FORUMula1.com

[Jabberwocky]

"Not my intention at the moment to move"

Interesting

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[spankyham]

This might sound weird, given how good Fernando is, but there will be a tinge of disappointment for me if our driver line-up stays the same. I mean, Fernando is not going to be driving for us forever, so at some stage he will leave/retire. When the prospect came up with the recent speculation, I was really enjoying visualizing some of the new up and coming superstars of the future perhaps getting an early seat at Ferrari. I mean Dan, Jules and Valteri are the future faces of F1.

[What's Burning?]

This is a bigger discussion that just Fernando. Top drivers will always find seats. But the core issue with F1 is that there is a small amount of seats relative to the talent pool and the number of seats that would otherwise go to new up and coming drivers are often handed out to pay drivers just as a means for teams to make ends meet.

There is too little room and with the exception of a handful of drivers, everyone is in their mid to late 20's so there's little give.

[spankyham]

Italian GP – Alonso: “One of the toughest races for us”

Monza, 4 September – It’s an unwritten rule that a Scuderia Ferrari driver has to be on the panel for Thursday’s FIA press conference at Monza and that duty fell to Fernando Alonso this afternoon. The Spaniard has a great record here, having finished on the podium in his four last races on the high speed Italian track, including a victory in 2010. But, given the current hierarchy in Formula 1, he was realistic about his chances of making it 5 out of 5. “This is definitely one of the most important races this year for us in front of the tifosi,” began Fernando. “We want to give them a good result on Sunday, but it will be very hard to repeat what we did the last four years and this will be one of the toughest races for us this year.”

However, apart from the specific difficulties of dealing with this high-speed circuit, there were positives emerging from Maranello, reckoned Alonso. “There were signs we were more competitive in Hungary and then we nearly got a podium with Kimi in Spa.” The “main attraction” of today’s conference was the fact that Rosberg and Hamilton were making their first joint public appearance since their controversial collision in Spa a fortnight ago. With Fernando sitting between them on the stage, the Spaniard seemed to be accorded the role of mediator by the journalists. “I don’t know why I’m getting all these questions about them,” said the Ferrari man with a smile and a shrug of the shoulders. “All we can do is watch their beautiful battle from the outside. The problem they have is a good problem – they are fighting for the world championship!”

Alonso was also asked what he recalled about racing at the back of the field, when he began in F1 with Minardi. While admitting it was difficult, not being able to fight at the front, he reckoned life was harder to deal with when he was a reserve driver for Renault: “watching the races from the garage, that was very tough.”

[sagi58]

Love it!! The man is brutally honest!!
Even, self-effacing!!

Bravo, Alonso!!!

[spankyham]

Singapore GP – Alonso: “Ferrari is bigger than any one individual”

Singapore, 18 September – In slightly cooler conditions than we have come to expect here in the Tropics, Fernando Alonso faced the press for the first time this evening and the number one topic was the ban on certain radio messages as from this weekend. “It won’t make a big difference to be honest,” began the Scuderia Ferrari driver. “I don’t think it will have a huge impact on the race itself, or preparations for the weekend. In any case, at Ferrari we have not used the radio for any performance related reasons. We tend to use it to control temperatures, to talk about traffic and strategy. I cannot say how it might affect other teams. As for the change in general, it has generated a lot of media attention, like the situation with FRIC, but in that case, we saw the final impact on the race was nothing special. I think it will be a similar case with this radio rule. It’s like if you’re a coach in football or basketball and cannot talk to your players; in the end it’s the player who shoots the ball. It won’t change our driving style and it’s not as though we won’t know how to drive the circuit.”

Rather than simply brush it away in his usual style, the Spaniard chose to question the motives behind yet another rumour about his future, this time that he and Vettel would swap teams! “It’s sad when these rumours are created in Italy,” he stated. “It’s a shame as it’s not helping Ferrari, which is the reason why we are all here and Ferrari is a much bigger brand than any one individual or even Formula 1 in general. I have a lot of respect for Ferrari and try and maintain a good atmosphere with the guys in the team, in order to have a very united team. It’s what we need and what the people expect from us. So it’s not clear to me what is the purpose of these rumours coming from Italy.”

Various factors relating to the Marina Bay circuit mean that fuel consumption could play a role on Sunday, however Alonso doesn’t feel it will be an issue. “It’s true fuel will be tight here and we will have to save a little bit extra, but it should be manageable, especially as the track layout allows you to save fuel quite easily compared to other circuits as you are generally safe from overtaking moves.”

And then came a final word on the big news since Monza, the departure of Luca di Montezemolo. “He was our leader for many years and it was a great time for Ferrari,” reckoned Fernando. “I wish him good luck with new projects and for the new President, I wish him good luck for hopefully a very successful future.”

[sagi58]

Always a class act!!

[Jabberwocky]

http://paddocktalk.com/news/html/story-263025.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Is it me, or is all the team related statements in the past tense. Also he does not deny the rumour only say he is going to out the leak.

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[sagi58]

That came from a Spanish reporter, the "past" tense is probably just a language thing!

[spankyham]

I'm ready to call it now - Fernando out.

[Jabberwocky]

Jules in?

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[spankyham]

Jules in?

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I think so.

[sagi58]

I'm ready to call it now - Fernando out.

Why???

[LiamCatterson]

Cmon Fernando

[spankyham]

I'm ready to call it now - Fernando out.

Why???

A couple I things I heard from some friends who'd have a good idea. Plus reading some very recent comments from Fernando and LcDM. Maybe not 100% done, but agreement is probably there and they are finishing thrashing out the fine points.

*** EDIT - Although I'd rather Nando go to McLaren, I think he is more likely to go to Red Bull, which will make that combination very formidable indeed. Would also make it likely (but no certainty) that Vettel would end up at Ferrari. ***