Wtf????????

[Quiet One 15]

Theres an article on an Argentinian paper about some things that Fernando Alonso said to a Spanish TV network. The article is very short, but amongst other things FA said (approx. translation done by me):

"As of today, even if we were fast, the car can't win yet. It's still not ready and time is getting short" he also commented that the only thing he likes about his car are "the colours"

He said that he feels comfortable at McLaren, though.

On Ferrari he said that they look good.

About Renault: "they will have a great start of season and then will go down, as usual"

He also said that BMW will be the greatest surprise of this season

Can someone confirm this???

[aussief1 4]

Interesting comments, if it's a creditable source.

McRon will certainly give Fernando a stern talking if he has made comments like that.

[Max Mosley 2]

Very interesting, but I think they need to be more widely reported before we put too much trust in them. You never know what to think in these cases Andres - I've been caught out when quoting reports only for the same reports to be proven false the very same day. Right now I will go on trusting Head's comments about McLaren being strong, but these comments could clearly change all that, if verified.

[alonsenna 0]

Theres an article on an Argentinian paper about some things that Fernando Alonso said to a Spanish TV network. The article is very short, but amongst other things FA said (approx. translation done by me):

"As of today, even if we were fast, the car can't win yet. It's still not ready and time is getting short" he also commented that the only thing he likes about his car are "the colours"

He said that he feels comfortable at McLaren, though.

On Ferrari he said that they look good.

About Renault: "they will have a great start of season and then will go down, as usual"

He also said that BMW will be the greatest surprise of this season

Can someone confirm this???

The interview was made by Antonio Lobato (AL), the lead sports journalist at Tele5, the spanish network that holds F1 rights in Spain. AL has achieved a good relationship with FA and they both are from the same hometown, Oviedo in Asturias at the north of Spain.

You can find an excerpt of the interview at Tele5

[Quiet One 15]

The interview was made by Antonio Lobato (AL), the lead sports journalist at Tele5, the spanish network that holds F1 rights in Spain. AL has achieved a good relationship with FA and they both are from the same hometown, Oviedo in Asturias at the north of Spain.

You can find an excerpt of the interview at Tele5

[Max Mosley 2]

Ah OK thanks very much Alonsenna. Thats a clear translation indeed. (Btw I would guess "titular" is "headline" in english, in a newspaper for instance. Is that a popular saying in Spanish? In this context we would maybe say something like "Give me a snapshot (or summary) of how each team is doing") Anyway it's easy to see how the Argentine paper could make a slightly different story out of it.

[Quiet One 15]

Ah OK thanks very much Alonsenna. Thats a clear translation indeed. (Btw I would guess "titular" is "headline" in english, in a newspaper for instance. Is that a popular saying in Spanish? In this context we would maybe say something like "Give me a snapshot of how each team is doing") Anyway it's easy to see how the Argentine paper could make a slightly different story out of it.

headline is the correct translation, yes

[Max Mosley 2]

Ah - a lucky guess then!

[Autumnpuma 0]

It's clear from that interview that Fernando is heavily involved in the testing and development of the car. Bravo!

[bathurst1000 0]

Just another fine example of how the media twist and turn what people say to create a controvertial story. Shame on you media

[la force supreme des mclaren 0]

Here's the autosport version.

Alonso: McLaren not ready to win yet

Thursday, February 8th 2007, 17:46 GMT

World champion Fernando Alonso believes McLaren still have work to do before they are ready for the start of the season, despite their impressive form in early testing.

McLaren have looked like the team to beat so far this year, with their drivers often topping the times with the new Mercedes-powered MP4-22 and showing strong form on long runs.

Despite their apparent speed, however, Alonso is staying cautious and reckons the British squad need to get a better grip on setting-up their car before the Australian Grand Prix.

"I don't know what to say. The times have been good and people are following us closely but the car, it's not even close to ready for Australia and time is running out," the McLaren driver told Spanish network Telecinco during testing at Jerez.

"I hope that in Barcelona and Bahrain we can get it set up properly in two weeks time," added the Spaniard, who reckons the Ferrari and Renault teams will be the main threat at the start of the season.

"Ferrari are looking very good and Renault will start the year well, but they will get worse, as usual."

When asked what he liked best about his car, Alonso joked: "The colours."

Alonso was the centre of attention during the tests at Jerez, where several thousand fans watched the local hero work with his new team.

The world champion admitted he was not happy with the way the Spanish track had handled the crowd, however, and said McLaren are considering not returning to Jerez to test.

"I enjoy the support from the Spanish people during the pre-season, but McLaren are considering not coming back to Jerez because they allow too many people inside the paddock," he said.

"It's got out of hand and it would be a shame if we didn't return to Spain to test just because people can't watch their manners."

I just knew there had to be something wrong with Mclaren..........

[Max Mosley 2]

Yep - it's again more reasonable and less worrying than the Argentine paper's version.

[la force supreme des mclaren 0]

Hey i've just realised,the spanish media screwed with Alonso because according to autosport.com he was scheduled for an after-test wrap inteview with the spanishmedia and apparently after just 9 laps he slipped them the mickey and exited the circuit.

Here's the story.

" World champion Fernando Alonso gave up running in the morning, and left the track early.

His decision caught a few Spanish journalists by surprise, and they were seen running down the paddock after his car to try and get some reaction from the Spaniard about how his week had gone."

[la force supreme des mclaren 0]

McLaren Jerez test summary 2007-02-06/08

With rain falling throughout the day, the team chose to limit the running with the MP4-22's.

Fernando Alonso had already completed a large amount of kilometres on the Bridgestone Potenza extreme and full wet tyres last week in Valencia, and as a result the team chose to run him only 9 laps in the morning.

Pedro de la Rosa completed a limited programme, working on further understanding the set-up of the car for wet conditions.

Martin Whitmarsh, CEO Team McLaren Mercedes:

"The test this week in Jerez has provided us some valuable data for the team to work on, with two very productive days, which saw the driver's complete significant mileage on the two MP4-22's."

"Unfortunately the last day was hit by rain, which meant that we had to adapt our programme for the conditions. Nevertheless we have a much better understanding of where we are, and more importantly on what work needs to be done between now and Australia to ensure that we arrive in Melbourne in the best possible position."

"Although the timesheets seem to be favouring us we are fully aware of where we need to improve the cars' performance during the forthcoming tests in Barcelona and Bahrain."

[aussief1 4]

Hey i've just realised,the spanish media screwed with Alonso because according to autosport.com he was scheduled for an after-test wrap inteview with the spanishmedia and apparently after just 9 laps he slipped them the mickey and exited the circuit.

Here's the story.

" World champion Fernando Alonso gave up running in the morning, and left the track early.

His decision caught a few Spanish journalists by surprise, and they were seen running down the paddock after his car to try and get some reaction from the Spaniard about how his week had gone."

Good on you Fernando

[BradSpeedMan 6]

"Ferrari are looking very good and Renault will start the year well, but they will get worse, as usual."

"It's got out of hand and it would be a shame if we didn't return to Spain to test just because people can't watch their manners."

AL: Ferrari?

FA: Ferrari goes very well. VERY well

[Ferrariphile 0]

Here's a video of the Telecinco interview from the McLaren unveiling at Valencia, he thinks he will get at least six wins and come out world champion again. He also thinks Kimi will give him a run and Kovaleinen will be the big surprise this year.

Video

[Player(1) 0]

He's already played the arrogance game againts Rossi which left him red-faced... He does'nt learn. Now apparently Renault goes worse as the season progresses. Did'nt they improve so much in 2005 that at the ned they had the best car on the grid for the last 4 races????

Emmmm because Renault do start strong then other teams overtake them in performance? its happened two years in a row...common knowledge.

This is a great example of how the media has it in for Alonso, most likely because he wants his privacy when they want exclusives. No wonder he feels more comfortable with McLaren.

[Wez 0]

You have to listen to the interview to see exactly what FA really says, why he says it and what he really means. Like many times before, they omit many of the questions, they select the most juicy parts of his answers and they put them all together like if he had made a statement. I am going to try to translate as accurately as I can what you can see in that link:

Thanks alonsenna, As usual this shows the press making up hogwash!

Its the oldest trick in the book which was usual on Alonso often last season... Interview a sportsman in his native language, manipulate his answers to make saucy reading, then manipulate further as they translated to English.

[stopkidding 0]

well the general consensus is that Alonso is a prick, but it shouldn't matter as along as he can keep winning. Pricks who can win are extremely popular! Does anyone remember the Schumacher?

[alonsenna 0]

On that same interview, sadly it can't be seen on the excerpt Tele5 is showing on its website, FA also talked about what areas of the car they have to work on to better the car. He said the car needed more grip in the front, explaining how in the middle of a turn the front of the car slides way too much. That they need more traction. He added that the car is VERY reliable and that they need a little bit more power to be able to stand among the best.

When he was asked about what his opinion was about what he had seen so far on the tests regarding BMW and Honda, he said he thought BMW will be the greatest surprise this season, that they are very strong, and that he even sees them fighting for GP wins this year. About Honda he has seen them in pretty bad shape so far.

Pedro de la Rosa was asked about the reliability of the car and he said he would give the car a 9 over 10 on reliability adding that there has been a huge improvement on that area compared to last year. He said they still have a lot of work to do and that the car is very far from being perfect. He thinks they still have a huge margin to improve the new car. From this tests he believes they are working in the right direction because they have been able to be constant with the car (also BMW's pace has impressed them) which is one of the most difficult tasks with a F1 car. He agreed with FA in that the car needed more power and more grip, and expects they will be able to achieve that for the first race in Australia.

[Player(1) 0]

well the general consensus is that Alonso is a prick, but it shouldn't matter as along as he can keep winning. Pricks who can win are extremely popular! Does anyone remember the Schumacher?

In the world of media spin and such he may come off like that maybe so the opposing fans run with it as fact, but have you heard what decent interviewers who arent after sensationalist storys say about Alonso? especially outside formal interviews like just before one or general socialising they use the words shy, down to earth, warm, welcoming, etc. to describe him.

[JayStorm 0]

Yeah, we've known Alonso for a while now. I really can't see him coming out with that sort of stuff.

I don't think that we can take too much from the sources but with the mention of BMW, I'm thinking that they will indeed make more of an impact.

[Jem of the Shire 0]

well he didnt wave to me during the drivers' parade at the british GP, so i dont like him!!!!

[BradSpeedMan 6]

In the world of media spin and such he may come off like that maybe so the opposing fans run with it as fact, but have you heard what decent interviewers who arent after sensationalist storys say about Alonso? especially outside formal interviews like just before one or general socialising they use the words shy, down to earth, warm, welcoming, etc. to describe him.

being unsportlike and waving like an idiot, braking in front of a competitor to intimidate him, saying deragatory remarks about the team that helps him to championship status, making idiotic stupid remarks about Rossi and then left red-faced, saying the good team wins when ferrari loses like he's in a good evil battle....these are just things that comes to mind...the words shy, down to earth, warm, welcoming are far removed from such actions...