Alonso stands by decision to join McLaren-Honda

21 comments on “Alonso stands by decision to join McLaren-Honda”

1. 

   Phylyp (@phylyp)
   23rd November 2018, 0:22

   Is this the Daily Round-Up Denial Edition? 😏

   Alonso: “No regrets over McLaren move”
   Sirotkin’s backers: “We didn’t want that seat anyway”
   1. 

      ColdFly (@)
      23rd November 2018, 1:46

      Agree with Alonso though.
      I would have been millions richer had I taken some different decisions. But I would have been nine the wiser, and wondering ‘what ifs’ for the rest of my life.
      1. 

         Phylyp (@phylyp)
         23rd November 2018, 2:13

         But it doesn’t jibe with the hissy fit he threw when he didn’t land the RBR seat this year either, does it? Asking RBR to apologize, etc.
         1. 

            Mashiat (@mashiat)
            23rd November 2018, 7:39

            @phylyp That had nothing to do with regret though.
2. 

   Jay Menon (@jaymenon10)
   23rd November 2018, 1:01

   Its become a bit of a recurring theme with media quizzing Alonso if he’d regretted his decisions in his career. Do they just want him to agree to the narrative they are pushing for?

   The last 9 championships have been won by 3 drivers and 2 teams. If you weren’t contracted to those 2 teams, you are not winning. The fact is, Fernando was never contracted to either of those 2 teams in the last decade, so whats there to regret? If you were at the peak of your abilities as footballer and Real Madrid offered you a multi-year contract worth silly money, would you not take it?

   Alonso has shouldered partial blame for happened at Mclaren in 07, he held his hands up and said he messed up. But everything since then has been quite sensible. In 2008, would any top level driver have joined Red Bull when they also had an offer from Ferrari? Considering that the drivers Red Bull had employed at the time were Coulthard and Webber (no disrespect to either) sorta says a bit. Going to Ferrari was the right thing to do, I doubt anyone would have done otherwise. Too bad Ferrari were rubbish at making quick cars.

   If Andrew Benson’s series of articles are to be believed, Ferrari were pushing for Alonso to sign on for an extension. Although the divorce was quite messy, it was Alonso who decided to move on. Nobody would have expected the Honda era to be such a debacle, not even Honda and Mclaren themselves! At the end of the day, Alonso has just had rotten luck. He is to blame for some of his decisions, but generally its been pure rotten luck.

   Oh, and Ferrari have still not won a championship since 07.
   1. 

      KGN11
      23rd November 2018, 6:27

      Ferrari has not won a championship since 2008*
   2. 

      Mike
      23rd November 2018, 14:08

      Agree
   3. 

      Esploratore (@esploratore)
      24th November 2018, 1:58

      Overall agree with that long comment, with one exception: alonso would’ve likely won 2017 and SURELY 2018 with the ferraris vettel had at his disposal, alonso’s ferraris were much worse.

      But like he said, hard to know that finally, after 7 years (2010-2016) at ferrari with no chance of the title (or not good enough car to actually win it despite driving better than the opponent), they’d have made a competitive car the year after and even better the one after.

      Overall I also think he’s been unlucky with team decisions, perhaps he isn’t a good development driver, a quality schumacher had that alonso may lack, but apart from that I think even in 2007 it was hamilton who started it all.
3. 

   DB-C90 (@dbradock)
   23rd November 2018, 4:39

   Wow, was the article about Liberty written by Sean Bratches?

   It’s tone and confidence in their ability seems to fly in the face of the many articles that have been written about their performance so far. Maybe they’re hoping it’ll give the share price a bump.
4. 

   Todfod (@todfod)
   23rd November 2018, 6:12

   BBC’s article about Alonso leaving Ferrari was quite a good read. It definitely gives a lot of insight in to what happened in 2014 behind the scenes. We all knew Fernando wanted a way out, but to see how Ferrari played the game was interesting as well.

   Kind of funny how both parties ended up losing from that situation though. Alonso went to a disastrous McLaren Honda, and Ferrari ended up with a driver who can’t win them a championship even with the right tools.
   1. 

      Mashiat (@mashiat)
      23rd November 2018, 8:05

      @todfod Yeah, it seems it hasn’t exactly worked out as intended for both parties. Something else to note is that Vettel was basically already looking for a way out of Red Bull just mere weeks or months after winning his fourth consecutive title with them. I guess he always wanted to go to Ferrari at all costs, and it was an emotional decision, perhaps more so than a rational one.

      But what would have happened to Vettel had Alonso signed the extension to 2019 with Ferrari? Would he have stayed with Red Bull and risked his reputation up against Ricciardo once more, or would he have been the one to jump ship to McLaren-Honda?
   2. 

      Joao (@johnmilk)
      23rd November 2018, 9:59

      Who lost then? They weren’t winning before they split neither they are winning now, feels like is the same old business
      1. 

         Esploratore (@esploratore)
         24th November 2018, 1:59

         Ferrari lost the last 2 years with a car that would’ve won with a top driver, at least 2018 is pretty obvious.
5. 

   Steve Rogers (@yossarian)
   23rd November 2018, 8:56

   To any fans of Ricciardo do yourself a favour and read the Honey Badger article. It really captures his personality and helps explain why he made the decision to move to Renault.
   1. 

      Dan (@gobert)
      23rd November 2018, 11:28

      @yossarian – it really was a great read. He really sells a great message for kids to look up to; that you can be good at what you do and still have fun and be a good person. Too often the focus is on the ruthlessness and not the enjoyment. It’s true in normal jobs as much as Grand Prix drivers.
   2. 

      BaKano (@bakano)
      23rd November 2018, 13:00

      I read it and everybody should read (fan or not fan of Daniel). Great piece.
6. 

   Jere (@jerejj)
   23rd November 2018, 9:38

   I agree with Alonso as well as the COTD.
   – Interesting reading the column by Ricciardo.
7. 

   Joao (@johnmilk)
   23rd November 2018, 10:11

   Glad F1 has changed to these cars, I look at that picture and the McLaren looks like an F3
8. 

   Trayambak Chakravarty (@major-dev)
   23rd November 2018, 11:13

   What the hell does Alonso’s comment even mean I’m so confused honestly.
   1. 

      Mike
      23rd November 2018, 14:17

      In a nutshell he is saying his decision to go to McLaren wasn’t a bad one because it was an opportunity to drive for McLaren, the team he grew up idolizing as a child, and attempt to bring them back to prominence.
      It was unfortunate it didn’t work out – not a bad decision.
9. 

   MaliceCooper
   23rd November 2018, 22:19

   Alonso has no regrets. A regret would be like admitting a mistake, and Alonso makes no mistakes.

Comments are closed.