Which Team Will Alonso Go To In 2008?

[Elvis_Pil]

A lot of speculation going around as to where the former double world champ is off to next year after announcing the spilt with Ron Dennis & Co. Just wondering what you Guys think?

Even though I'm no fan of he's.. I'll think he'll really do himself good by going to Williams.... But will the team take the gamble of him for just one year?

[Pericles]

I'm sure Force India will have an opening if he wants it

[sharkster]

my vote was to torro rosso... given the opportunity, BMW but i personally think BMW should maintain their setup...

[Overdrive]

There is a good chance he will return to renault as briotore has offered him a good package, word has it, or could even end up with R*D B*LL. but at the same time toyota have one of the biggest budgets for next year and a vacant seat exists as ralf Shumacher departs next season. Either was next year should be quite good as well i believe!!

Edited November 4, 2007 by Overdrive

[The Don]

He's said he does not want to to Toyota, and I am sure he would like to go to a team which has a decent chance of competing for the title, Toyota has had the biggest budget in F1 for a while and though they had a good season last year with Trulli on the podium a few times this year hasn't been that great,

Torro Rosso ......... probably not

There was a rumor he might be interested in Ferrari but then again they just extended Massas contract and he did quite well this year

Renault seems an obvious choice but there have been conflicting reports coming from that camp .............

its a difficult choice of Alonso I am sure he is gutted he could not mke things work at McLaren .........

should be interesting, I vote for Renault

[unknown]

Yea Massa's contract was extended till 2010 but according to ferrari they say that they will pay him off next year and take Alonso. but then again their might be same kind ofproblems will come like Mclaren. best is for him is either BMW or williams

[GTAm]

I would really like to see him go to BMW. They were the only other team on the pace this year. And so next year we could have 3 manufacturers fighting it out.

Renault will make a comeback sure, but when is the question. Their budgets were pruned with the arrival of the new CEO Carlos Ghosn. I'm not sure he fully subscribes to the F1 spend.

The other question is who will McLaren hire to replace him. While Nico is the best available, it will be detrimental to him as he'd have to live in the shadow of Lewis. And I think Nico is even better than Lewis. So I'd like to see Nick (Heidfeld) go to Mac.

[Pericles]

Renault will make a comeback sure, but when is the question. Their budgets were pruned with the arrival of the new CEO Carlos Ghosn. I'm not sure he fully subscribes to the F1 spend.

He doesn't. Even when they won the championship he said he will continue funding only so long as they are winning and providing publicity for the company.

[The Don]

Well the budgets would play less of a role the next 2 years as engine development has been frozen for 2 years and electronic driving aids banned

I think Renault was struggling to adjust to the Bridgestones so its probable they will be more competitive this year

Talking about Rosberg we must also not forget the other young driver starting to make an impact in the form of Robert Kubica

I think Renault's CEO has the same attitude most mass production brands have in racing, as they race only to boost their brand and sell more cars ! if that purpose is not being served, they have no interest in dumping money in to racing, so i can understand the board at Toyota is quite pissed off

The only factory team who build cars to support racing is Ferrari,

[GTAm]

Talking about Rosberg we must also not forget the other young driver starting to make an impact in the form of Robert Kubica

I think Renault's CEO has the same attitude most mass production brands have in racing, as they race only to boost their brand and sell more cars ! if that purpose is not being served, they have no interest in dumping money in to racing, so i can understand the board at Toyota is quite pissed off

The only factory team who build cars to support racing is Ferrari,

......And Vettel.

Well only recently have Renault actually even tried to put their racing tech into their showrooms with the Megane R26 and Clio 197 Cup. Until then they've been quite subdued instead of shouting out loud their achievements. Poor marketing.

Just look at what Honda did though. They've much less than Renault as an engine supplier and zero titles as a constructor but they made the biggest noise and lifted up the Type R sub-brand. So much so that they are severely over hyped with regard to sporting pedigree. Great marketing.

The Japanese are talented that way.

[KLM]

Renault looks unlikely for Fernando. Apparently a sponsorship deal that this hinged on fell through. Renault should be back on the pace this year. The only reason they fell off the pace was because they didn't have access to Ferrari's data on how to make the Bridgestones rear tires work with their chassis, unlike McLaren. Remember, both McLaren and Renault were Michelin teams last year and had to switch to Bridgestones because the FIA chose them as the sole tire supplier. If you're an F1 fan you know how important tire data is and how much of an advantage McLaren got Coughlan and Stepney. I remember how beloved Alex Wurz was to Michelin from all the testing he did with them for McLaren, which is one of the reasons why Bridgestone/Williams poached him a couple of years ago. There have even been drives decided based on tire experience, which tells you how much of an unfair advantage McLaren got. Don't believe the British press on this matter, because their judgements are all clouded by their patriotism.

I honestly hope Nelson Piquet Jr., AKA Nelsinho, comes in for Renault because he is quite the wheelman and he was also Lewis Hamilton's bitter rival in GP2 last year. That'll stir things up nicely if it does happen.

Heidfeld to Mercedes? He'd be returning to his roots if he did, because they funded his career upto F1 and had hopes of him being their German stalwart until Kimi Raikonnen came and scuppered that plan. But I think he is happy with BMW, as they are with him.

R*D B*LL will be an interesting proposition to him, I'm sure. It'll give him a chance to develop a mid-field team around himself, much like Michael Schumacher did with Ferrari. Similar to Michael, he'll have an almost unlimited budget and one of the great engineering minds of our time in Adrian Newey. The man built World Championship winning cars for Jacques Villeneuve, Damon Hill and Mika Hakkinen so he certainly knows his beans.

But honestly, IMO, his best bet is to go back to his hometown, Oviedo, and join the bull-fighting tour. As a bull.

[KLM]

Just look at what Honda did though. They've much less than Renault as an engine supplier and zero titles as a constructor but they made the biggest noise and lifted up the Type R sub-brand. So much so that they are severely over hyped with regard to sporting pedigree. Great marketing.

The Japanese are talented that way.

I hardly think 5 Drivers' World Championships, 70 + GP wins and a racing heritage from the '60s is over-hyped sporting pedigree. During the late eighties and early nineties, Honda used to routinely second road car engineers to their F1 teams for 2-year stints for development and the outputs of their B and D series engines from the mid to late nineties are a tribute to that policy. Ayrton Senna cried when Honda left F1. That should tell you all about their sporting pedigree.

Despite the crappy livery this year and them positioning themselves as a 'green' company, they still get good mileage from the Prost/Senna/Piquet years.

[GTAm]

I hardly think 5 Drivers' World Championships, 70 + GP wins and a racing heritage from the '60s is over-hyped sporting pedigree. During the late eighties and early nineties, Honda used to routinely second road car engineers to their F1 teams for 2-year stints for development and the outputs of their B and D series engines from the mid to late nineties are a tribute to that policy. Ayrton Senna cried when Honda left F1. That should tell you all about their sporting pedigree.

Despite the crappy livery this year and them positioning themselves as a 'green' company, they still get good mileage from the Prost/Senna/Piquet years.

For 5 Drivers titles they were only engine suppliers. It was more the constructor. This was clear when they supplied engines in the 80s to quite a few teams including Mac, Williams, Lotus, and Tyrell. You probably know the exact years. It was always the chassis that set the winning team apart.

After Honda withdrew after being comprehensively beaten by Renault in 92, they came back somewhat unofficially as Mugen with the most powerful engine on the track as believed but won nothing except a fluke by Panis in a Ligier in the rain at Monaco.

As recently as the 2000s we saw BMW with the most powerful engine but with just a few wins. It was the superior chasis (and the genius of Michael and Ferrari) won the titles.

In the 60's they only won 2 GPs. Even then one car was constructed by Lola. They are great engine makers for sure and they've gone into motorsport and tried to build up a heritage. But they make everyone believe that they've won more than they actually have. = Hype

That's why I said it's great marketing!

With all due respect to his great talent of Ayrton Senna was a real winger and cry baby anyway. If he did not have everything perfect he would cry and complain, not talk to his boses etc etc.

Even in the year he died he was complaining about the Williams Renault despite it being arguably the best package all because he got thrashed by MS in a humble Benetton. So I would not take his crying too seriously.

[KLM]

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree then. 70-odd wins and a bunch of World Championships is serious racing pedigree, especially since they were one of the few manufacturers who genuinely used F1 for technology transfer and improving the road car breed, unlike Mercedes, for example. Senna was certainly an emotional man, like most temperamental Latinos, but I also wouldn't call him a whinger. He expected nothing short of the best from his teams and Williams certainly weren't delivering. Hill only ran Michael close that year because Michael/Benetton were banned mid-season and DSQ'd a couple more times. The Williams that year was definitely second to the Benetton. Championships are anyways won by the best pairing of engine and driver and if one doesn't deliver, you're not going to win titles.

But I digress.

Mugen-Honda won more than just Monaco 1996. Damon Hill won Jordan's first race at Spa in 1998 and the following year, Frentzen took the championship fight to McLaren and Ferrari late in the season with 2 wins, only falling by the wayside at the Nurburgring (while leading) because of a hydraulics glitch.

All I'm saying is that Honda's marketing of their racing program is well justified, because they do have the pedigree.

As for Renault, their Clio 197 and R26 have absolutely nothing in common with the F1 programme apart from the name association. Actually Renault have had such cars for sometime, like the Clio Williams from the mid-nineties etc. They've actually marketed the F1 program well over the years, with lots of F1 related models, but because they've had such unpopular World Champions (Alonso, JV etc), nobody really cares.

[GTAm]

Ok I agree that we disagree !

Damon Hill was below average for a world champion. The only reason he came close was because he was in the best car.

Michael was an exceptional driver and the only reason Damon won in 96 was because Michael switched from a very good car to the Ferrari which was a dog for a few years, until his input along with the dream team of Brawn, Todd and Byrne etc.

As for Benetton being the better car..... You only have to look at the team mates performances. Apart from the twice lucky Johnny Herbert (who profited from many retirements) they were well below the performance of their Williams counterparts. Does anyone remember Jos Verstappen?

Again 70 odd wins ONLY as an engine supplier. Again it's only one part of the team and usually not the most important as described in my previous post.

As contructors Renault has 33 wins to Honda's 3. 50 poles to Honda's 2!! Simply (only) as an engine supplier according to my calculations Renault has 80 wins. Even that is higher than Honda's total.

The high performance Clios and Meganes are built NOT at the Renault factory but but by Renaultsport which is the is the link between the F1 team and road cars. Probably not many know these things and know only about Honda's Type R since in Asia Honda is a lot more popular than Renault.

And they hardly ever marketed their success as an engine supplier and is largely forgotten. Only when they came back as a constructor did they get on a proper F1 to road cars campain.

Finally I'm not really a Renault fan nor a Honda fan. But both manufacturers have a few good cars in their past and present.

Anyway getting back to the topic. Looks like Renault is very keen to get Alonso back according to the latest news reports.

[KLM]

LOL, GTAm, I was a big Jos Verstappen fan, the other JV in fact. Look it up - Renault F1 is different to Renaultsport, and there is practically no link between Renault F1 (based in the UK, mind you) and Renaultsport.

Anyways, does anybody else think this is awesome or what?

Schu stuns with MotoGP pace

Posted 06 November 2007 at 07:58 GMT

Michael Schumacher on Monday stunned observers at the Valencia circuit by setting competitive lap times on the saddle of Casey Stoner's championship-winning Ducati MotoGP bike.

As a host of guest riders tested the grand prix machinery at the Spanish circuit following the conclusion of the 2007 season, the former Formula One seven time world champion came close to just five seconds off Valencia winner Dani Pedrosa's fastest lap at the end of his 58-lap test.

Schumacher, 38, wearing a plain orange riding suit and white helmet, proved radically improved since his Ducati test in 2005; fully leaning into the corners and putting to good effect the tips of experts he consulted in the pits.

"I remember the last time I was riding and I was about 15 seconds slower than what you could do, so I thought maybe if I could run within ten seconds, that would nice," he said afterwards in Spain, according to Motorcycle News (MCN).

Following wild theories that he might replace Fernando Alonso at McLaren next year, meanwhile, he also fended off speculation that he could be good enough to race in MotoGP.

"I'm just doing this for fun. I don't want to race," Schumacher insisted.

He also played down any comparison between MotoGP and Formula One.

"It is like being on earth and going to the moon," Schumacher smiled.

http://www.homeofsport.com/f1/news/item.aspx?id=20612

[Elvis_Pil]

Flaming Jos Verstappen? how can anyone forget that! Anyway its not a fair comparison when looking at the Renault and Honda works teams. or even head to head in total. Honda started an outfit from nothingness of BAR- Renault simply took over Benetton, who had been in the business for ages and whom they were anyway powering. Of course that is still no excuse for Honda's recent performances.

Edited November 6, 2007 by Pilawoos

[Elvis_Pil]

hmm I dont like that comment on 'ma man Damon Hill he did very well in the's previous years to the 96 Championship and would have won 2 of them if not for a famous MS stunt in the seasons final race. Hill was always consistent and the fact that he pulled off a win even with Jordon- is testimony to the mans talent

[k89]

well according to latest news Michael doing testing this weekend with F2007 car, who knows may be he will be back in 2008.

[Elvis_Pil]

unlikely- he really has nothing to prove by making a comeback. The testing is merely to complement the development of the 2008 car- after all he is a 'technical adviser' to the team (what ever that means)

[KLM]

Michael is apparently helping the team with going back to running no TC, because after all, he does have experience from that era.

Pilawoos, as good a driver as Damon Hill was, he was not World Champion quality. In 1994, he got to race a full 4 races more than Michael and still couldn't get a championship lead going. Michael may have chopped up JV in 1997, but in 1994 he really was trying to stay in front when Damon put the car where he shouldn't have. Full marks for the 1996 title, but remember, he was run close by a sensational F1 rookie, Villeneuve. He was just another muse of the British press who put him on a pedestal because of his nationality and famous last name. In fact, head to head I'll bet that Jos The Boss was quicker.

[Elvis_Pil]

Well Hill is no Hamilton but he did take the 94 title down to the last race and 94 was only he's 2nd full year in F1. At the same time Williams were in a bit of a mess after the Senna death. Again he lost the 94 title to a famous Schumee incident i Australia(Debatable to say the least)

Joss quicker than Hill? it'll be a cold day in Hell man And Joss maybe the type that could start a fire even on ice

[Elvis_Pil]

ok its time to rule out Alonso from Williams. The team announced its Driver line up for 2008- da man Rosberg!!! and Kazuki Nakajima. Looks like its gonna be Hekki to Mclaren then

Edited November 7, 2007 by Pilawoos

[sharkster]

ok its time to rule out Alonso from Williams. The team announced its Driver line up for 2008- da man Rosberg!!! and Kazuki Nakajima. Looks like its gonna be Hekki to Mclaren then

just pray nakajima doesn't bump off his pit crew again

[KLM]

Kazuki is very fast and highly rated at Williams, pit accident notwithstanding. He set the fifth fastest race lap at Interlagos, faster than Alonso even, and his entire third stint was run at qualifying pace, a consistent series of low 1:13s.

Y'all hear about Renault being investigated now having McLaren technical data?

http://www.grandprix.com/ns/ns19844.html