F1 2007/2008 Winter Testing and Rumours

Yep, drivers were being wheeled in by all teams for a photoshoot and he came in, then made a bee-line for Matt and told him that he'd do the shoot on the condition that he stopped writing "nasty" things about him as he was fed up with how he was portrayed by the British press.

Bishop first calmly told him he couldn't agree to do that (obviously) then, when Ralf pressed the issue, Bishop lost it and told him, amongst other things, to **** off.
 
Not a chance, both he and McLaren have publicly stated it's over.

Alonso will either be in a Renault next year or he will take a year off. Which of these happens will basically depend on whether Renault capitulate to his single-season contract demands or not.
 
dannyjo22 said:
I still think Alonso will be driving the other mclaren next year.
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That would be shocking. I dont think in the history of F1 it has happened whereby the team and driver part company and then make-up 2-3 months later.

On top of which, I think McLaren are now intent on building their team around Hamilton. This would almost certainly be a long term (5-10 year) plan. If they had kept Alonso for 2008 it wouldve meant that they wanted to win the drivers and constructors title in 2008, even if it meant there was disharmony within the team.

I remember earlier this year when Ron Dennis stated that he was not about hugs and kisses and that he was about winning. By getting rid of Alonso (to protect his protoge), we can clearly see he was lying. Also after all the tears and emotion he has been showing lately, you can tell he is letting his emotions cloud his judgement. He really is treating Hamilton like his own son.

If McLaren really wanted to win, they wouldve kept on Alonso and "managed the situation", while they watched their drivers push eachother to new highs (just as they did in 2007). Dont forget, in reality, Alonso and Hamilton won McLaren the constructors title and lost the world title by only a single point, in 2007. Their driver combination was arguably the strongest seen in F1 for many years.

I think Alonso is going to Renault.
 
Alonso will now be looking at his options and realising he ****** up. Renault will be getting punished. They have to be punished to atleast the same degree as mclaren. If they do they will not stay in F1.

They were close to a pull out before, because the new boss has said it has to be financially viable to the profits of renault. If they get a $100 million fine they are gone.
 
I think I'll wait before passing judgement, it's not exactly the same situation as Mclaren right?

Besides, if it was the same crime and the same punishment handed out, it would surely be the first time the FIA has shown some sort of balance and fairness? Can't exactly have that now!!
 
dannyjo22 said:
They were close to a pull out before, because the new boss has said it has to be financially viable to the profits of renault. If they get a $100 million fine they are gone.
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New boss - Carlos Ghosn? He's been in charge for ages.......ok Wiki says he's only been president of Renault since 2005 but he's been on the board for years and is/was highly influential.
 
Mateschitz: Alonso not an option for RBR

Christian Horner scotched the rumours a few weeks back but now the guy that ultimately signs the checks has said it's not going to happen. On a side note DM is saying that they're aiming to get a top name driver for 2009, is he looking for someone as well as or instead of Vettel?
 
It almost looks like Alonso and Renault are now being forced together. The only thing left is for the FIA to make it part of Renault's condition for them to race in 2008, to hire an ex-world champion.

EDIT: I dont quite understand what Alonso is waiting for now, given that Renault is the only potentially top drive available to him. He could goto Toyota, but that would be a monumental challenge and it will either make him or break him.

Following on from what 'dannyjo22' said: surely Alonso couldnt be thinking about a return to McLaren. I find it very strange that McLaren also haven't replace Alonso yet. A U-turn of this sort would be unprecedented in F1.
 
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Agreed, Martin Whitmarsh has been quoted as saying that McLaren are in control of the driver market but that doesn't seem to be the case, they've not jumped for anyone and the only person who's coming actively chasing them is Ralf.

Personally I don't see anything happening now until the FIA hearing next week although that would mean any new signings missing the Jerez test (Tues - Thur next week).

Anything other than Heikki K to McLaren and Alonso/Piquet at Renault is going to be a real shock.
 
MTA99 said:
New boss - Carlos Ghosn? He's been in charge for ages.......ok Wiki says he's only been president of Renault since 2005 but he's been on the board for years and is/was highly influential.
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And is not a fan of F1, thats the reason Alonso went looking for a drive in the first place. He is known to want to not waste money on f1 any longer. A 100 million dollar fine and the jobs over.
 
Things are very difficult for Alonso now :)

The problem is that he's after a 1 year deal and any team that picks him up will want to tie him to a multi-year contract. True Renault look likely to get him at the moment, but I still think that they are unlikely to employ him for a single year as they see the process of winning the Championship will take longer to achieve from their current state of competativeness.

What I would like to see happen is that Alonso will go to Toyota for a multi-year deal and build up the team just like Schu' did for Ferrari, if he had the balls to do that it'd be excellent(a VERY long shot).

Who's going to break first? Now that this last piece of news has come out it looks like Alonso will have to go cap-in-hand to Renault and reluctantly sign a multi-year contract, something that he doesn't want to do. Else I can definately see him take a sabaticle next year in order to have the pick of drives for '09!
 
hominid said:
What I would like to see happen is that Alonso will go to Toyota for a multi-year deal and build up the team just like Schu' did for Ferrari, if he had the balls to do that it'd be excellent(a VERY long shot).
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Not going to happen. Schumacher didn't rebuild Ferrari single handed, he wasn't even the instigator. It was Todt & de Montezemolo who decided they needed to get the team to the top, initially they hired MS but also knew they needed to bring in Rory Byrne and Ross Brawn to sort the backroom out.

Alonso doesn't have the same group to call on from the technical side and there doesn't appear to be any desire from Toyota to make radical changes - witness the sacking of Mike Gascoyne and the hiring of Timo Glock
 
rpstewart said:
Not going to happen.
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I agree..

All last year Alonso thought he had McLaren over a barrel, and to some extent he did. The mistake of hiring Alonso cost McLaren allot or money AND reputation; too much for them to keep him in the end as it turned out.

Now we are going to see how pig-headed Alonso is! If he is as much as I think he will be taking a sabbatical next year, if he has some sense then he'll be back with Renault on a multi-year contract as I still don't think Renault will take him for possibly one year(Alonsos' preferred option)
 
I wonder why Alonso and Renault havent hooked up... Its either because (most likely) Renault want a 3year+ contract and Alonso a single year, or Renault are waiting for the court case to finish so they know what their budget is o_0

Will be interesting thats for sure :)
 
rpstewart said:
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there doesn't appear to be any desire from Toyota to make radical changes - witness the sacking of Mike Gascoyne and the hiring of Timo Glock
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Dear Lord!!!

Are you trying to say Toyota are happy to have the biggest budget in F1 and continue to finish near the back of the grid? Surely this cannot be the case.
 
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