Alonso says he should have left Ferrari earlier

2015 F1 season

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Fernando Alonso has said he he should have left Ferrari “one or two years” earlier than he did.

The two-times champion has endured a difficult return to McLaren this year, scoring just 11 points while his replacement at Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel, has won twice.

Nonetheless Alonso told CNN in an interview he should have left Ferrari sooner. “The car was not competitive at all and things were getting more and more sad,” he said.

“So probably one or two years less was the best thing, but you know we tried to do our best and we fought until the end of every single race.”

Alonso narrowly missed out on the world championship title in his first year at Ferrari in 2010. He came a close second again in 2012, and was runner-up for a third time in 2013.

“After five years in Ferrari, being second all the time, I think it was enough for me,” he said.

Yesterday Ferrari announced it had retained Kimi Raikkonen alongside Vettel in its driver-line for 2016.

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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97 comments on “Alonso says he should have left Ferrari earlier”

  1. …Or later?

    1. Not necessarily. As Alonso said earlier this year when he was asked about the competitiveness of this years Ferrari if he made the correct decision: when the season ends, if Ferrari did not win a championship, then his decision is the correct decision.

      1. @hzh00 Of course he would say that. It doesn’t mean it’s true, or that it’s what he actually believes. There again, that a much more complicated topic.

    2. Ferrari should’ve sacked him, earlier. Excellent driver but incredibly overrated. In spite of all the negativity he brings to his teams.

      He will be reduced to the margins of F1 history because he could get a single long-term decision right during his career. Of course, in his own mind, he is the greatest ever, just incredibly unlucky.

      1. Ferrari hasn’t sacked Alonso. Leaving the team was his choice and they would still be praising him like they praise Vettel now if he hadn’t left.

        1. I think the entire F1 world knows that Ferrari didn’t sack Alonso. My point was that they SHOULD have sacked him, earlier than when he left.

          Toxic, contagious. Will bring down any team. “egocentric, negative, dark, and grumpy” as Lauda rightly pointed out.

  2. Or never joined in a first place?

    1. Fikri Harish (@)
      20th August 2015, 12:49

      I shudder what to think what would’ve happened if we didn’t have Alonso picking up the slack for those five years.

      1. If Fernando didn’t do those 5 years in Ferrari, we would not have considered him as highly as we do now.

        1. Oh, man that is so true; i think he is the best out there now; maybe even better than Seb.
          I don’t like the guy but i was a fan for 5 years.
          He’s fast when it matters, consistent, professional and grown up.

          Shame on McLaren for what they did to him and Jenson this year. These guys need to be able to fight for points.

          1. “These guys need to be able to fight for points.” I thought that’s what they are doing, and that’s the problem lol.

        2. That’s the paradox of F1 – the driver who finishes second gets more respect than the one who finishes first! We saw that with Fernando at Ferrari, and we saw it with Vettel in 2009 and perhaps again this year.

  3. Funny statement and timing. Just when Ferrari announces their driver line-up for next season. Trying to steal the limelight much?

    1. @oya:

      Asked if he should have left the Italian team sooner, Alonso told CNN’s The Circuit: “Probably, yes. The car was not competitive at all and things were getting more and more sad.

      Assuming it wasn’t Alonso who interviewed himself for CNN (according to the video, that wasn’t the case), what was he supposed to say when asked such a question? “Out of respect for Ferrari’s announcement that has nothing to do with me whatsoever, I won’t comment my time with them”?

      Sorry, but that’s a silly allegation.

      1. You are underestimating Alonso.

        “what was he supposed to say when asked such a question? “Out of respect for Ferrari’s announcement that has nothing to do with me whatsoever, I won’t comment my time with them”?”
        That’s actually a good answer. I can think of a couple of drivers who would say something like that.

        1. No, mate. That’s a silly answer, and no-one in their right mind should say something like that.

    2. This is funny. Now that we have flash news regarding Ferrari and Raikkonen, we also have Alonso making a statement saying “I stayed too much with Ferrari” and Perez giving another one saying “I would have been a Ferrari driver”. LOL. So obvious everyone is trying to get their name in there with the big news.

      1. Nope. It’s just that journalists are increasingly interested in Ferrari backstories due to their recent announcement. The drivers just reply to them. What’s wrong with Pérez saying it as it was? He said he had a chance, but he preferred to join McLaren, which turned out to be a mistake. That’s interesting, but far from spectacular.
        I really don’t see any objective reason for ridiculing drivers who give honest answers to Ferrari-related questions.

  4. Nothing worse than sad samurai.

    1. whom being fired by his master, basically a ronin :O

      in all seriousness though, I think he shouldn’t even dignify that question with an answer. if I were him, I would say anything than “moved on from Ferrari”.

  5. Alonso’s career will be remembered as one of ‘wrong place, wrong time’. If we compare his moves with those of Vettel and Hamilton it is clear that he has always moved with the correct intention but ended up in machinery well below his talent. The move to McLaren for 2007 was unquestionably the right one in December 2005 but with a British rookie grateful for his opportunity and exceptionally easy to market, I can understand why Alonso digging his heels in at McLaren was probably the wrong way to assert authority. It’s easy to look at 2008 and say he should have moved to Red Bull but at the time Renault were only one season away from winning back-to-back titles and could have bounced back. BMW could also have worked out if Alonso went there. 2009 is 2015 in terms of results despite a couple of low fuel qualy runs.

    After 2009 the only move which could guarantee a fight for the title was Ferrari. It was a perfect match and but for covering Webber his time there could be viewed very differently. His main problem with Ferrari was their mutual love affair in mid-2012. Alonso was driving as well as any driver ever that year and had Ferrari not brought a mammoth update then he could perhaps be tempted by the same offer Hamilton received. It was obvious to most at the time the Mercedes team were going to be a frontrunner in 2014 but Alonso obviously believed the best way to counter that was to be in a team which builds everything in house. Again, this is sound logic but late 2013 showed Ferrari for what it had always been: a shambles. The races were well managed but car development without a full size on site wind tunnel was never going to be able to compete with Newey.

    That leads to 2014 which I still can’t really get my head around. How can Ferrari fail so spectacularly on both aero and PU? Their performance this year should have been a minimum requirement last year and even with 2015 performance I still think Alonso would have left. This year’s Ferrari is still not on the pace and I maintain that McLaren will be fighting for the same places as Ferrari in 2017. I can’t see anyone overhauling Hamilton and Mercedes until then, and to his credit Hamilton saw his opportunity and jumped at it.

    Should Alonso have left Ferrari 2 years earlier? Ideally, yes but only to Mercedes and allow Hamilton to go to Ferrari or Red Bull but realistically, no as the tifosi were committed and promising the performance of early 2013 for the full season. Should Alonso have left at the end of 2013? Certainly not. McLaren were a customer team, Red Bull and Mercedes had no vacancies and Williams who were the surprise package were at the back of the grid.

    The problem with Alonso’s decision making has been that F1 has been in periods of such dominance that there has only really been one car to be in for many of the seasons since he left McLaren. If we assume Red Bull will always promote internally and that Alonso wanted to be loyal to his dream of Ferrari in 2012 then there isn’t a great deal he could have done differently.

    1. petebaldwin (@)
      20th August 2015, 11:51

      Sadly, it will always be something that sets Alonso, Hamilton and Vettel apart. They are 3 great drivers but 2 of them appear to make the right decisions at the right time and one doesn’t.

      Hamilton stayed at McLaren for a long time and then moved just at the right moment as McLaren hit troubles and Mercedes pushed to the front.

      Vettel stayed at Red Bull for a long time and then moved just at the right moment as Red Bull hit troubles and Ferrari moved up to being the 2nd fastest team allowing him to win races and fight for the title.

      Alonso moved to Renault and won titles. He then moved from a Championship winning car to McLaren (which arguably, was the right call at the time) but for whatever reasons, couldn’t work as a team with them. He then moved back to Renault which seemed strange at the time and didn’t work out for him and then onto Ferrari just as Red Bull started to dominate the sport. Then, when McLaren were going to use a new engine that everyone knew would be off the pace for most of the season, he decided to re-join them…..

      People questioned why Hamilton went to Mercedes but he obviously knew what was going to happen with the new engines and knew the Mercedes PU would be on top. Looking back, it was a great decision and is the reason he deserves the fairly easy championships he’s won/winning.

      Similarly, Vettel’s move to Ferrari seemed odd but when you think about it, he would have known the Renault engine wasn’t very good and he would have known that relationships behind the scenes between RBR and Renault were strained. So far, it looks like he’s made a very good decision..

    2. The irony of this is that Alonso’s move to McLaren looked the correct one when it was announced in late 2005 – Alonso had just won the world title with Renault but the McLaren had been the faster car for most of the season (albeit less reliable), and turned out to be absolutely the right move in the end (Renault were never as competitive after the introduction of the spec Bridgestones, whereas McLaren had at worst the second best machine), but in 2006 when Renault continued to win races while McLaren failed to win a single grand prix even with Raikkonen at the wheel it probably didn’t look such a great call on his part.

      The real problem for Alonso was his acrimonious fall-out with McLaren which forced him to join a less competitive team for 2008 (This was around the time I really got into F1 so I think I remember Red Bull and Toyota being strongly linked with him before he went back to Enstone). In the 2008 McLaren he’d have been a championship contender for sure I reckon, in fact I think he’d probably have won that year as Hamilton made more mistakes than in his rookie season and Alonso would not have needed time to adapt to the Bridgestones as he did in the previous year. His move to Renault was just about justified in 2008 but 2009 was a waste of time, he’d have done much better then if he’d been in the Red Bull or Toyota, or even the McLaren.

      1. I always wonder how Ron Dennis would have acted had Alonso not threatened him during the Hungarian GP weekend in 2007. Had Alonso kept his head then his career could be radically different. If Alonso had won the race and went on to win the championship and sided with McLaren during the spygate then surely they would not have moved him on. The team would be a marketing dream and Alonso would have cruised to the title in 2008 in a more harmonious environment. But c’est la vie.

        As for the current McLaren adventure, it is exceptionally easy to point out that the car is currently not where he wants it to be. But that does not denote failure to me. This was always going to be a long-haul challenge and if the team is in the right place to fight for the title in 2017 then the project is a success in my opinion. Alonso is still a top driver so the fans should want him to remain in F1. If he left I could see Hulkenberg, possibly Bottas, Perez and Button following suit in the not too distant future. It was clear as day that the Honda weren’t going to be fighting for wins until 2016 and anything other than that was PR talk. I got comment of the day months before Alonso moved to McLaren questioning the logic of the move since Honda have no real success in F1 to speak of other than the Brawn car of 2009 and the McLaren of 25 years ago. But it’s too soon to call this move an error because Alonso left Ferrari to fight for the championship. To him second and fifth are equally fruitless and I commend him for taking on a hard fight than simply walking away.

    3. You are right. Since 2007 he’s never been great at selecting a drive. I do however commend him on trying to build a team up, or at least being willing to give them a chance. Unfortunately in F1, the underdog generally stays the underdog. Just look at Williams.

      Vettels move to Ferrari could very well still be a dud move. He might still have the exact same Ferrari career as Alonso had. Many second places. It is too soon to say if Vettels move to Ferrari is going to give him a WDC.

      1. Probably the difference is Vettel doesn’t really need another WDC anyway. He has four of them. Though I’m sure he would love to have another 4 or 5.

  6. He’s not wrong, at least in retrospect. Initially, 2013 looked promising , but after a few races, Ferrari dropped too far behind Red Bull, and after the infamous Silverstone GP, they were overtaken by the Mercs. And then, 2014 became a nightmare.
    So, yes, in retrospect, he more or less wasted his time with Ferrari after 2012. But where else could he have gone?

    1. Willem Cecchi (@)
      20th August 2015, 12:01

      Was Ferrari’s drop in competitiveness during 2013 only due to the mid-season tyre change or due to development as well?

      1. Alonso was not performing as well as he could have in any case. Ferrari was faster but somehow Vettel was ahead. Long before the half way point everyone started to say Vettel was going to win because of those two drivers’ respective performances.

      2. @willemcecchi
        Probably both. The brand-new F138 was on par with the RB9, maybe even slightly better, but for many different reasons, Alonso was only able to capitalise on the car’s strengths once every two races, and it slowly became evident that Ferrari was dropping behind Red Bull. Ferrari had already lost their competitiveness when the British GP came, and the subsequent tyre change was just the final blow that secured Vettel’s title and allowed Mercedes to take P2 in the Constructors’ championship.

        1. @nase
          Yes, they lost competitiveness at Silverstone due to development error and I doubt the tyres changed too much for them. It hurt Mercedes more than Ferrari I think.

        2. I think the Ferrari was the car to beat in early 2013 because they managed to get on top of the tires right out off the box. Their early advantage had already disappeared came Monaco, but it didn’t really became worse after the tire change. Alonso still scored more points than anybody else (bar Vettel, or course) after the summer break.

  7. Hmm, a little weird that such comment appeared after RAI was confirmed at Ferrari in 2016 too…! It really feels like he’s sorry for something, but who knows for sure what’s the reason. I’m pretty sure this is the saddest year of his F1 carreer tho. Dunno if he expected Ferrari to dump RAI again and rehire him for 2016… but I don’t see him at Ferrari again. But it could very well that he’s sorry for not going at Mercedes… in HAM’s place.

    1. As said by @nase , he was asked a question on the topic.

  8. So let’s say he had, he would have been at Lewis his spot, Webber his spot or basically nowhere near the podium. At those times neither McLaren, RB or Mercedes were that keen on letting someone go except for Schumcher in 2012. But that’s already three years in the past.

    I think Rosberg can be happy he did not have to be measured in the most dominant car against Alonso.

  9. Hamilton and Alonso always need to give some seemingly candid answers to controversial questions. You see others somehow managing to be let out of the hook when a similar question is posed. Not those two.

  10. The man is a back-stabbing cheat that should not be trusted in any team.

    1. A solid analysis backed by facts. Keep up the good work

      1. @rbalonso Threatening Ron Dennis after he himself actively took part on the biggest cheat of the last 20 years?

        Granted, “back-stabbing cheat that should not be trusted in any team” is on the extreme side, but it’s not that hard to see where it comes from.

        1. Albert, it depends when you insinuate someone as an accessory. Mike Coughlan cheated of that there is no doubt. But Ron Dennis knew. De La Rosa and Alonso knew. It’s not a great stretch of the imagination to say Hamilton knew. Now either all these parties are guilty of cheating for not immediately bringing it to the FIA’s attention or we are applying double standards. I am not advocating Alonso’s actions (see my above comment) but no one in the team at the time can claim to be whiter than white. He was as likely to lose out from it as the rest. This type of extreme commentary is defamatory and if the poster feels this way it should be presented with a reasoned argument as oppose to mindless slander influencing new fans.

          1. Hamilton knowing is completely conjecture, but even then, whoever knew, all of them are guilty. Definitely Alonso. No slander or defamation there. Pretty straightforward really.

          2. @rbalonso None of them tried to blackmail the team afterwards, as far as I know (the backstabbing part). Nor were they get involved in the next biggest cheat scandal the very next year.

            As I said, it was an extreme comment, but anyone here knows very well where it came from. You can argue if it the extremeness of the comment or its tone was warranted, but it’s well known that Alonso has a record a bit dirtier than most.

          3. Nor were they get involved in the next biggest cheat scandal the very next year.

            By all accounts Fernando was not actually involved in crash-gate.

            You could make an argument that he may have suspected something (As others in the paddock apparently did), But no evidence has ever come forward suggesting that he knew of the plan beforehand or had any involvement in coming up with or agreeing to it.

            The FIA investigation which was conducted by an independent organization concluded that the only people who were aware of the plan beforehand were Piquet, Flavio & Pat Symmonds. Some of Piquet’s engineer’s apparently suspected afterwards (One of them gave evidence saying as much) due to seeing the data from his car but nobody else within the team was in on the plot.

            I think Alonso’s actions in 2007 need to be put into the context of his frustration with what he felt was happening within the team. Rightly or wrongly he felt the team was giving Lewis more support (He wasn’t the only one in the paddock that had that impression BTW). By that I don’t mean that he felt the team were favoring Lewis by giving him better equipment, Just that they were more behind Lewis because pretty much everyone in the team had known him for many years.
            You must also consider that when Alonso signed the deal in late 2005 he expected to be #1 & expected to build the team around him & have the car designed around him. But when they signed Lewis things got a bit complicated as Lewis was probably the 1 driver McLaren were not going to put in a situation where he felt he was #2 & the 1 occasion they did (Monaco 2007 when they asked him not to have a go at Alonso to secure an easy 1-2 for the team) he was said to have told the team he’d quit if they did it again.

          4. @gt-racer

            By all accounts Fernando was not actually involved in crash-gate.

            Of course. :)

          5. Alonso’s contract actually said he was Firm Number 1 driver in the team I believe. It was on paper.
            Compare that to Barrichello who although he was in spirit, never actually had it in writing he was Number 2. Just that as did Schumi have as well, he must follow orders.
            Fan of him or not Alonso got screwed by McLaren in 2007. Hamilton being faster or not, and racing integrity or not, McLaren went back on their contract by not telling Ham to let Alonso through on the days he was faster or to hold back when he was behind.
            This is why 2007 happened, and Alonso’s actions (while not agreeable) were just in response to McLaren’s (Dennis’) actions first. School boy stuff maybe, but if someone goes back on their word, especially when it’s legally bound, deserves to have some sort of spite thrown at them after.

          6. Alonso’s contract actually said he was Firm Number 1 driver in the team I believe.

            Nope.

          7. I’m 99% certain it was on paper. When he joined in 2005. The same way in 1987 Piquet’s said on paper Number 1 and Mansell’s actually said Number 2. Similar situation, similar actions lol. I remember in 2006 Ron Dennis saying that he is looking for a firm Number 2 driver in 2007 who will stay behind Fernando and listen to orders etc etc.

            Either way as I said Schumacher was never actually promised Number 1 by Ferrari – he got it for many reasons but it was never promised to him. Irvine even said the days he was quicker he was never forced to move aside except when the championship demanded it.
            Alonso was definitely promised that as Piquet was in ’87. This is where the issue arises/arose.

          8. @Nathan

            I’m 99% certain it was on paper.

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3y3QoFnqZc
            That video should clear it up :-)

          9. McLaren, like Williams recently, tried to be idealistic and hence lost out. Alonso would have given them 2007 and probably 2008 WDCs, then left after 2009 for Ferrari.

            They’d have won the 2007 WCC and probably 2008 as well. 2008 Hamilton would have really come on strong, but like in 2007, 2010 and 2012 mistakes and retirements were too much.

        2. Mike Coughlan’s wife copying the Ferrari plans at a local copy shop brought the Spygate to public light. Alonso didn’t seem to be the instigator of this scandal nor did he end up benefitting from it.
          Hindsight suggests he was in a no win situation with regards to Spygate. Once he knew of the Ferrari plans, he had 2 options. Blow the whistle or use the data.

          1. He obviously tried to benefit from it, hence the blackmail. Dennis didn’t want to get blackmailed, that’s different.
            He certainly didn’t blew the whistle anyway….
            Also, he didn’t have 2 options. He may not have wanted to snitch on his own team, but he could have just be silent and not try to blackmail his own team.

        3. I’m 99% certain it was on paper.

          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3y3QoFnqZc
          That video should clear it up :-)

      2. @rbalonso
        HAHAHAHAHAHA…Solid!

        COTY!

        1. Again, it depends on what your definition of dirty is. For me Alonso should have told Dennis he wanted nothing to do with spygate from the outset and acted very differently during the Hungarian GP weekend. But I think to imply that from there on that he is “dirty” is a stretch. Other than Spygate, the two other arguments used against Alonso are crashgate and Hockenheim 2010 which I personally see as a non-event. Teams have always and will always do their best for the championship. Aspiring to higher morals for the sake of sportsmanship I agree is commendable but not good business sense.

          With regard to crashgate, Alonso has been proven innocent and further proof of that is available in the post-race conversation with Briatore. No guilty party would have the brass neck to congratulate their co-conspirator in front of millions of people.

          I think you are tarring Alonso with a brush of dirty tactics based on very little evidence other than circumstantial which is unfair.

          1. @rbalonso

            With regard to crashgate, Alonso has been proven innocent and further proof of that is available in the post-race conversation with Briatore. No guilty party would have the brass neck to congratulate their co-conspirator in front of millions of people.

            I don’t really think so. But you’re free to believe whatever you want :)

          2. Well that’s the conclusion we all have to draw. None of what we have said will have been new information to each other and we are probably both entrenched in our respective opinions. But to return to the original point of not being defamatory for the sheer hell of it, Fernando Alonso was proven innocent by a top police interrogator. If you then assume from then on that he is innocent and watch his post race actions then he is either an incredible actor desperate to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes or innocent. I prefer to side with my gut instinct, common sense and an experienced police figure than with the opinion of someone on the internet who holds a grudge against a driver they have never met but maybe that’s just me.

          3. @rbalonso

            I prefer to side with my gut instinct, common sense and an experienced police figure than with the opinion of someone on the

            Good for you. You don’t need to repeat it over and over again, though (of course you’re welcome to do so if you so desire). :)

    2. And yet teams signed him up, and quite a few people think he’s still the best driver in the sport.

      People in F1 have short memories. And results seem to matter more than anything else.

      1. On the track he’s one of the cleanest out there. Off the track 2007 was the only time you can say conclusively he was ‘dirty’. (2008 I believe he knew, but we have no hard facts so you can’t really count it).
        And again the entire rung of higher-ups in McLaren in 2007 knew, both drivers, both test-drivers, all the main engineers and all the principals. So yes while Alonso was ‘dirty’ there, so was the whole damn team. (additionally, Renault and Honda all knew of the data and possibly used it, but again as this is never proved you can’t count it).
        So yes while results count, I don’t believe, 8 years on, anyone really sees him as a ‘dirty’ character, not the whitest of white, but definitely not anywhere near ‘dirty’. So I don’t see it as people having a short memory – because that suggests there is a lot to be forgotten in the first place. Which 2007 aside, there really isn’t.

  11. In my view, Alonso has taken the right decisions at the time he took them. In his position as a top driver, who would have been brave enough to choose Red Bull in 2007 for the coming years? Maybe going to Mercedes after Schumacher´s departure could have been a good move, but I find natural that he thought that for then, after all the wait, the titles with Ferrari should arrive soon in the future. For 2015, his patience simply evaporated, and he has a point when he says that what Ferrari is achieving this year is the average level of success he got used to in the time he was there.

    However, the other side of the story is the fact that Alonso hasn´t been able to become Ferrari´s team boss as Schumacher was ten years ago. I ignore if Maranello was ready to give all that power again to the nº1 driver, but the arrivals of people Fernando recommended because he had worked with them at other teams -Pat Fry, Pedro de la Rosa, James Allison…- doesn´t seem to have been adequately coordinated. What´s more, Alonso has left just when it was clear that the Allison effect was going to start to be sensed.

    1. but the arrivals of people Fernando recommended because he had worked with them at other teams -Pat Fry, Pedro de la Rosa, James Allison…

      Pat Fry joined in the middle of 2010, considering how long those contracts need to be planed in advance, Alonso had nothing to do with it.

      De la Rosa joined because of Santander.

      James Allison joined because he’s James Allison, not because anyone recommended him.

      1. “James Allison joined because he’s James Allison” LOL He’s soo cool :D

        1. He’s amazing. I almost wanted to break my keyboard when some Italian outlets were reporting he wasn’t going to be renewed because Ferrari wasn’t beating Mercedes.

          Funnily enough it was just before Hungary, then Vettel went and won the race.

      2. Probably true in Fry and Allison`s cases. But Alonso did play a part in bringing De la Rosa to Ferrari, according to well sourced reports. They were looking for someone with a vast experience in simulation tools.

        1. But Alonso did play a part in bringing De la Rosa to Ferrari, according to well sourced reports.

          Never heard that before, but I’m interested now. It doesn’t sound improbable, mind you. Which reports exactly?

          1. I remember the same thing! Also that De la Rosa said Ferrari was behind McLaren regarding the simulator back in 2010. Maybe now they’re ahead, who knows.

  12. Leave two years earlier, where exactly? For all the complaining about Ferrari, he didn’t have any better options.

    1. Pretty sure he means the open Mercedes seat at the end of 2012, he had the same chance that Hamilton did. He did decide to leave 2 years late.

      1. @addimaf1 What are you talking about, Nikki Lauda/Mercedes organized the deal with Hamilton behind closed doors, that’s why it was such a relatively big surprise when it was announced. It wasn’t a case of Schumacher retiring and leaving a place open, giving Hamilton and Alonso a chance. Mercedes wanted Hamilton in and replaced Schumacher.

  13. The only window Alonso had was in mid-2012, when Schumacher’s seat at Mercedes was going to be vacated. Unfortunately, he was in the middle of an intense championship battle then and was also dependent on his team mate for giving points on track, to get tow for qualifying and take penalties for him. No way, he could have signed for Merc then.

    1. Your comment can be split into two parts. One that makes sense:

      The only window Alonso had was in mid-2012, when Schumacher’s seat at Mercedes was going to be vacated. Unfortunately, he was in the middle of an intense championship battle then … No way, he could have signed for Merc then.

      , and one that doesn’t:

      was also dependent on his team mate for giving points on track, to get tow for qualifying and take penalties for him.

      You’re actually making a very good point with the meaningful part of your post: He may have missed hs chance to go to a more promising team because of the intense battle for the championship. But then again, Ferrari did show some strengths in 2012, after starting off with a car that was simply horrible to drive, and the 2013 Ferrari was also very competitive at the beginning, while the 2012 Merc had good one-lap pace but was a nightmare on Sundays. So, from a 2012 perspective, staying with Ferrari didn’t look like a mistake.

      The rest of your post is sadly just a written version of kicking dirt into the face of someone you don’t like.

      1. I am not trying to kick dirt in anyone’s face.

        Tell me if any of these things I said are facts or not. Is it not a fact that Alonso’s second half of 2012 was worse than his first half of 2012? So, when the negotiations for 2013 and beyond were happening, Alonso’s bargaining position was indeed severely compromised. And hence, he didn’t get that Mercdes drive. Lauda would have definitely given him over Lewis had Alonso been in a position to actually approach him. Why Alonso wasn’t in such a position? Because 1) Ferrari wasn’t developing as fast 2) The points lead was still substantial for Alonso 3) Alonso’s pace was dropping compared to Massa.

        1. Ferrari started off so bad in 2012, Alonso out-drove that thing, and in a bad car – destroyed Massa, the car got better Massa got closer. Also I think Alonso’s second half was just as good as his first half. How was it any worse, Red Bull pulled away in terms of car performance, McLaren rectified their tyre situation (mostly), and yet he still smashed in the results. His whole 2012 was astounding. So no, it is not a fact, merely your belief.

  14. Alonso’s decisions were not that wrong when it was made except Renault comeback. I’m pretty sure everyone considered it was good choice that first Mclaren stint and Ferrari one. Yes, Red Bull crushed Ferrari but nobody expected that.(Well, I remember in one interview, David Coulthard said the thing is coming but you know.) Yes, Mercedes has dominated F1 since last year but it was not absolutely clear until 2014.

    His only clear wrong decision was Renault stop-gap for Ferrari. Ferrari might be good choice but for sure he wasted 2 years in the fading team.

    Now, I don’t think to depart Ferrari is a wrong decision, yet. Vettel scored several podiums including 2 wins but that’s not Alonso want. He did it for 5 years. He need just one definite season for 3rd title, even if he should endure a couple of turbulent.

    Ferrari might do it a couple of years later, but Mclaren either. I support his decision. He was tired of Ferrari way, approach, culture, limitation, so fresh gamble is that bad thing.

    1. Opps

      so fresh gamble is that bad thing->fresh gamble is not that bad thing.

  15. I remember coming into 2007 many people were worried that Hamilton might be permanently damaged by going up against Alonso. A big part of Alonso’s class comes from his intensity, his insane need to win, and so he was pretty unlucky IMO that he found himself in the situation that developed. His reactions were crazy it’s true, but still he deserves another wdc, for me, especially after 2010.

    And I haven’t given up on him, personally. He still has some time, and currently I reckon drivers can go on longer than in the past.

  16. Alonso will be turning 36 in the f1 season of 2017 i honestly cannot see how he wins a WC. He would need a Merc style dominance which aint gonna happen imo. It is sad as even a Ham fan i understand Alo Peak of 2012 i do not feel Ham as ever reached except his rookie year. Also what people forget is it is doubtful Button will be there in 17 i know who ill be backing vs the 36 year old, ill be backing what will probably be a far younger driver near there peak. Lets all be honest Alo peak is over even though he is still great he will never driver 2012 way again it is impossible father time is undefeated. Same thing will reach Hamilton in 45 years Ham is in his peak now.

  17. Evil Homer (@)
    20th August 2015, 14:46

    I don’t think anyone ‘deserves’ a WDC but Alonso has certainly been closer to the third than most. When Senna and Vettel hit in Brazil on lap 1 or 2 in 2012 it seemed all but his.

    Comments about Alonso like “rated the best driver but doesn’t have the car” are getting a bit old with me. After his two titles and being great I can see this until around 2011 or so – Vettel and Hamilton have at least been on par with him as a complete driver- perhaps even better as he does not qualify so well.

    You cant help feel for the guy this year with how Ferrari have pulled it together but when he made this decision (or was pushed) almost a year ago no-one was to know. I cant see how he will get the third title form here but would have much preferred him to match Senna rather than Hamilton – mostly due to his dancing video from Bahamas on social media last week :) – even the great James Hunt wouldn’t do that LOL!!

    1. LMAO. Good comment

    2. There was a video @evilhomer? OMG :))

      I’d have like Lewis, Nando and Seb to have 3x wdc each in an ideal world, but luck plays its part of course. But at least – so far – Lewis hasn’t decked a marshall…

      I agree with the idea anyway that when Nando said this that he was thinking about 2012 and whether if he’d made a play for the Merc seat in 2013 he might have got it instead of Lewis. Not saying he would have got it, but in his F1 driver’s mind of course it’d be likely.

        1. Oh that’s not bad is it? What’s wrong with it? Tho I have to admit Alonso’s dancing is on a higher level ;))

  18. Get over it man

    1. looks like its you who needs to get over the hatred:) …. he was asked a question… cant you see?

      1. @puneethvb While he was indeed asked a question, he’s response is unnecessarily sour, which makes the reaction “get over it” kinda valid.
        While I can see why 2014 was a very bad year, leaving before would have been pointless, almost ridiculous. In 2012 he fought for the championship until the last race, and before the controversial tyre change in 2013 Ferrari was doing very well.
        I can see why he would want to leave after 2014, but saying he should have done it before shows in my opinion an unnecessary and misplaced resentment.

        1. I don’t think he would have won the championship in 2013 without the tyre changes anyway. Ferrari was on par with Red Bull, but people who had said Alonso would be the one winning the WDC at the beginning of the year had already changed their tune based on two driver’s performance and capitalizing on the opportunities.

  19. The so called Bad decisions, could have been regarded as equally good decisions had it not been for ego, some poor calls and bad luck. Fernando could have been 5 times WDC by now, 07, 10 and 12, but he isn’t.

    You can only make decisions based on the facts that are put in front of you. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but on paper, his move Ferrari was nothing but sensible, and he could have come away with two titles. But no, things didn’t work out. Same thing could happen any professional in any line of work. You make the choices based on the facts presented at the time. You can take a gamble if you feel you are in a position to do so.

    Should Fernando have joined Red Bull back in 08? On hindsight, yes, but at the time the answer would have been no. Providing he had an offer, should he have gone to Mercedes in 12? Once again, in hindsight, sure, but at the time, he was fighting to win the championship, and Ferrari didn’t start the season too badly in 13, so at the time, it was probably the right decision.

    The biggest miss in Fernando’s career was 2007. If things didn’t breakdown with McLaren, history would probably read different. He could’ve won at least one championship with McLaren, probably more. Hopefully, he can still achieve that before he finishes in F1.

    1. Yeah I mean I wouldn’t have liked it as a Red Man, but he too came a few points away from the ’07 title so, I think ’07 is the only time I’ve ever seen Alonso’s results actually negatively effected by emotion. Most other times when he’s up against it, he just drives 100%. It seemed in 2007 after Monaco/USA he actually stopped driving as well. I think even he regrets that and hasn’t done it since lol.

  20. Seems like he’s now reflecting on the rumoured offer he was given to join Mercedes before they signed Schuey.

  21. Since people around him started doing things like stealing information from rivals and fixing results, and Alonso’s name got mixed up with blackmail or participation in the plot, he’s never won a WDC. If he was really mixed up with those incidents, I wouldn’t say he deserved another WDC anyway.

    1. Only Ferrari staff ‘stole’ information. Alonso and that nice Pedro de la Rosa asked for data from the leak, as was just normal at the time. On the emails afaik Nando showed them to Flav when he got nervous, and it was Flav who tipped off Bernie and Max.

      On crashgate well I strongly suspect PK was only supposed to spin, not hit the wall, but he bottled it and had a slight lift, part way through.

      I do agree Alonso’s behaviour was bad in those times, but personally I don’t let those episodes define him forever. The rest of the time he’s very fair on track, interesting, extraordinary, and a terrific example of what I tune in to see.

  22. As I see, he never been such integrated in the team or make the team to “his own” as Schumi did back then. Or seemingly Vettel is doing or will do in the future, I think.
    Ferrari is a great team when they really work together with the driver and the driver can tell them everything what needs to be done – then they will do their best.
    But Alonso isn’t that type, he can deliver great performances when he got a good or even a decent car, but not that type who can work together really closely with the team to build that up. He’s concentrated mostly only on driving and that maybe wasn’t enough with Ferrari.

  23. Alonso is a great driver but not great at being a development driver. Vettel may not be as great a driver as Alonso but he is the greatest set up driver of his generation.

    That is why Ferrari is winning again, why Red Bull and Torro Rosso stopped winning after Vettel left and never won before he joined.

    1. I am glad you said that, it is absolutely true, but truth might be bitter for some people some times.

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