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[sagi58]

I liked Ferrari very much only for 1 year when they managed to give Kimi something he thoroughly deserved after many years of trying in McLaren.

Though when they hired Alonso, it was perfect for me....1 team to dislike through and through.

And now?

[Hammer278]

The same. When Kimi left F1, my 'fan ship' melted and never came back.

I'm neutral about Kimi now, and hope he beats Alonso but that's about it. If 2 Ferraris still end up in smoke at every race, it won't screw up my mood.

[NHcheese]

Would be funny if he beat Alonso and went "It was easy really."

[1Lemon]

Would be funny if he beat Alonso and went "It was easy really."

"I did it whilst taking a s***"

[sagi58]

I guess you didn't read the unwritten rule that only positive comments are allowed?
Now, run along and find another thread to be negative in!!

[NHcheese]

It's not negative. I don't understand. that's like saying. Mercedes winning the championship and saying "we did it without Pirelli" is a negative comment.

[sagi58]

Well, this is the Alonso thread, so it's negative ; but, if this was the Kimi thread, it would be positive!!

Besides, I was just teasing!! Since some of us get a bit touchy when we aren't as positive as they'd like us to be
on subjects they'd like us to be positive about!! I thought I'd try that on for size... it didn't fit!!

[racechick]

This should really be in the Ferrari thread but I'll pop it here for the time being.

Kimi and Alonso are going to play nice at Ferrari.
http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/alons ... domenicali" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

My personal view is that Kimi won't give a damn so long as he isn't treated unfairly. And Alonso will be fine so long a s he's winning.
I think it's a very interesting pairing to watch.

[spankyham]

Alonso: “A lot to test on Friday in Melbourne”

Maranello, 6 March –With a week to go until free practice gets underway in Albert Park, Alonso is training hard to be as well prepared as possible when the Ferrari F14 T makes its race weekend debut. Fernando has tackled an all-encompassing training regime including running, cycling, karting and even football, which is a particular passion of the Maranello driver. One of these sessions was filmed by Prancing Horse sponsor Santander, and a clip can be seen in the attached video.



However, his mental focus is already on the Melbourne track and all the unknown factors that involves. “We come to the start of this championship with the team having had twelve days of testing, while as a driver I’ve had six. A few more days would have been useful given how much has changed for this season. With every lap of testing we learned something and improved pretty much constantly. I think that will still be the case in Australia, especially on the first day and then actually in the first few races.”

There are the usual unknowns because the cars are still new, but there are also those linked to the rule changes. “The new Formula 1 rules are very different to what we were used to. I think the concept of what constitutes a Grand Prix will actually change this year, with Saturday and Sunday being very different from one another. In qualifying, one will be able to get everything out of the car, pushing the new power unit to the limit, trying to get the absolutely best result. But in the race you won’t get anywhere near that level. Last year, towards the end of the races, on new tyres, you could do very quick lap times, whereas in the closing stages this year, you will have to bear in mind how much fuel you have left, the state of the batteries and that of the tyres. You will need to be very clever to manage these parameters and the new race strategies could see drivers being unable to go flat out to the end.”

Alonso also had a thought for those watching the races at home. “As drivers, we will get used to it quickly and so I hope these rules aren’t immediately overturned and that they stay unchanged for a few years. Otherwise the spectators could lose confident in this new Formula 1 which is very complex, even for the viewer.”

[sagi58]

Interesting comments from Alonso:

Alonso: “A lot to test on Friday in Melbourne”

* ...concept of what constitutes a Grand Prix will actually change this year...
* ...In qualifying, one will be able to get everything out of the car, pushing the new power unit to the limit, trying to get the absolutely best result...
* ...in the race you won’t get anywhere near that level...
* ...in the closing stages this year, you will have to bear in mind how much fuel you have left, the state of the batteries and that of the tyres...
* ...new race strategies could see drivers being unable to go flat out to the end...

[Roth]

My personal view is that Kimi won't give a damn so long as he isn't treated unfairly. And Alonso will be fine so long a s he's winning.
I think it's a very interesting pairing to watch.

Yeah, Kimi's just Kimi, but for Alonso it'll be the first time he's come into a season knowing his teammate could legitimately beat him. Even though he's matured from the McLaren days I imagine his need to fight for victory by any means necessary is instinctual. Considering both their Ferrari history it will be fascinating to watch off and on the track. Afterall Kimi has actually won a champinoship for them.

[spankyham]

Australian GP – Alonso: “answers in 48 hours”

Melbourne, 13 March – On the day before he takes to the track to start his fourteenth season in Formula 1, his fifth with the Scuderia, Fernando Alonso was on the panel of the first FIA press conference of the season.

The double world champion was cautious when asked how the F14 T would perform. “It’s still very difficult to say how competitive we are at the moment,” he said. “The answers will come in 24 or 48 hours, when we will know a little bit more than we do now. We are learning and developing the car every day that we work on it. It’s a little bit of an unknown situation and we just need to put everything together and maximise what we have and then we will see where we are.”



Changes have just been announced to the format of Qualifying, the idea being to make it more exciting for spectators and to prevent drivers not running in Q3. Drivers must now start the race with the tyres on which they set their best time in Q2. Fernando did not see this producing a big change. “It will not be a huge difference. In the past, there were cars that did only one lap or did not run in Q3, so now we will see an extra lap from everybody, but it does not mean a huge change in the approach to qualifying. This change is welcome if we see more cars on track.” The rules also state that a driver will have an additional set of the softer tyres available for Q3 and the man from Oviedo was in favour of this. “Many times I arrived in Q3 with no new sets of tyres, so now I’m happy.”

All the drivers on the panel were asked how different their cars would be here in Australia compared to the final day of the Bahrain test and the conference moderator said he’d seen Pat Fry (the Scuderia’s Engineering Director) pushing boxes of parts through Melbourne Airport. “Oh, I don’t think it’s for the car, maybe it was food,” joked Fernando. As to how many cars would see the chequered flag, he offered up the number 16, a more optimistic figure than his fellow panellists.

[What's Burning?]

Does Alonso walk after this season if Ferrari are not able to put a more competitive car on the grid? It's not like there are many options to go to once you've driven for the scuderia, but this would be Alonso's fifth season as a bride's maid given the fact that he went to Ferrari for one thing and one thing only. Seeing how Mercedes lured their high profile driver away from McLaren, it's got to be a thought in an up and coming team's mind at this point.

ESPNF1 "He came on Sunday morning and we worked together in my room for 10 minutes," Alonso said. "We tried to put together everything we found in the first two races and what will be the next steps coming from the performance side and the car, with maximum pushing and maximum dedication from everyone in the team.

"He just wanted to pass me this message that Ferrari is doing 100%, and on our side as well - the drivers, engineers, mechanics and everyone trackside - will work day and night because no-one is happy. We are very united in the team and the president can be 100% sure that we will do 24 hours starting from Tuesday and Wednesday when we do the test and I will drive both days. We won't rest until the situation changes."

[Hammer278]

I think there is a huge chance Alonso might head to McLaren. But still I don't know if it will happen since Big Ron is back. And Alonso had made his hate for McLaren public time and time again.

But really, who else with potential? Other Merc runners are Force India and Williams, definitely not trophy contenders. He's quite stuck.

[LRW]

When is his contract up?

I think, if Ferrari fail to give him a car that at least puts him 3rd place at the end of this season, then he could do worse than thinking about Honda McLaren....

edit: oh hammer, you just beat me to it!