fuenfer

I think that's what Ron Dennis tried to do when he paired Alonso and Hamilton in '07 - unfortunately, Hamilton refused to play a nice #2. I think it's tough to predict how driver pairings work out ...

Ray S

Ultimately, I think that's going to be Alonso's problem at Ferrari.

If Alonso is given clear #1 status he may be fine. However, if he has to fight for the position Like Massa and Kimi have in the past I see real problems for Alonso.

Massa is no Nelson Piquet Jr. If he can come back in good form he will give Alonso absolute fits.

A.Wayne

So funny hearing Shooomacher fans talk about clear no 1

JimB

I think you are right Ray although I suspect that they've worked all that out ahead of signing contracts. When Shumi was at Ferrari there was a clear 1 and a clear 2. I suspect that's the way it will start out and only change if Massa is way faster or if Alonso falters. It actually sucks that Massa will be pushed into the back-up role. He's earned the right to be the top driver for someone.

MJSpeed

First my thoughts on McLaren:

Will they continue to cater to LH or will Kimi get a fair shot at it? I think if Kimi gets a fair deal, LH will be fighting for his job as numero uno.

Is Kimi just wanting to race just because or does he really want to win? Kimi I would guess wants to win just as much as the next guy, he just doesn't show it.

How will LH react when his "little bitch"-type games don't work on the iceman? I think LH will have a hard time trying to figure out how to "psychologically" beat/deal with Kimi and in fact may see him (LH) falling somewhat apart.

Which leads me to Ferrari. They've acquired one of the fastest, best drivers in F1 today. He does however come with "some" baggage. Although there seems to be some information coming to light that the 2007 McLaren fiasco was more to do with Ron Dennis' inability to manage. I've always heard that a team/organization takes on the personality of it's leader; lying, cheating, bitching and complaining had become the norm at McLaren. I digress.

Assuming Massa comes back to the Scuderia. FA is, I believe, mentally stronger than FM, even before the accident. I also think FA is faster and a better overall driver, 2 WDC's.

Now an alternate scenario has Fisi backing FA next year if FM has not "fully recovered." Fisi and FA were team-mates at Renault and would work well together. Fisi is under contract for next year.

Just my $.10

Ray S

I'll bet McLaren will let Kimi and Lewis race until a clear numero uno emerges. I hope that Ferrari does the same with Massa and Fernando.

wanna911

If Alonso is going to Ferrari AND McLaren want a shot at constructors, Kimi is the way to go. These clear #1 teams don't win constructors any more. You gotta have two guys that can win on any given day all season long. Rosberg is not the answer for McLaren, he's another Heikki. Kimi would keep Lewis on his A-game which I think Lewis responds to better than with no competition on his team.

multi21

Kimi to McLaren is going to be interesting. The question that hasn't been answered yet is for how long? No one knows the length of the Kimi contract. We do know Alonso has a 5 year deal with Ferrari.

If Kimi is under contract for 1-2 years, he's just collecting a pay check and he'll retire. He'll be fast because the car is fast, but he won't put in the extra time to be a WDC.

If the contract is for 3-5 years, then different story. Perhaps Kimi is motivated to prove he is still fast and belongs in F1. Maybe he has a fire lit under him for being released by Ferrari to be replaced by Alonso.

But Kimi's personality type is, "I don't give a ****". Ultimately Kimi was not the button down corporate type Ron Dennis wanted and not the firey WDC Ferrari had and wanted. Could the business type corporate culture sans Ron Dennis be what Kimi needs? I don't know, but if $49 million a year doesn't motivate you, I don't know if psycho babble corporate culture bull**** will either.

Ray S

Ferrari confirmed a 3 year deal with Alonso today.

Patrick E

I'd be real surprised if Massa agreed to this. As you point out, he's earned the right to be a top driver. More importantly, I think the team will support him as well due to their familiarity.

MPD47

I'd be willing to bet LH tries to find a way out of his 2012 (or was it 13?) contract with Kimi there. Maybe end of 2010.

ltc

And there goes my support for Ferrari...

Good luck Luca, I hope you know what you've done.

multi21

It appears Luca is short sided as we've seen by his decision in favor of Kimi for MS. That earned him 1 WDC. Now he's bringing on a malcontent that is good when in the car, but doesn't know the meaning of "team". What a complete reversal from the days of Schumacher just 3 short years ago.

If I had to guess, the mechanics and engineers have a soft spot for Massa given his gut wrenching loss of a WDC last year by 1 point and his terrible freak accident this year.

God willing, if Massa is able to come back as fast as he was prior to Hungary, I suspect Alonso will have a difficult time handling Massas speed and will argue that the garage is favoring FM rather than him leading to a division in the ranks and clear lines drawn in the sand.

Save this post for later reference...

ew928

That's going to make for some good Ferrari Drama Llama.

Will Alonso 'win' the support of the engineers and mechanics.
Is there an 'I' in team in Spanish, or Alonso speak.

Veloce Raptor

I predict Her Majesty Fernanda Alonsette will be at the center of yet ANOTHER scandal next year, bringing a record 3rd team--Ferrari--down.

'Cause that's how she rolls.






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