- 25 Mar 08, 23:06#37259
Ayrton Senna: WDC 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
McLaren: WCC 1974, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2007
McLaren: WDC 1974, 1976, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2008
From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/7312280.stm:
Fernando Alonso has said he can leave Renault at the end of this season.
The double champion, who returned to the team after a stormy year with McLaren, has had a disappointing start to the season in an uncompetitive car.
"I'm at Renault because I wanted to get back to winning, like in 2005 and 2006, if not this year then next year," Alonso told Spanish newspaper As.
"But I have an option to leave so I can be in the best possible car, and it is clear Ferrari is one of the best."
When Alonso signed for Renault last winter, there was widespread speculation that he would only stay for one year before joining world champions Ferrari for 2009.
And his comments seem to confirm suspicions that the Spaniard does indeed have a break clause in his contract that would allow him to leave after just one year.
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo is known to regard Alonso highly.
But the Italian team already have world champion Kimi Raikkonen and team-mate Felipe Massa under contract for 2009.
Signing Alonso would involve finding a way to curtail Massa's contract, which runs until the end of 2010.
But Alonso cooled speculation linking him to Ferrari, saying it was inevitable following a poor start to the season by Massa, who has retired from both races following driver errors.
"It's early to talk about moves and rumours, but Massa has had two bad races with mistakes and that has kicked off speculation," Alonso said.
"It's logical, but it's too early."
The 26-year-old has admitted after Renault's poor start to the season that he has no chance of battling with McLaren and Ferrari.
Alonso, who ended last season just a point behind Raikkonen, finished as the last points scorer in eighth place in Malaysia on Sunday.
"It was more or less as we expected," said Alonso, who was fourth in the chaotic season opener in Australia.
"We knew that finishing in the top eight was going to be difficult and if it hadn't been for Massa's retirement we wouldn't have made it.
"That's the reality and that's what the situation is like, it was no surprise. In a normal race, with no retirements, we were ninth in qualifying and eighth in the race.
"Before Barcelona [for the Spanish Grand Prix on April 27] we will have some improvements for the car, [but] the same ones all teams will make, so the championship is going to stay more or less the same.
"We saw it last year and we see it every year. The cars that win the first two or three races stay on top. We are not going to see big surprises during the year."
I would hardly say Renault's form so far has been poor; it's rather what was expected. There's no doubt Alonso could move to Ferrari for 2009, but how will this fit into his ideas of him being the number one driver? Raikkonen will certainly not be prepared to play second fiddler to him...
Fernando Alonso has said he can leave Renault at the end of this season.
The double champion, who returned to the team after a stormy year with McLaren, has had a disappointing start to the season in an uncompetitive car.
"I'm at Renault because I wanted to get back to winning, like in 2005 and 2006, if not this year then next year," Alonso told Spanish newspaper As.
"But I have an option to leave so I can be in the best possible car, and it is clear Ferrari is one of the best."
When Alonso signed for Renault last winter, there was widespread speculation that he would only stay for one year before joining world champions Ferrari for 2009.
And his comments seem to confirm suspicions that the Spaniard does indeed have a break clause in his contract that would allow him to leave after just one year.
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo is known to regard Alonso highly.
But the Italian team already have world champion Kimi Raikkonen and team-mate Felipe Massa under contract for 2009.
Signing Alonso would involve finding a way to curtail Massa's contract, which runs until the end of 2010.
But Alonso cooled speculation linking him to Ferrari, saying it was inevitable following a poor start to the season by Massa, who has retired from both races following driver errors.
"It's early to talk about moves and rumours, but Massa has had two bad races with mistakes and that has kicked off speculation," Alonso said.
"It's logical, but it's too early."
The 26-year-old has admitted after Renault's poor start to the season that he has no chance of battling with McLaren and Ferrari.
Alonso, who ended last season just a point behind Raikkonen, finished as the last points scorer in eighth place in Malaysia on Sunday.
"It was more or less as we expected," said Alonso, who was fourth in the chaotic season opener in Australia.
"We knew that finishing in the top eight was going to be difficult and if it hadn't been for Massa's retirement we wouldn't have made it.
"That's the reality and that's what the situation is like, it was no surprise. In a normal race, with no retirements, we were ninth in qualifying and eighth in the race.
"Before Barcelona [for the Spanish Grand Prix on April 27] we will have some improvements for the car, [but] the same ones all teams will make, so the championship is going to stay more or less the same.
"We saw it last year and we see it every year. The cars that win the first two or three races stay on top. We are not going to see big surprises during the year."
I would hardly say Renault's form so far has been poor; it's rather what was expected. There's no doubt Alonso could move to Ferrari for 2009, but how will this fit into his ideas of him being the number one driver? Raikkonen will certainly not be prepared to play second fiddler to him...
Ayrton Senna: WDC 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
McLaren: WCC 1974, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2007
McLaren: WDC 1974, 1976, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2008
