There are rumours from Spain and Italy saying Alonso already signed with Ferrari for 2010, when also Banco Santander will start its partnership with Ferrari, Honda is working hard to get Alonso even if it´s only for a year, and now new "info" apparently discovered during the Belgian GP says Alonso just signed to drive with BMW for the next 3 years.

First it was Automotor Und Sport reporting Alonso might have just signed with BMW, and then there was Sky reporting the contract was for 3 years.

http://www.motorsport-total.com/f1/news/20...n_08090736.html

Never before the decision of just one driver was surrounded by so many rumours, what it´s clear though is that they very first moment Alonso announce his decision the drivers market will start to roll.

I thought Alonso said he wasn't making any decisions regarding his future until at least the end of september

Isn't that why some teams are delaying to announce so they can find out what Alonso is doing first?

This has already been discussed at length in the BMW 2008 thread....

...but I think it's all part of the moves by Alonso's management to ramp up his price.

Honda, BMW, Renault, Williams, Toyota (and potentially) Ferrari would all love a driver of Alonso's calibre.

If he's in negotiation with any of them, it makes sense to have such rumours flying about to crank up his market value.

I think all these stories are being put about by his management for that reason.

Even if all parties have signed, remember it's not official until Alan Donnelly and his merry men have had their input...

Then he has a hell of a management team,

Well, a hell of a manager, since there´s only one person handling everything.

Anyway, at this point i don´t even think Alonso is in negotiations with any team, he might have received some offerings but i think they will negotiate only after Alonso makes a decision, which looks it´s yet to be made.

A lot of thinking has to happen, changes for the next year will be big.

I also heard that Alonso was seen at Red Bull and that Webber was heading for Renault next year.... I think Alonso will drive next year for all four teams: BMW, Red Bull, Renault and Honda

He's actually been recruited by Max to try this idea of one driver switching cars a season long.

But seriously, the Redbull-thing is a "serious" rumour

I think he should certainly move. Renault are pants this year and have a poor engine.

So I think that would make him think twice about heading to Red Bull, with its Renault engines.

Given his piss-poor year, what are the chances of Ferrari paying off Raikkonen a year early and taking Alonso for 2009?

Alonso was sitting in the Red Bull hospitality building talking to Christian Horner, that's a fact. But maybe he just went over to play cards


Anyway, 'El Periodico' is saying that Alonso has a pre-contract with BMW which expires on 14th of September, he has to decide until that day whether he goes to BMW for 3 years or not. According to the article, the date is set to next Sunday because di Montezemolo had previously promised Alonso that Ferrari would tell him by Monza whether they want him for 2010 or not. If Ferrari offers him a contract for 2010, he will stay at Renault for another year or will go to Honda. If Ferrari does not offer him anything, he will sign with BMW for 3 years.

That's what 'El Periodico' says, but honestly, I don't believe anything that the Spanish press writes until I see the official announcement.

There must be quite a bit of hard-ball going on between Alonso's management team and the teams. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up being the highest paid driver over the next couple of years at this rate.
This is a golden opportunity for his mgmt to milk some serious moolah so they will be doing their best for him but career wise , I think Alonso is safer at Renault because -

1. They will likely pay him as much as any other offer on hand.
2. They have managed to get out of a trough this season and are looking more competitive..mainly because Alonso has dragged that PoS out of the ditch everytime. They have gelled nicely - once again.

Honda ? Second safest bet.

BMW - I dont think he will go there because to me it looks like BMW will retain Nick after all.
Williams - c'mon ... dont insult Alonso !
Red Bull - well they have confirmed Vettel and Webber ...
Toyota - umm nada - too inconsistent -

Can he go to Ferrari for next year ? Most unlikely unless Raikkonen retires. Beyond next year ? If he goes to Ferrari and he battles Lewis in a McLaren man - that would be EPIC ... but as long as Jean the "French Frogman" Todt was at the helm of the racing team, he always said no to ALonso - he was crazy - I hope stefano is wiser and hires THE man Ferrari need to get back to the era of 2000-2004.

Still, that's one of the more plausable explanations I've heard. Thanks mate.

How many teams has he signed with for next year ?
Is it like this as an insurance just in case the car he drives dies and he can jump to another team's car ?
Why go to BMW just to be a little closer to MC o Ferrari ? What is the point of that ?
Either go to Ferrari or stay with Renault ?

Im really 'over' Fernando Alonso at this stage.

in your opinion what are the top 3 teams in F1 at the moment? and next year? and as a driver wouldn't you want to be in the best team possible?

McLaren is out, Ferrari may not want him, so what is the next best seat? Renault? I think not!

I wish someone would just pick someone - preferably yesterday - so appropriate someone elses could be signed, fired, swapped and/or whatevered in a timely manner, and we could all move on.

Maybe he should try for Toro Rosso instead?

Who would Red Bull get rid of? Webber, a driver who is potentially quicker than Alonso over a single lap?

Thats a bit off the wall.

Who are the drivers considered to be in danger of losing their seats when Alonso finally makes up his mind? Presumably Kimi and Nick are the most obvious candidates but are there others who should be worried? Rubens maybe?

Yeah I read it too,but I'm so tired of rumours I didn't open a new thread. Are we gonna open a new one everytime a brainless journalist in need of paper sales publishes shyte?

Let's wait until we have some serious information. At the start of the season everyone started with the Alonso has signed with Ferrari and ever since it's become BORING.

I hear you girlfriend!

I just wanted to say the same but you beat me to it.

I wonder if Luca will push Kimi out of the team like he do with Schumacher.

I think Webber is ultimately faster than Alonso. Over a race, no, but a single lap, yes. In much the same way Jarno Trulli often had the measure of Alonso in qualifying.

Well next year BMW's target is challengeing for the WDC and like Renault in the early 00's they are on track with their goals so far so could be a good choice.

On the other hand they could all just cut the bull, give him a Ferrari seat and happy times will be there for all involved.

And Alonso was only 23/24 yo when he teammed up with Trulli just like Massa when he lost to Fisichella and Heidfeld in the Sauber..

True. I still reckon Webber to be one of the quickest drivers in Formula One over a single lap.
He's nailed most of his team mates apart from Heidfeld.

hear hear

thanks! i like your explanation. and perhaps IF he gets the ferrari deal he will take a one year Red Bull instead of Renault? (for the money :-)

...but then again he could be seriously embarrassed by Vettel (and man am I these days impressed with the Kid).. so that's risky for him...

Mark Webber already has a solid contract with RBR for 2009, so no surprises there. If not BMW, it will be Renault or Honda in subsequent order of likelihood.

Alonso to BMW? Good choice!

Definitely for the short and medium term. Point is, sign for Ferrari now, but no guarantees the team can challenge for the title in 2010 and no guarantees with regard to team mates either. Everything goes in cycles in F1 and although there are always the familiar names near the head of the field, not always the same team is in command. Ferrari have had a long term at the head of the pack, which will be ever more difficult to keep up. BMW is definitely still climbing their curve, so it may be the perfect time for him to go there.

Well, BMW is not really the way to go for the championship next year. Alonso has been champion twice already. What is the point of finishing third once again ?
I'd rather stay with Renault since I know the team and they have shown they can win. BMW could end up being the "eternal third."

shaggy

Italian "Sky" reports it AGAIN today (they were the ones who started the rumour last weekend) : http://www.motorsport-total.com/f1/news/20...W_08090919.html

BMW's reaction: "We do not comment speculations. We will announce our drivers before the end of the season."

Why would anyone want him?

IMO BMW doesn't seem to be a worse choice than Ferrari. BMW are making progress continously, they have always achieved their season goals and for next year the declared season goal is to fight for the title. If you look at their progress you get the feeling they have been making big steps forward all the time and they know what they are doing and they are always spot on with predicting what their next step will be. Meanwhile Ferrari seems to be stagnating a bit, they might start to feel the lack of Todt, Brawn, Schumacher a bit (IMO they already do). I wouldn't be surprised a bit if BMW would overtake Ferrari in the next years, maybe starting with next season already.

BTW, what if it's not Heidfeld, but Kubica who leaves? I mean he was complaining a lot about the team recently. But where would he go then?

In Spa, didn't Heidfeld pass Alonso on track while both were on wets?
Starting in Bahrain, this is the 4th time Nick has passed him on track.
Twice I remember Heidfeld successfuly defending against Fernando.
Why woul Dr.T deviate from his current lineup? Makes no sense at all.


(and I said that I would never post in one of these many "let's find a seat for Alonso" threads)

Do you realize that Nick pitted 1 lap earlier? Alonso was on cold inters.

My fear exactly.

Kubica to Ferrari.

Looking at the lap chart, it seems he passed him on the last lap, when both had wets.
Nick went in half a lap earlier.
I can't tell if Fred came out before or after Nick went by.

It could very well be that Kubica leaves. I have an inkling about it.
He was also using quite foul language out of the cockpit during the Spa weekend...

Only, were would Kubica then go?
To Renault, to swap places?

What I hear on the other hand is that Heidfeld would join Renault (and probably not Torro Rosso, as also it has been suggested)....

So we would possibly have:

BMW 2009 Alonso/Heidfeld
Renault 2009 Kubica/Senna (or Lucas di Grassi or Grosjean ?)

I can't imagine, that Piquet remains at Renault. Of course, that would be an ultimate defeat for Nelson Piquet snr.

It would be sensational, but not impossible.
And it would bring F1 the freshness it needs after a relatively calm 2007/2008 transition.
(Don't forget Bernie in the picture....)

can it be that Ferrari prefer Kubica over Alonso?

"Certainly it has been a very strong weekend from Nick, maybe the strongest this year in qualifying as well as the race," Theissen told autosport.com about Heidfeld's performance and the decision to change tyres.

"It tells you something about race craft and about racing experience, to judge a situation like this in just a few seconds. We saw other drivers who came in, do it one lap later and they lost rather than won.

"If you compare (Fernando) Alonso against Heidfeld. Nick was the only guy who decided to come in right away, take the risk - and that was the only chance to win. That takes experience, which was worth five points in Spa."

When asked if Heidfeld's seat was guaranteed if he continued delivering the form he showed at Spa, Theissen said: "This was the performance that we expect."



So Heidefeld to saty put.

Alonso to BMW is just a rumore, there is no truth in it.

That's why Robert Kubica said in the interview he doesn't see anyone as good as Heidfeld refering to BMW-Sauber doubts about signing Nick Heidfeld for 2009. Nick should stay in his current team.

You mean that crap team he won 2 championships with?

Briatore is the only man in f1 that can handle this guys mood swings, helped by their new sponsor in 09:

Maybe. Or maybe, they could end up like Williams. Or like Renault the past 2 years, they could get the design all wrong. As a 2 times WDC, I'd rather go with a proven winner.

it sounds to me that Alonso to BMW is a pure speculation, yet the potence of BMW should be rated higher. The Swiss never steped backwards except when they had some sponcer problems.

Because they know something about F1?

this is good news. So basically Nick alone was the one who decided to come in at that time to change the tires..