Domenicali pretty much confirms Alonso to Ferrari?

[Ray]

After all the huge letdowns that Kimi had in the McLaren, I would highly doubt he'd go back. He's not very personable and neither was Dennis. I don't think they got along and I'd bet money he hated the ridiculously stupid corporatism that McLaren spews. I love that team, but I cannot stand the ass kissing of sponsors and the attitude towards them that team has. The've forgotten that F1 is about the cars, the racing, and the fans.

Kimi would probably hate life there, he's won his WDC, he's got no reason to go back to that team as far as accomplishments in F1 go, and who would want to play definite second fiddle to Lewis. No matter what lies the teams tells about being equal?

[sunny1304]

Kimi-Alonso will be a dream team for me. But i dout it will happen because both are superstar driver and both were treated as the no1 driver of the team for a long time.

and Massa-Alonso is possible because massa was a teammate of MSC so ferrari will be able to force him to be a barichello.

but you cant do that with Kimi because he is a type of dont care person. so he may not obey ferrarii and can create a situtation like alonso made it MCCA.

i might be wrong, but this is what i think.

[stl0]

No question about FA's ability, but as a response to those who questions Kimi's ability:

Suzuka 2005. From 17th on the grid (in a car that had an alarming tendency to shred itself to bits when pushed) to the win on a dry track. Frankly that was the best drive from anyone currently on the grid that I can remember.

And when Kimi won the championship he did so from a position where just about everyone had written his chances off entirely. That championship was Alonso's for the taking. In fact, without his qualifying pit stop antics at Hungary he would have likely gone to Brazil leading in points. Only a guy like Kimi who just gets on with his own business could have been there to pick up the pieces.

There's something to be said for keeping a level head, and I think Ferrari knew that well enough when they chose Kimi over Alonso in 2007. I guess I just don't see the disenchantment with him from the team that a lot of people seem to be reading into it. I think it's just as likely they'd show Massa the door. It would certainly cost them less, and I think Massa would have a much harder time teaming with Alonso than Kimi.

But I guess hoping for a Kimi/Fernando pairing is a bit like hoping for the FOTA championship. It would just make it too easy to keep watching. And I doubt Alonso would agree to it anyway.

[Giblet]

Few doubt Kimi's ability to drive an F1 car, but most people within the actual sport seem to think he has lost the motivation to win, which is equally as important as the ability to win.

[Giblet]

Few doubt Kimi's ability to drive an F1 car, but most people within the actual sport seem to think he has lost the motivation to win, which is equally as important as the ability to win.

[sknguy]

And when Kimi won the championship he did so from a position where just about everyone had written his chances off entirely.

As I recall Kimi was just as surprised as everyone else... like a deer in the headlights lol.

In fact, without his [Alonso] qualifying pit stop antics at Hungary he would have likely gone to Brazil leading in points.

Well, actually there was that spin at Sugo that I think cost him the WDC. But really... I think it was shortly after the ink dried on the contract.

There's something to be said for keeping a level head, and I think Ferrari knew that well enough when they chose Kimi over Alonso in 2007.

Again, I think it was Alonso's level head that won him the two WDC's, each year against quicker cars. And as Weber said "Alonso is a big-picture driver". I think the move to McLaren was a bad decision on Alonso's part. McLaren had too much invested in that young British driver, and the Alonso deal was just good for business is all.

I guess I just don't see the disenchantment with him from the team that a lot of people seem to be reading into it. I think it's just as likely they'd show Massa the door.

Yeah, Ferrari do play their cards pretty close to their chest. There really isn't any way of guessing what Ferrari will do.

As for Massa being given the boot over Kimi? I kinda doubt that. Massa's got an awful lot of emotional attachment to both the team and the Tifosi. He's a Ferrari driver now, plus he's fast. Prior to Hungary Massa had 22 points to Raikkonen's 10 and each driver had two retirements under their belts as of the GermanyGP.

Also, under Massa you could see how the Ferrari was getting quicker as the '09 season was progressing. It's harder to tell with Raikkonen's results. I just don't think that Kimi is as valuable to Ferrari as Felipe is.

[Fil]

Who hired Kimi into Ferrari? Is he a Jean Todt legacy? A man no longer on close terms with the team?

Schumi wanting to come back racing so badly makes me think more and more that Kimi joining the team forced MS to retire. Maybe the team sorta holds a grudge against Kimi for that..?

If they wouldn't get rid of Massa for Schumi back then, they won't get rid of him for Kimi or Alonso now.

[andartop]

Massa's accident and it's subsequent results highlighted this deficiency, and obviously, it needs to be addressed. In a way it's a good thing it happened at this point in time, because neither Massa or Ferrari were in a position to contest for a title. Imagine if this scenario had unfolded during a year when the driver and team were deep into the hunt for a title.

Well, that's exactly what happened in 1999, isn't it? Surely you will agree Schumi was looking good for his first WDC with Ferrari up until that stupid Silverstone accident. They had to draw in Mika Salo, who proved to be adequate, but at the time quite a few people were surprised Luca Badoer wasn't handed the race seat. Eddie Irvine ended up challenging for the title up until the last race of the season, but ultimately lost it to Mika Hakkinen.
Actually, Ferrari was racing with three drivers for as long as Schumi was away: Eddie Irvine, Mika Salo and...DC(!) who suddenly seemed to be reborn mid season only to do everything humanly possible to cut off points from Mika Hakkinen, including, if I remember correctly, crashing into him (in A1 ring, wasn't it?)!

[mike]

There's something to be said for keeping a level head, and I think Ferrari knew that well enough when they chose Kimi over Alonso in 2007.

slight correction Ferrari chose Kimi over Alonso at 2005 when Kimi lost the 05 championship and alonso won. that says alot about Ferrari's respect to Kimi, i dont think they will give up on him that easily. Just beacuse Kimi is not Schumacher doesnt mean that he needs to be replaced.

[pjobmathew]

Fil wrote
Schumi wanting to come back racing so badly makes me think more and more that Kimi joining the team forced MS to retire. Maybe the team sorta holds a grudge against Kimi for that..?

If they wouldn't get rid of Massa for Schumi back then, they won't get rid of him for Kimi or Alonso now.

I don't get how u draw that conclusion . If they're holding a grudge against Kimi shouldn't it be easier for them to kick him out .

MS was still good when he retired. I think it is something like in Rocky Balboa , his inner demons aren't silenced yet , he needs one final showdown.
Probably that's never gonna happen

[sknguy]

I think that DaveK is spot on. Why Kimi was hired was simply to find a replacement for Michael. Big shoes to fill no less. Schu, Brawn and Todt were all fans of each other, no question there. Todt just lost the argument, as it were.

[Richard]

Draw what conclusions you will...

Read the interview in full and look at the question.

The conclusion is that Ferrari have realised they need a young driver programme. This will mean they have a young gun in one of the feeder series who can step up at short notice and be competitive.

To get this in context, Romain Grosjean and Jaime Alguersuari have stepped in and been competitive from the start. Meanwhile Ferrari have prevaricated and pleaded for special testing. They are supposedly the biggest team in the paddock, so why don't they have a suitable reserve driver?

The "announcement" will be about putting a succession policy in place so they don't get caught out again.

[ISLAMATRON]

Draw what conclusions you will...

Read the interview in full and look at the question.

The conclusion is that Ferrari have realised they need a young driver programme. This will mean they have a young gun in one of the feeder series who can step up at short notice and be competitive.

To get this in context, Romain Grosjean and Jaime Alguersuari have stepped in and been competitive from the start. Meanwhile Ferrari have prevaricated and pleaded for special testing. They are supposedly the biggest team in the paddock, so why don't they have a suitable reserve driver?

The "announcement" will be about putting a succession policy in place so they don't get caught out again.

That is how I read it... but the current rules (FOTA test ban) and the future FOTA cost cutting rules (unchecked 100M Euro 2010 budget) will work against them... but they will find a way around the rules as they allways do, and the FIA will look the other as they have allways done.

And if what DK says is true, than "Monty" is even more of an asshole than I previously believed.

[The FOZ]

http://www.racecar-engineering.com/news ... x-q-a.html

Briatore thinks Fernando is going to Ferrari, too.

[ISLAMATRON]

So then the next best driver on the market is who? Kimi? is he even on the market? Does he know he is on the market? Or is it MAssa who will be playing musical chairs?