the contract talks until after the season. He is signed for 2015 so there was no real rush, not sure now how Alonso's position may affect Hamilton's bargaining power for 2016.
@LorenzoDL83: #Domenicali could help #Audi studying #F1 , or joinining #Ducati management http://t.co/FeuBF5ECo7
@pitlanetalk: Raikkonen: "I have a contract [with Ferrari] for next year and probably for one more year" http://t.co/gbS7oKTW3I #F1 #Formula1
Sauber will test Adderly Fong (pictured) and Roy Nissany in Spain next week. The pair will drive a Sauber C31 which was used by the team during the 2012 championship. The test will take place at the Ricardo Tormo road circuit in Valencia on October 22nd and 23rd, while Lotus are also testing Esteban Ocon. Fong, 24, has raced in GP3 and the World Endurance Championship LMP2 category this year. The driver from Hong Kong pipped former F1 driver Alex Yoong to the Audi R8 LMS championship in the previous season. Nissany, 19, is an F3 rival of Ocon’s. With one round remaining in this year’s European F3 championship the Israeli driver is 18th in the standings. Nissany’s father Chanoch tested for Jordan and Minardi in the mid-2000s. and....... Stefano Domenicali has accepted an offer to work for the German manufacturer Audi. Non motor racing role Earlier this week, we reported that the former Ferrari team boss could be moving to the Ingolstadt-based marque to replace Le Mans team chief Wolfgang Ullrich. It appears that was wide of the mark. Germany's Auto Motor und Sport said Italian Domenicali, 49, will instead start in a non motor racing role on 1 November. But the news, reportedly confirmed by Audi, will almost certainly trigger a new round of speculation about Alonso's future. What about Alonso? Prior to his ousting by Ferrari, Domenicali was known to be close to Fernando Alonso, who according to Luca di Montezemolo is also leaving the Maranello team. Alonso's next stop is not known, but when he visited the fabled 24 hour Le Mans race in June, he stopped by the Audi garage. "It's a very attractive category for sure," said Alonso before officially starting the 2014 edition in June. "Definitely I will race here (one day)." Whilst clearly negotiating with McLaren-Honda about 2015, Alonso has obviously also coveted a seat at the dominant F1 team, Mercedes. Team bosses have consistently ruled that out. Indeed, Mercedes chief Toto Wolff told Austria's Sportwoche this week: "Maybe he (Alonso) will leave Formula One, take a break. "This year he went to see his friend Mark Webber at Le Mans - it is obviously a race that fascinates him."
There must always be a Nissany in F1 I seriously hope that's only a test for those two and it goes no further... neither exactly fill me with confidence. Not surprised about Domenicali, hope he does alright.
I think the only way a driver could be worse than his dad is if they turned the wrong way when they were leaving the garage.
[video=youtube;ofWSBHbgUlg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofWSBHbgUlg[/video] I could probably get my car to corner quicker, he basically came to a standstill then turned into the corner
It's interesting that there's been basically no links to Force India outside of the two already there. Makes it less likely that Magnussen or Vandoorne might end up there.
