Alonso Now To Redbull?

[Quiet One 15]

The plot thickens:

http://www.pitflaps.co.uk/2013/07/alonso-asks-hamilton-to-write-touching-ferrari-song/

[Angellica 0]

I checked the date and it's not even April 1st. Must be true then

[dribbler 6]

He'll stay at Ferrari.

I said the same about him staying at McLaren for 2008. I also said Lewis would stay with McLaren for 2013.

[rodders47 2]

Ok so IF Aonso was to stay at Ferrari and IF Kimi was to replace Massa there how do you guys reckon Alonso and Kimi would get on ?? Like WHO would be No 2 ???

[dribbler 6]

Ok so IF Aonso was to stay at Ferrari and IF Kimi was to replace Massa there how do you guys reckon Alonso and Kimi would get on ?? Like WHO would be No 2 ???

The one who is slower than the other in front.

[Quiet One 15]

This is becoming the worst silly season ever. Now it's Hamilton to Ferari:

http://grandprix247.com/2013/08/01/hamiltons-father-visiting-maranello-prompts-more-rumours/

[Angellica 0]

Ok so IF Aonso was to stay at Ferrari and IF Kimi was to replace Massa there how do you guys reckon Alonso and Kimi would get on ?? Like WHO would be No 2 ???

I'm not sure, but I'd be interested to find out, neither suffer fools (or annoying team mates) gladly do they? If they end up team mates I predict fireworks, though I could be wrong, they might get on great and be best buds, I just can't quite see it somehow.

[radical-one 0]

I agree with Berger ....

=======================

Berger: Alonso has to try for Red Bull drive

1 August 2013

Former Ferrari driver Gerhard Berger believes that Fernando Alonso should ‘try everything’ in his pursuit of a race seat with Red Bull next year, stating that the Spaniard’s wait for a third world title will only increase while chief designer Adrian Newey remains at the Milton Keynes-based squad.

Berger, who previously owned a 50 percent stake in Toro Rosso alongside Red Bull chief Dietrich Mateschitz, noted that Alonso has already endured a fruitless three years at Ferrari, despite hauling an inferior car to a one-time 40 point championship lead last season. With a radically different rule set due to be introduced in 2014, Berger also alluded to Newey’s record of consistently producing front-running cars following a reset of the regulations.

"The way I see it, Alonso must react," the Austrian told German newspaper Bild. "He has now spent three years waiting for the title, and each time Red Bull was in the way. So he has to try everything to drive for Red Bull in 2014. The team has the brilliance of Adrian Newey, and that would guarantee him a competitive car."

Berger also accepted that the terms of Alonso’s contract may render any potential move difficult to achieve, but added that it wouldn’t be a completely impossible scenario.

"Alonso has a watertight contract with Ferrari until 2016, don’t forget, but maybe there are escape clauses that could give him the right to talk with Red Bull," he said.

[Rainmaster 7]

I've also been linked with seats at Red Bull and Ferrari.

[Grabthaw the Hammerslayer 4]

I've also been linked with seats at Red Bull and Ferrari.

What? The seats in the reception area?

[KoolMonkey 0]

There's always been something too cozy between Webber and Alonso. Loyal Webber has backed Alonso over Vettel many times publicly. We see them together in the paddock, walking, talking chatting away at press conferences and briefings. If Alonso does have a shot at RBR it will be because Webber has told him about the inner workings of the team, the atmosphere, what Horner and Newey are like to work for. So in some sense I think there is more to the rumor of Alonso to RBR than meets the eye.

I can't see Alonso actually going there however, but this is F1 afterall. We all saw how badly he coped with Hamilton in 2007, so unless he is now desperate and thinks he can handle being an equal at RBR, I think you'd find his true nature would come out to play again. And that is of a driver that needs to be somewhat coddled, told the entire team is behind him, even the other driver. I still remember his rants from the Benetton days concerning Fisi, and also how he thought his own team was out to sabotage him. Alonso isn't going to change who he is permanently.

But Ferrari might tire of him too. And being told off by Luca isn't such a good sign. Honestly I think there is nothign there to be worried about, but this is the same team that showed Kimi the door afterall... to get Alonso in the door. I don't see Kimi going back there either. It's still the same personnel that are there running the team when he was last there. It would be different if Todt or Brawn went back to Ferrari, but that won't ever happen. Allison going there will be good for them, but I wouldn't expect to see his work come to fruition until 2015.

The only thing that would really shake up the seats would be if there is any truth to Vettel going to Ferrari. That would be massive and I'd expect all the tops teams to be swapping and changing drivers.

As for the Kimster, he's not stupid, and his manager is very well respected and a great negotiator. So if we don't see him at RBR, all I then worry about is not that he won't have a car to win races proper and get another WDC (since I've come to accept I don't believe Lotus can ever deliver that type of car), but that halfway through next year Lotus go bust, and still can't pay his salary. And by then the RBR seat is already taken. At that point McLaren would probably be his only real option. But he's been there, he knows the commitments needed, and McLaren do more PR than any other F1 team historically. F1 is all about timing, not just skill. Thus you won't get the same opportunity twice, no matter how good a driver you are. Fingers crossed he gets the RBR seat. I just think F1, the fans and the supporters would be in for a great ride.

[Quiet One 15]

Best article so far on the Alonso Ferrari saga:

http://www.gptoday.com/full_story/view/460292/So_whats_going_with_Ferrari/

[Rainmaster 7]

There's always been something too cozy between Webber and Alonso. Loyal Webber has backed Alonso over Vettel many times publicly. We see them together in the paddock, walking, talking chatting away at press conferences and briefings. If Alonso does have a shot at RBR it will be because Webber has told him about the inner workings of the team, the atmosphere, what Horner and Newey are like to work for. So in some sense I think there is more to the rumor of Alonso to RBR than meets the eye.

I can't see Alonso actually going there however, but this is F1 afterall. We all saw how badly he coped with Hamilton in 2007, so unless he is now desperate and thinks he can handle being an equal at RBR, I think you'd find his true nature would come out to play again. And that is of a driver that needs to be somewhat coddled, told the entire team is behind him, even the other driver. I still remember his rants from the Benetton days concerning Fisi, and also how he thought his own team was out to sabotage him. Alonso isn't going to change who he is permanently.

But Ferrari might tire of him too. And being told off by Luca isn't such a good sign. Honestly I think there is nothign there to be worried about, but this is the same team that showed Kimi the door afterall... to get Alonso in the door. I don't see Kimi going back there either. It's still the same personnel that are there running the team when he was last there. It would be different if Todt or Brawn went back to Ferrari, but that won't ever happen. Allison going there will be good for them, but I wouldn't expect to see his work come to fruition until 2015.

The only thing that would really shake up the seats would be if there is any truth to Vettel going to Ferrari. That would be massive and I'd expect all the tops teams to be swapping and changing drivers.

As for the Kimster, he's not stupid, and his manager is very well respected and a great negotiator. So if we don't see him at RBR, all I then worry about is not that he won't have a car to win races proper and get another WDC (since I've come to accept I don't believe Lotus can ever deliver that type of car), but that halfway through next year Lotus go bust, and still can't pay his salary. And by then the RBR seat is already taken. At that point McLaren would probably be his only real option. But he's been there, he knows the commitments needed, and McLaren do more PR than any other F1 team historically. F1 is all about timing, not just skill. Thus you won't get the same opportunity twice, no matter how good a driver you are. Fingers crossed he gets the RBR seat. I just think F1, the fans and the supporters would be in for a great ride.

I think the main reason Mclaren-Alonso didn't work is the management more than the team-mate, though obviously two number 1 drivers always causes issues. But the issues were exacerbated by the way it was managed and the situation in the team. If that's true, then you can only imagine Red Bull would be equally bad for Alonso with Vettel there. If Hamilton was favoured by Macca in 2007 after just arriving to the actual F1 drive, that doesn't even compare to the level of respect Red Bull will have for Vettel after winning 3 (potentially 4) titles. Even if we assume that Horner, Newey and Mateschitz would actually be fairly neutral and open to Alonso being in the team, Helmut Marko would be a big thorn in Alonso's side, as he is for Webber.

There's nothing strange for two drivers to be friends and I'd guess Alonso respects Webber too much to seriously try and mine him for information, even though he's a driver who tries to get an advantage everywhere. Generally we don't hang around with people who try to use us, and Webber is many things, but not a mug. So I don't think Alonso would get any detailed information about Red Bull from Webber, perhaps just some common sense or trivial things.

Best article so far on the Alonso Ferrari saga:

http://www.gptoday.c...g_with_Ferrari/

Just about covers it. I don't believe the Kimi to Ferrari angle either. It would be like going back to an ex. An ex with an annoying Italian father.

[KoolMonkey 0]

Rainmaster, you're right about McLaren not handling 2007 from a management point of view. However some drivers and people in general are not reasonable, and thus you have to wonder and ask why a professional driver needs to be "managed" in the first place. This isn't kindergarten, they are grown up people who are supposed to be mature to a certain degree.

Yeah that's a great analogy about Kimi going back to an ex. Ferrari have been in a shambles since Todt left in my view. It's just been unravelling at a slow pace publicly.

This article here suggests Ferrari and Kimi were talking last year!

http://www.sportti.c...T=1-1&ID=246329

Let's put aside Kimi going back to Ferrari for a second due to bad blood. Kimi has never shown any disrespect to team mates or teams in the past. I know this because even his detractors give him credit for this. Thus it got me thinking, what if Luca's chastisement of Alonso is because they know Alonso was talking to RBR. Thus the bond and trust has been broken, and they also need a replacement. If order for this idea to work out, it would mean that Alonso was looking for a new team last year as well. It's not impossible to reason, though not probable either.

I still want Kimi at RBR. But I wanted Thiago Silva at Barca and that never happened either. I think Vettel will leave in a few years anyway. Not because he's unhappy, but to prove himself and drive for Ferrari. By then he might be a 5x WDC. Thus he wouldn't be leaving RBR because they were not longer a good team, but because he would want to start a new chapter in his career. Thus is they got Kimi now, he could still potentially be there at that time, and then they would bring in Ricci as the understudy.

EDIT: To clarify the reason on wanting Kimi to goto RBR, what I think most Kimi fans would like including myself is for him to stay at Lotus and WIN. Win more races, win a WDC, not by making less pit stops than the other teams, but having a car with pace, that steers to his preferences. That is what I would hope for the most. But sadly I can't see that happening. Lotus have lost Allison. They can't pay Kimi's wages on time. They are not in a space to make a better car than they already have. Thus what hope does he really honestly have of winning more races, of another WDC if he stays there. 1 out of 10 is what I feel his chances would be if he stayed with Lotus. They are a team that is treading water, but have due to some good luck managed to have a nearly great car 2 years in a row. There are too many things changing for next years car to see them come out with a winner. They don't have the money or the budget. Thus even if it means dealing with Marko and internal RBR politics, RBR is his best bet. From what I've read, Horner and Newey want Kimi, Marko wants Ricci. Unless Marko changes his tune once Kimi goes there, like Lauda has on his view of Hamilton (all be it with a bucket of BS proclaiming LH Hungary win the best he has ever seen of a driver), it could happen. It's known Marko doesn't get on with Webber, but that would be down to a personality thing too. Webber doesn't look to me to be a kind of person that makes friends easily. Kimi isn't Webber. Thus Marko could warm to him in time.

[Angellica 0]

Well Vettel has publicly said he'd like Kimi as his team mate and I think he means it too. After all, what's the point of beating your team mate if they're not someone who will challenge you? Mark Webber has done that more than a few times hasn't he? No disrespect to Ricciardo but I can't see him challenging Vettel all that much somehow. So yeah, as a Vettel fan I would relish the idea of him and Raikkonen going head to head.

[BradSpeedMan 6]

The plot thckens...

http://www.gptoday.com/full_story/view/460312/Red_Bull_confirms_Hungaroring_meeting_was_about_Alonso/

RBR is playing their part VERY WELL I must say, for whatever reason, the best is the destabilizing effect!

[radical-one 0]

Like I said Alonso to Red Bull NOT impossible....

Red Bull confirms Hungaroring meeting was about Alonso

By Editor on Saturday, August 3, 2013

Red Bull has confirmed a meeting about Fernando Alonso took place with the Ferrari driver’s manager at the Hungaroring last weekend.

Initially, the sensational story of a potential move to Red Bull for the two-time world champion was dismissed by some, as Alonso’s manager Luis Garcia Abad also handles the career of rising Red Bull-backed youngster Carlos Sainz jr.

But when told his meeting with Garcia was obviously simply about the 18-year-old Sainz, Red Bull team boss Christian Horner told Sport Bild: “Nonsense.

“Why would I talk to him about Sainz jr, who has long been in the Red Bull junior team?”

Sainz jr drives for the GP3 team MW Arden, a collaboration between Mark Webber and Horner.

Clearly, Garcia and Horner might have something to talk about other than Alonso, but Red Bull is not hiding the fact the Hungaroring meeting was about Ferrari’s number 1.

“I can’t remember if we talked about Red Bull or Spanish red wine,” a mischievous Dr Helmut Marko, the head of Red Bull’s driver programme, told German television Sky.

With Australian Webber heading to Le Mans, Red Bull is weighing up a new teammate for Sebastian Vettel next year.

Earlier, although Kimi Raikkonen is also still in the running, it was believed Daniel Ricciardo had sped into pole position for the seat.

But Horner insists: “We have never been under pressure to take one of the junior drivers.

“We have won the world championships for the past three years, and we want to ensure we can carry on doing so in the future.”

Nothing has been heard from Alonso’s manager Garcia since the Hungaroring meeting, but still involved in the 32-year-old’s driver career is the former Renault boss Flavio Briatore.

He told La Gazzetta dello Sport: “He has a contract and contracts must be respected.

“Alonso has never said he wants to leave.”

[Quiet One 15]

Nobody else echoed those news, earth shattering as they are, yet so I would take them with a pinch of salt.

On a different note, LdM "eplained" his outburst. "Drivers come and go"? "I didn't like some attitudes"? A little bit ungrateful are we? Drivers come and go...and Ferrari goes up and down. Alonso kept them afloat all these dark years of RBR domination. They should shut up and make a good car instead of blaming the guy that kept kicking and dragging them forward when they were worth less than Felipinho. 4 seasons of having nothing but words of encouragement for the team, for Massa...he said something as mild as "I want a faster car like the others have" and suddenly he is Goering...

http://en.espnf1.com/ferrari/motorsport/story/119585.html?CMP=OTC-RSS

Yes, my Alonsophile glands went overdrive with this

[Emmcee 0]

I just can't Beleive montezemelos words, saying he couldn't care less about drivers as they come and go and Ferrari is there and all he cares about. He is forgetting one major issue with his complaint. Drivers make Ferrari, Ferrari can't win races or championships without drivers. So to say he couldn't care less, is a bogus attitude, I've never liked that clown, looks like on out of work 80s saxophone player.

[19andy90x 0]

Alonso and Red Bull ? Won't happen.

The talk between his manager and Horner was just to generate some pressure I think.

In my opinion Raikkönen will stay at Lotus and Ricciardo will follow his compatriot Webber to Red Bull..

Of course we think about how long Alonso will wait for being competitive again.

The new regulations in 2014 can be a great opportunity as Montezemolo already mentioned..

For this season is now the last chance to close the gap.

If they fail to steal points from Vettel in Spa and Monza they will probably completely focus on 2014.

[Quiet One 15]

Alonso and Red Bull ? Won't happen.

The talk between his manager and Horner was just to generate some pressure I think.

In my opinion Raikkönen will stay at Lotus and Ricciardo will follow his compatriot Webber to Red Bull..

Of course we think about how long Alonso will wait for being competitive again.

The new regulations in 2014 can be a great opportunity as Montezemolo already mentioned..

For this season is now the last chance to close the gap.

If they fail to steal points from Vettel in Spa and Monza they will probably completely focus on 2014.

1) Welcome aboard.

2) Indeed.

[Jean-Pierre 0]

Alonso wants to not only win races (sometimes) but to win the Championship trophy. Ferrari is not showing signs of taking him there - not for now.

He's getting old and the best way to at least win another Championship is to go to Red Bull and do what Webber wasn't able to - unseat Vettel.

Besides, Alonso loves beating German champion like he did to Michael...

Alonso to Red Bull , not impossible at all - after all it was Renault that gave him 2 of his championships.

I would go to Red Bull if I was Alonso.

So would i.

[Emmcee 0]

What's to say Redbull will be as competitive if at all next year when every body is starting from scratch. Previous situations has seen other contenders rise from the ashes, like Mclaren and the 1998 regulation changes, brawn/Honda got it spot on in 2009 with the new changes, so who will make the most of it to be the ones to beat next year? People honestly think Redbull still will be? I think they will be up there but I think Mercedes and Ferrari and Mclaren will be the ones at the front. I know Renault have had alot of success with turbo engines in the past, but couldn't a situation arise with Redbull like it did with Williams in 1998, when they completely fell of the cliff when the new regs came in, but at the same time didnt Williams loose Renault and use those poxy mechachrome engines?

[Rainmaster 7]

Red Bull as a team have all their ducks in a row, in a way that no other team at the moment has (Mercedes looks like an upcoming challenger, though RB still seems much more of a seamless operation). So there's no good reason to think they wouldn't be up there next year, because the team isn't changing. They'll still have Newey, Vettel, Horner, Renault, and a lot of money to spend. That doesn't mean they'll adapt best to the new regulations, but it doesn't leave us with many logical reasons to think they won't. We also don't have in particular any good reason to think most other teams will come up with something spectacular (with, as I said, the possible exception of Mercedes).

[Angellica 0]

[quote name='19andy90x' timestamp='1375631544' post='356702']
Alonso and Red Bull ? Won't happen.
The talk between his manager and Horner was just to generate some pressure I think.
In my opinion Raikkönen will stay at Lotus and Ricciardo will follow his compatriot Webber to Red Bull..

Of course we think about how long Alonso will wait for being competitive again.
The new regulations in 2014 can be a great opportunity as Montezemolo already mentioned..
For this season is now the last chance to close the gap.
If they fail to steal points from Vettel in Spa and Monza they will probably completely focus on 2014.
[/quote]

Welcome to the forum I'm fairly new here too but I am enjoying it here. Of course talk of Red Bull taking Alonso instead of Kimi could be a way of forcing Kimi to make a decision if it hasn't been already. It's also never a bad thing to have top drivers being seen to want to drive your car is it?


[quote name='WebRic' timestamp='1375676492' post='356707']
What's to say Redbull will be as competitive if at all next year when every body is starting from scratch. Previous situations has seen other contenders rise from the ashes, like Mclaren and the 1998 regulation changes, brawn/Honda got it spot on in 2009 with the new changes, so who will make the most of it to be the ones to beat next year? People honestly think Redbull still will be? I think they will be up there but I think Mercedes and Ferrari and Mclaren will be the ones at the front. I know Renault have had alot of success with turbo engines in the past, but couldn't a situation arise with Redbull like it did with Williams in 1998, when they completely fell of the cliff when the new regs came in, but at the same time didnt Williams loose Renault and use those poxy mechachrome engines?
[/quote]

As Rainmaster said, they still have Adrian Newey, Sebastian Vettel and Christian Horner, they are three big reasons. You're right about Brawn and the way they stole a march on everyone last time we had big regs changes. Other times this has happened the same few top teams always seem to be the same top few teams no matter what. Oh and yes, in 1998 Williams didn't have Renault engines, they've done pretty much diddly squat since then as well. Red Bull will still have them and as you say they've had good success in the past with turbo engines. I will be shocked if they go backwards down the grid, I just can't see it happening.

Of course a lot also depends what tyres they all have to deal with, that can make a lot of difference as we've all seen this year. I still don't think Red Bull will be anywhere other than at the front or quite near it.