Brawn: “Extremely frustrating” Alonso hasn’t got a competitive car

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In the round-up: F1’s owners want Fernando Alonso in a competitive car.

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Keith Collantine
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83 comments on “Brawn: “Extremely frustrating” Alonso hasn’t got a competitive car”

  1. Is it just me or has Ricciardo become more relaxed? It seems as if he’s more himself since probably the second half of the 2016 season. Before that I never saw him making jokes or being the funny guy around the paddock, but now he is. I like it. It does look like all is well at Red Bull and Ricciardo and Verstappen get along quite well, just looking at their interviews and the Red Bull Youtube channel with all the PR stuff they do together, there’s much more chemistry between them than there ever was between him and Kvyat.

    1. Kvyat has no chemistry with anyone, just contact. @addvariety

      1. So…. Kvyat’s just a “wham, bam, thank you ma’am” kinda guy? :-D

        1. Gerulf Dösinger (@)
          12th July 2017, 9:40

          He hit Vettel twice so I think a small emotional investment might be there. ;)

          1. :-D :-D

        2. He is a “Wham, bam, спасибо, мэм” kinda guy.. :D

          1. Evil Homer (@)
            12th July 2017, 14:18

            @addvariety
            Rick- Daniel has always been a real funny buggar and a good joker, but yes maybe he had been allowed by Red Bull/Liberty to show that more of late rather than what one expects of a typical F1 driver with boring PR comments.

            Its actually better (and I dare say more profitable) that an F1 driver shows they have a normal/funny side. While Max does seem to get put into that “he was breed to be an F1 driver” mould he is actually a funny guy also- while “helmets on, gloves off” is great, its good to see two teammates have fun as well.
            Dan and Max do some great videos- Caravan racing at Spielberg was awesome I think :)

    2. 5 podiums in a row inc a win and his teammate having all the bad luck, 107pts to Max’s 45… does that to ya.

  2. Why’s Ross extremely frustrated Alonso doesn’t have a decent/competitive car?

    Was there not some report that Alonso offered to drive for free for Mercedes whilst he was team boss and they turned him down?

    Alonso current situation is of his own making.

    1. Alonso never offered to drive a Mercedes from 2010-2013 for free. That would be stupid.

    2. Okay, first of all, source? There’s always “some report”, since silly season in Formula 1 can be VERY silly.
      For example, a quick Google search learns that Alonso was linked to this year’s Mercedes seat, but nowhere does it say that he wanted to do it for free. And other reports mentioned Jenson Button for 2017, I doubt very much there’s much truth in that. In fact, the only mention I can find of Alonso going to Mercedes for free is a throwaway comment on this very site (https://www.racefans.net/2014/10/04/alonso-can-choose-want-go/)

      But since you mention Ross Brawn as team manager, it must have been during the 2010-2013 seasons. Alonso signed a 5-year contract with Ferrari in 2010 and was very competitive in those seasons, ending as runner up in the championship for three of them, and fourth in 2011. During those seasons, Mercedes was a midfield team. They only became dominant in 2014. I can see him making the offer at the end of 2014, but by that time Brawn was no longer team manager.

      So no, Brawn has nothing to do with Alonso’s current situation.

      1. They (Brawn GP) went after Alonso at the end of 2008, but by then his mind was on getting into a Ferrari, who for the bulk of the previous decade were producing race winning and championship winning cars.

        Alonso also turned down Red Bull at the end of 2007 for the 2008 season onwards. He ended up in a Ferrari (which everyone wanted, and did make sense at the time) only for them to have a drop in performance, only to leave them for McLaren who suffered an even worse drop in performance.

        http://www.planetf1.com/news/alonso-turned-down-brawn-gp-for-2009/
        http://www.thedrive.com/start-finish/11698/fernando-alonso-snubbed-brawn-gp-in-2009
        https://thejudge13.com/2016/06/09/fernando-alonso-rejected-red-bull-racing-offer/
        https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/red-bull-wanted-to-sign-alonso-for-2008/

        Hindsight is an amazing thing, given the 2008 Honda was a dog, and Red Bull had 14 retirements in 2007. I can understand his logic behind turning down Red Bull (who at the time were powered by Renault) to go with the Renault works team.

        Funny how things end up in life huh?

        1. The man made a lot of careful and logical decisions, only to turn up in progressively worse cars (Ferrari excluded).

          I’d say his only real gamble was McLaren.

          1. Its just rather funny/sad as the two teams to win the championships from 2008 onwards were the two teams that offered him drives (Honda/Brawn turning into Mercedes of course).

            Both teams/factories have won all titles since then.

          2. True, although I’m sure many more teams also offered drives. I believe one of your links mentions Toyota, which at one point looked like a top team in the making. He made the right choice there.

          3. Was it really even a gamble? Wasnt he forced out of Ferrari at the time, and the only ‘big’ team that seemed to be the best option was McLaren?

          4. Tomcat Alonso LEFT Ferrari.

      2. @san

        Firstly, I merely asked the question bout the Alonso/Mercedes link because it’s something that I read somewhere in passing (not on this site)

        Secondly, I’m sure I never said Brawn was responsible for Alonso’ current situation. Merely that Alonso is. He has burnt too many bridges, hence why neither Ferrari or Mercedes has no interest in his services.

        I know @Robbie will be a little annoyed, because he was holding out that Mercedes would sign him. But Niki has come out (before Sergio) and said they’ve no interest in him.

        1. @kgn11 And what Niki said is certainly no official announcement of their driver lineup for 2018. I’m naturally going to accept whatever official announcements are made when they are made, like I have a choice lol, and will not lose a night’s sleep if Mercedes doesn’t sign FA, but I will also be hugely surprised and disappointed as I see Mercedes as the only team that can do justice to FA’s remaining years in F1. I will certainly only take with the tiniest grain of salt anything coming from an LH fan who does not want to see FA go to Mercedes and therefore will cling to any vague hint that he won’t, like it’s an official announcement.

          1. Robbie, Merc are on their way to a 4th straight WCC with Lewis as their main man. Why would they bring in FA?

    3. “of his own making.”

      He took wrong paths. He’s hardly responsible for making the cars he drove slower. On the contrary.
      Also, McLaren would have oversold Honda to him giving him rose tinted glasses.

      1. Yes of his own making. The guy got fired from Ferrari. I know a few will say, “oh but he had another year and he chose to leave and join McLaren”….

        But the reality is, he had nowhere else to go but McLaren. Once Ferrari or should I say Horner announced Seb would be joining Ferrari at Suzuka in 2014, it was abundantly clear that Alonso was being shown the door.

        But hey….

        1. Of course at the same time many personnel changes were being made at Ferrari as they were in quite the upheaval, and the handwriting was on the wall, and not unlike LH leaving Mac, the team that brought him up, sometimes the shine simply comes off the apple and it is best for everyone that a change take place. In the case of FA leaving, Ferrari only just now finally in 2017 are a real threat again.

        2. rubbish, they threw him a party which is in his video and Allison wrote an article explaining how he tried to persuad Alonso to stay.
          Alonso was bettrr than Ferrari when he joined and bettrr than them when he left. They’ve done nothing since except get embararsed by Merc.

      2. Whatever has happened in the past with FA cannot be changed. And nobody expected McHonda to ever be this bad, let alone still, in their third season.

        I am still convinced, especially after hearing Brawn is just as frustrated as many are, that FA will be at Mercedes next year. They’re the only team that can offer him a competitive ride next year. Now reading this from Brawn I think not only must Mercedes hire FA, F1 itself thinks FA must be in a competitive car, and that can only come from Mercedes for 2018. There is no reason for him not to be there, and whatever may or may not be true of past rumours of him offering to drive for free somewhere, surely by now he would make that offer to TW, not that I think he’ll need to do so.

        1. Both Ferrari and Mercedes already said that they are not thinking about signing Alonso. I wonder what makes you so confident that that will happen

          1. Ferrari has just said that. Show me where Mercedes has said that recently. Then I’ll list again, as I have done a few other times, the numerous reasons I’ll still say FA will be at Mercedes.

          2. So as I have suspected, there is nothing you have provided that shuts the door on FA to Mercedes.

            Lauda says IF we are winning with LH and VB why do we need a replacement? A big if, since they are losing the WDC fight right now. And they will have to worry about Ferrari for the rest of the season and next year now that they are as competitive as they have become. And LH is not signed for beyond 2018. They WILL need replacements until we hear of VB and LH re-upping with Mercedes. Any talk of that at this point? Would Lauda say otherwise and demoralize VB at this point in the season?

            TW’s wording is also vague…’At the moment’ we aren’t talking…at the moment they talked they weren’t down 20 points to SV. At the moment nobody is announcing any driver changes. Rarely does that happen this early in the season. The only reason Ferrari aren’t leading both Championships is KR’s ‘laggard’ behaviour to coin a word recently used of KR.

            The lengthy article you cite hasn’t a single quote in it, so is pure speculation. And LH’s quotes are from early in the season before they knew what a threat Ferrari was going to be. Of course LH is going to posture and lobby to have his strongest competitor, if he were in a competitive car, to not come to Mercedes. Of course he would much rather have VB.

            So at a bare minimum we have vague remarks that have not unequivocally shut the door on FA to Mercedes. In due time, when driver announcements are normally made, TW will have found the reasons and it will be the appropriate time to announce FA to Mercedes. There remains no reason not to do so. Because VB is ‘good enough’? Because LH says so? Sorry but having someone who some would argue is the best on the grid, potentially for free or for little money since FA would not make money the obstacle, while Ferrari are this strong, while they only signed VB for one year with options, while Brawn could potentially be in their pleading with TW to hire FA…FA cannot and must not be allowed to go to waste for the rest of his F1 career, and Mercedes are the only team that can and will take him, happily, imho. Can you actually imagine…hey TW, you can have FA for a song…want him? Nah I’ll stick with VB and hope to resign LH and I’ll happily watch the best on the grid fade away.

          3. Fair enough @robbie I really was just curious as to why you are so confident about it 👍

        2. I am 100% sure that Alonso won’t drive Mercedes next year. Would you, as a team manager, will take the same risk Mclaren took and screw up everything, especially with Vettel in Ferrari? It would be like feeling sorry for alonso, and toto won’t do it, very much guaranteed.

          It would be stupid to take alonso and pay him > 10mln and throw away drivers championship. Bottas is more than capable to replace him and he does what mercedes says (not costing them 100m).

    4. @kgn11 Alonso never offered to race for Mercedes for free in 2013, where do you get that from ?. Mercedes asked Alonso and Vettel too actually but both rejected Mercedes.

    5. Evil Homer (@)
      12th July 2017, 14:46

      @kgn11
      Yes maybe Alonso’s situation is of his own making (it does seem many teams don’t wont to work for him anymore) but I think Ross’s frustration is obvious – we have a top driver in a sub-standard car that doesn’t show what one of the best in the world can do.

      Curious thought- I don’t watch NASCAR or Indy, I have tried but cant get the interest, but if someone like Alonso who is top class is in a bad drive, if he where in Indy or NASCAR how easily could he they swat to a competitive car?

      1. @evilhomer I think first of all the fact that FA has what he has on his CV would mean he would have the weight behind him to only ever go to a top Indycar or NASCAR team. If all he could get was a middle to bottom team he’d just do Lemans, imho.

        But I would think that otherwise it would be the same as for F1. If he found himself on an Indycar or NASCAR team that has fallen short and been a disappointment from what should have been, it would just depend on contracts and motivation as to him getting a better ride. His contract and that of the outgoing driver who would be vacating the seat, and motivations of teams to accommodate him and take him on. I’m sure in North America contracts can be bought out if the motivation is there.

        1. Evil Homer (@)
          12th July 2017, 15:22

          @Robbie – good points :)
          Lucky F1 contracts cant be bought then I guess :)
          When Alonso left Ferrari there was a comment (and I don’t what seniority this gent held) was “Fernando Alonso holds everyone in contempt that is not Fernando Alonso”
          Not great for your next employer! But the guy is so great but cant get a top drive NOW but seems to have burnt those bridges – as F1 fan don’t we all suffer from this?

          If Fernando cant get a drive and he can win a third title I would rather see him drive elsewhere and win Indy and Le Mans to prove F1 guys are the best………….. (yes I know the current F1 grid is not the best drivers on the planet ………. top 12 maybe ????)

          1. @johnmilk Right on…good stuff!👍

        2. Robbie, Lewis is signed for 2018. He signed a 3 year extension in 2015. FA already ran away from a rookie Hamilton when Lewis beat him in the standings. Fernando made his bed and must lie in it. I see no way in hell you change a WCC winning team that has a clear #1.

          1. @Jay Ridiculous comment.

      2. Evil Homer, the top drivers in NASCAR have ALWAYS have top rides. NASCAR teams can sign 4 drivers.

  3. On those few occasions I don’t see the round-up when I open this site in the morning, I have a moment’s worry – is something wrong with me, or something wrong with Keith.

    Pretty sure that the ‘something wrong’ applies to technology, good to have the round-up late, than never!

    1. been there, done that

      Keith should post his family contacts just in case, for us to be safe

      1. OmarRoncal - Go Seb!!! (@)
        12th July 2017, 15:15

        @johnmilk What about the other guy (sorry “other guy” I can’t remember your name) who sometimes posts round-ups here posts something on FB, like “there’s a delay, sorry”.
        I get scared to hell every time this happens, since many pages I used to follow turned out to be then “bought out” / “under new construction”, etc and I keep waiting to see when those new constructions come alive, 10 years later.
        RIP The Throttle.
        RIP formula1.com (someone else had the domain back in 2001, then the official one bought it, but under Bernie’s kingdom it was just too shallow).

        1. @omarr-pepper Will Wood?

          I would imagine that F1Fanatic has much more traffic now, so some delays are normal sometimes (guessing). And technical glitches will always happen. The site had one with my name for example

  4. I am all for expanding F1’s reach, but 25 races is just too many. I think at that number you run the risk of each race not being special and you actually end up diluting the value of the product for the promoters and fans.

    I have watched this sport for 27 years and I am absolutely obsessed with it, but due to family and work commitments I am already in a position where I am not able to watch all the races live. I fear that if you add 5 races to the calendar I’m going to end up not being able to watch the vast majority of the races at all.

    1. I can see your point to a degree, but 25 races is not too many if implemented in a smart manner. I think 25 races is the most that could be put on without it feeling like a Nascar season.

      In pursuit of 25 races, I would have two more in America, one more in China, and one in India. For the USA, That means when combining with the Mexican Grand Prix F1 would be in sports news in the USA for at least a month if the races were to be held one after the other. I cannot see Austin or Mexico City complaining about this given it is such a huge landmass, with common sense suggesting an East Coast and West Coast grand prix. If that was the case, having these races before or after Austin I doubt would have much impact on COTA attendances.

      China & India – thats nearly 40% of the worlds population right there, both with a developing middle class. Although different cultures, and some viewing F1 as “their” sport, in pursuit of F1 genuinely being a global sport it makes sense to be in these countries, with there already being talks about staging another race in China. I am aware however that there are bureaucratic issues with India (surprise surprise).

      The only real conflict in recent years has been the Singapore/Malaysia one, and with Malaysia dropping out from next year that issue is solved. With the above suggested races, if implemented, I doubt it will annoy any existing grand prix locations.

    2. I agree. I love F1 but I do have other things in my life. I usually end missing a race or two at the moment during the season. I think 25 is too big a commitment for many people.

      I actually think 20 is perfect. We have had 21 in one or two seasons which is OK but one extra makes little difference. Five extra would.

    3. GeeMac DVR

  5. Is that Hamilton tweet for real or is someone trolling?

    1. It’s from his official account, if that’s what you mean?

      1. I’d say a lot of people are going to this London event to see Lewis, who won’t be there.

        Damage limitation message.

        1. Ahh i see that makes sense

        2. Except the people who are most vocal and angry, are people who aren’t his fans.

          After the race in Austria, he mentioned that he had 2 down days when he was interviewed by Natalie Pinkham. So it’s not really a surprise he’s not attending. Let the other drivers promote F1 for a change.

      2. I imagine he means that some people are so involved in the magnitude of their own celebrity that they don’t realize how cheesy they come off…

  6. A London GP is absolute fantasy. It will never happen. Not unless they switch to fully electric power first. And even then, logistically, the scale of the event… No way.

    1. I’d like to see all 20 cars paying a congestion charge before the red lights go off!

    2. @mazdachris: Last time I checked London is in the UK. That’s an area with special logic, rules and laws. Nothing is written in stone, over there, and even if it is, they’re capable of turning the stones over on the pointy end.

      1. “Over there” for you is “over here” for me. And I can say that even philosophically, London would not want a GP. This is a modern city with, and @phylyp points out, congestion charges, cycle lanes, electric car charge points… It’s a modern, forward thinking city – F1 is a dinosaur anachronism. Yes, a very fun one, of which I am a massive fan, but it doesn’t fit with what London is about. Londoners, on the whole, would not want this. The London Mayor I can’t see supporting this – and with things as they stand I can’t imagine a Tory mayor of London in the next decade at least.

        Even if you could stir up some desire from London itself to host a GP, I think logistically it is almost impossible. London is too cramped, too built up. Anywhere in London that would include any iconic landmarks (surely you’d want at least some of them to appear) would be in an area which would involve shutting down undreds of businesses for practically a whole weekend. It’s just impossible to imagine. And then you have questions of access, of grandstand locations, paddock location, not to mention security. And this would all need to be financed by… who exactly? London itself, I guess, because certainly FOM aren’t going to spend the tens or even hundreds of millions it would cost.

        As I say, it’s a lovely thought, but once you consider even for a moment the reality of it, you realise that it is absolutely impossible.

  7. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
    12th July 2017, 13:20

    I think it’s ok for fans to voice their frustration that Alonso doesn’t have a competitive car, however, I’m not sure it’s ok for Brawn to say that in an official capacity.

    Alonso’s situation is unfortunate but he signed up with one of the best teams in F1 that decided to partner with an engine manufacturer who’s been having huge trouble even after 3 years of trying to make a competitive car.

    I don’t think any of us could have foreseen Honda’s troubles especially after the 2nd season.

    Ultimately, the gamble didn’t pay off at all. This could have happened to any driver who had signed with McLaren, including Lewis.

    There’s also his 2007 season which will haunt him forever when making a decision to hire him – it’s a huge surprise that McLaren brought him back and if you look at the past 10 years, he’s only driven for the 2 teams involved in the whole incident.

    1. however, I’m not sure it’s ok for Brawn to say that in an official capacity.

      @freelittlebirds

      I think it’s perfectly fine for him to mention it. Brawn is charge of the actual racing and entertainment value of the sport.. and having Alonso battle for the WDC adds massive entertainment value.

      Formula 1 would have suffered massively if it wasn’t for Alonso’s WDC chase in 2010 and 2012. It would have been 4 straight seasons of unchallenged Vettel dominance, which would have killed viewership massively.

      Brawn sees the amount of excitement Alonso adds to the grid when he’s competitive, and he’s just mentioning exactly that in the article.

    2. As @todfod mentions, Brawn is with the promotors of the sport. The interest of him and the company he works for is to give us, the fans, a competition that is exciting and figures the best drivers to make us want to watch it.

      Having Alonso in a good car would certainly help in that respect, and expressing that seems natural to me.

    3. @freelittlebirds

      why should other teams be bothered about Alonso’s 30 minute argument with Martin Whitmarsh in 2007?
      It was MW who started the ball rolling in bringing him back, that pretty much gives the all clear.

      So many whimps posting here wanting drivers to be whiter than white. In Mansell’s day drivers regularly thumped their fists on bosses desks.

  8. I certainly think it is perfectly fine and appropriate that Brawn speak this way of FA, and I certainly disagree that 07 haunts FA other than in the minds of some fans. F1 insiders themselves moved past that season long ago. LH leans on it only because the last thing he wants is FA as a teammate, and 07 is the only meager straw he can grasp at, while TW himself has reiterated that was 10 years ago.

    1. That meant as a reply to @freelittlebirds

    2. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
      12th July 2017, 14:12

      @robbie TW = Toto Wolff (lol, that took longer than I expected)

      Actually when it comes to signing him on, 2007 does matter. Whether he was justified in what he did (clearly McLaren was in the wrong), it was a massive attack against his team. It could have destroyed McLaren and of course McLaren brought it on themselves.

      I don’t suspect he would do the same again (he seems to have matured and is aware that his driving needs to do the talking) but even if there’s a possibility of a few toxic incidents, wouldn’t you rather avoid them?

      That’s why I suspect so many doors are just closed…

      As for Brawn, I don’t think the owners should make comments about a particular driver or team – they need to remain completely impartial. If he talks about FA, he has to talk about all the other drivers who can’t get a good seat, not just Fernando.

      1. @freelittlebirds Lol about TW.

        So…call it a ‘massive attack’ if you will, the very fact that Mac took him back, particularly when Dennis himself was still at the helm, shows that it is water under the bridge other than for some fans. If RD himself took FA back, why would TW be worried about FA?

        As to avoiding ‘toxic’ issues? TW has said on numerous occasions that a strong rivalry carries the potential for toxicity (I’m paraphrasing of course). Any driver pairing that involves fighting for real points and real trophies could potentially have some toxic moments. If team owners/managers had to crystal ball and worry about this kind of stuff they wouldn’t be in the sport, since no driver pairing is immune to what ‘could’ happen. I’d go so far as to say TW might even expect some friction if he were to pair LH and FA, because he will be expecting and projecting for them to be fighting for the two Championships and shutting Ferrari out, if at all possible. SV and LH are on different teams of course but TW has just said the warm fuzzy between them was never going to last and is much better for the sport now that a more potent rivalry has emerged.

        TW has only ever talked about honouring the viewing audience not to mention F1 and Mercedes, by letting their drivers race it out on the track. Mercedes would gain massive attention and marketing dollars immediately upon the announcement of FA to the team, let alone as we watch the rivalry unfold. Hmm…a few toxic moments that only get people discussing Mercedes vs. about a billion in marketing value….

        As for Brawn…his mandate is to better the product on the track the right way for all involved. Of course he can and will talk about all the drivers and all the teams and every aspect of F1. It is now his job. Saying FA needs a competitive seat is Brawn saying that would be for the good of the sport, while he doesn’t say where he thinks FA should go. And don’t most agree F1 would be a better show with FA in a competitive seat? Really hard to argue that one, no? That’s pretty impartial and pretty encouraging for the mindset of F1 and how it wants to shape itself going forward. Top drivers in top seats. Rivalries. Gladiators in cars that will only get racing more closely as they continue their studies on that aspect.

      2. @freelittlebirds

        Michael youre under the wrong impresion of what Alonso ‘did’ in 2007

        1. @freelittlebirds
          “Actually when it comes to signing him on, 2007 does matter. Whether he was justified in what he did (clearly McLaren was in the wrong), it was a massive attack against his team. It could have destroyed McLaren and of course McLaren brought it on themselves.”

          The biggest load of rubbish ever written on this comments section. No wonder so many people hate Alonso when people without the facts can just make up fairytales about him.

          Here’s the first clue: Alonso wasn’t even required to appear in court for the case that ‘could have destroyed McLaren’

  9. Msg from @levishamilton
    To my loving fangirls.
    I couldn’t care less for any of you
    So I have no time for you in London
    God bless you Hamsters

    1. @prelvu

      Seems to have affected you a lot more than most of his supporters, who I would imagine simply want him happy and motivated at Silverstone.

  10. There are probably about 16 other F1 drivers it as equally as frustrating for right now.

    Maybe they are not quite up to the level of Alonso, who’s skills I respect greatly, but on the other hand how do we know for certain sure when they may not be able to show their full potential?

  11. On the topic of selling Silverstone, it is a bit funny to hear the BRDC claim that holding onto the circuit would enable them to act as the “guardians of British motorsport”. They evidently didn’t think that when they were trying to sell the circuit off to Jaguar in November last year (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-37896993), nor when they tried to market the circuit in February of this year – perhaps it is more a case that nobody wants to buy it?

  12. Fanboost the pinnacle of retardation.

  13. Pérez’s to Kimi’s seat. Alonso to Massa’s or Pérez’s.

    Much better than what he has and maybe gives him the chance to LeMans.

    1. I think the only realistic prospect for Alonso is that Mercedes might say yes. Other than this Renault perhaps but he might as well stay at McLaren then. I think he might call it a day in F1 if there is no drive in a top 3, or potential top 3 team in 2018 i.e. not McLaren or Renault.

      1. ‘the only realistic prospect’ is a crystal ball and that goes for all drivers. If Mercedes continue to domiante how long before vettel wants a move? Alonso has only ever said he wants to be in the championship winning car and that is Merc. He is in the same boat as all but 2 drivers in that sense.

  14. “Politics can take the form of trying to strengthen or weaken people, and that’s the kind we want to avoid,” he explains. “In the previous era, there was a lot of that happening. Healthy debate is the politics I like. We’re working on a new engine at the moment, and it will be the result of lots of meetings. None of us want to solve our problems by any Machiavellian campaigns. If people stand in our way, we’re not going to try to remove them from the equation. It’s a different approach.”

    That’s the way, so great to hear. There was a time during the Mosley/Ecclestone years that was simply damaging to the sport.

    1. Yup…so refreshing to hear this kind of talk from Brawn/Liberty. Very un-dictatorial. Onward and upward from here.

  15. Mr. Brown, you are speaking of the driver who make his teamate crash against the wall, so he can win a race?
    Remember Singapore 2008, Mr. Brown?

    1. he didn’t make him, the team did, not the team, the guy himself suggested it. I don’t like Alonso, since he brake tested someone and after his actions against McLaren, but don’t blame him for something he didn’t do.

      1. @jorge-lardone

        The two team personal who came up with the idea also cheated for Michael Schumacher…ahh but that was ok back then, ‘schummi was the greatest’ etc

      2. ‘his actions against Mclaren’ rubbish you have no idea what youre going on about. Alonso took no actions at all.

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