Showing posts with label fernando alonso. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fernando alonso. Show all posts

Saturday, September 29, 2007

Todt rules out Alonso move to Ferrari

Ferrari team principal Jean Todt has ruled out any talk of reigning world champion Fernando Alonso moving to his team next year.

Speculation since the Belgian Grand Prix has been rife that Alonso could be on his way to the Maranello outfit in the future, with serious doubts emerging that he will remain at McLaren.

But speaking to ITV before the start of the Japanese Grand Prix, Todt ruled out any change in Ferrari's driver line-up of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa for next year.

"We have both drivers, Felipe and Kimi, under contract with Ferrari for 2008 and we respect our contracts," he said. "Both did a fantastic job.

"Alonso is a great driver, he's now fighting for a third drivers' world championship. He's a great driver, I have a lot of respect for him as a driver, but we are very happy with our contracted drivers."

Source - http://www.autosport.com

Monday, September 24, 2007

Fernando Alonso will be drive Ferrari in 2008

Fernando Alonso is reportedly off to Ferrari next season in a £20m per year deal, while Felipe Massa is moving to Toyota.

Alonso's position at McLaren has become more untenable with the FIA's confirmation that it was the Spaniard's emails that resulted in the team being stripped of their 2007 Constructors' Championship points and handed a £50m fine.

And with Ron Dennis admitting that his relationship with his driver is "extremely cold" and that Alonso's unhappy with the team's equality policy, the double World Champion's time at McLaren appears to be running out - and fast.

In fact, according to the News of the World, Alonso has just three more races as a McLaren driver having already agreed to join Ferrari.

According to the tabloid, the Spaniard has agreed a £20 million a year deal to join Ferrari for 2008, leaving Felipe Massa out in the cold.

Massa, though, is already making plans for the future with the Daily Mail claiming that he 'opened preliminary negotiations with Toyota last weekend.'

The newspaper went on to say that Massa's decision to leave Ferrari could be based on team boss Jean Todt's pending (and unwanted) retirement in order to make way for Ross Brawn's return.

The Ferrari tech director, who is nearing the end of his year-long sabbatical, is expected to return to the Scuderia next season as team boss. And should this happen it could place Todt's son, who is also Massa's manager, in an uncomfortable position.

'Massa is acutely aware that if Jean Todt, as expected, loses an impending internal power struggle within Ferrari, he will be instantly vulnerable as he is managed by the Frenchman's son, Nicholas,' the Mail surmised.

On a personal note, P-F1 believes Alonso would do well at Ferrari... after all he already knows all about the car and how to set it up.

Source - http://www.planetf1.com