and if it's not this week, it's next week, and if it's not this month, it's next month, and if it's not this year it's next year 100% sure
At what point does an insider cease to be an insider and becomes wishful thinking?

What I know is Ferrari is announcing it's Santander deal this weekend, beyond that nothing about Alonso.

You are right on that one Santander deal will be announced too

Having worked on several business deals, I can say with experience that the deeper you are in a transaction the more the expected signing, announcement and closing dates tend to fluctuate. The further you are looking from the calmer and the more orderly things tend to appear.

Somehow I doubt that Santander is allowed to announce who will drive for Ferrari next year. After all it´s still the job of the management of Ferrari to do so.

i think i found the big announcement, can someone please translate this? http://twitter.com/LucaMontezemolo

Also the other tweets are funny:
a feeling of thankfulness to Badoer, but let me underline that the decision was not made due to the pressure from the press...

It's not actually all that complicated, Santander has a whole event for the announcement (meaning the Santander sponsoring Ferrari announcement), it's all planned, invitations have been sent, it's set in stone. Logic dictates that if they were to announce Alonso they 'd do it then not at some random time before the whole media affair they 've planned ;) Which leads me to believe that other guy's in a few hours,tomorrow,wednesday,thursday anyway this week story is more wishful thinking than actual info

Ummm ... maybe you should read the (fake) tweet again?

oops... my mistake...

But they didn't, did they?

It can be postpone to next year.

I'm not debating that the deal would have been protracted, but the announcement date? Come on. If its happening, a solid insider is going to know when and where.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/f1mole/2009/09/...-blog-from.html

I wonder why certain questions weren't allowed to be asked.

probably because they already ask those questions a million times during gp weekends and didn't want to waste time with them there

I guess because he's answered the Ferrari question so many times already.

If it is a Renault event away from an F1 race weekend they can call the shots.

Back onto 2010 driver discussion, I saw that Hulkenberg has said he will DEFINITELY be in F1 next year and is talking with a few teams.

So does that mean he's got a drive with Williams but Willi Weber is still looking around for something better?

Interesting times.

GPWeek Page 8 & 18

Your do you know to Anthony Wolf? The best journalist of Spain? Or are you Anthony Wolf?

It he is that you say exactly the same thing that at the same time.


Anthony Wolf

Is not hard to understand, that was his special weekend, all about Alonso and the people of his city. The press can ask about Ferrari and other stuff in Monza, that weekend is about the roadshow and not Ferrari or the Piquet incident.

He looks like Dr Evil or Mini Me in that photo.

Not sure which...

Would have, could have, should have
Which ones, care to elaborate

Jajajaj, no, no. In Spain the women like much, are very Beautiful. It he is like Al Pacino but with fewer hair.

In Spain it is said that Alonso to Ferrari and Vettel to McLaren and Hamilton to Renault. In England also?

Kiss

/I don't think Spanish women look like Al Pacino minus the hair and by no stretch of the imagination is Pacino beautiful./

Why'd Hamilton got o Renault,anyway?

Because Renault will need another pilot to crash if it's needed. Imagine if R30 is a crap too and Kubica needs a victory...

BTW, my avatar will become true very soon

18 months ir a row doing nothing.....

I am also spanish

greetings and very good forum

from forocoches lol

So today is the day when everything comes to an end?

Yes i think so.

But as a Kimi fan i would not be worried. He is either going to Brawn or Mclaren.

Mclaren could see him back to his dominant best and Brawn looks VERY STRONG for the next couple of years at least.

If Alonso doesn't go to Ferrari, I want it known that I am going to be completely insufferable because I'm going to have the world's largest "I told you so" moment. And if he does go, well, I don't much care for it.

So either way, I can't lose.

hmm but that's something that's already was announced at the end of last year ... I thought.

btw the LDM does idd say Kimi, Felipe are the 2 drivers for Ferrari in 2010 & Fisico is reserve, test & 3rd driver.

Unless Santander are becoming Ferrari's title sponsor - and because they can't compete with Phillip Morris, they won't be in 2010 - they will have no say in Ferrari's driver line-up. I'd be surprised if Phillip Morris did; after all, this is Ferrari we're talking about. Who ever heard of a secondary sponsor having sway over a team's drivers?

It's the "official" announcement, there's a party/media event this weekend. They always do those when a big sponsor joins a team.

A new overview, not of all the ifs and buts, but rather my expectation for the 2010 season.

Emirates Brawn Mercedes-AMG
Brawn BGP 002 – Mercedes FO108X
1 Jenson Alexander Lyons BUTTON
2 Kimi Matias RÄIKKÖNEN
Daimler (Mercedes) buys a stake in Brawn GP and uses the team as a vehicle to promote their Mercedes-AMG brand, which will compete with McLaren and other manufacturers in the supercar market from 2011. Emirates joins as title sponsor, along with other new commercial partners, changing the Day-Glo yellow with black to Emirates’ red with black, but retaining the (pre-1930s German national racing colour) white. Along with these (monetary) changes comes the opportunity to take on Räikkönen in place of Barrichello, who may stay on as development driver, along with Davidson.

Red Bull Racing
Red Bull RB6 – Renault RS27
3 Mark Alan WEBBER
4 Sebastian VETTEL
Red Bull opt to stick with Renault, since McLaren and Brawn are now partly owned by Daimler (Mercedes). This would reduce Red Bull to mere Mercedes customers, and having their engines is no (longer a) distinguishing facet of the package. Coulthard and Hartley stay on as test drivers.

Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro
Ferrari F2010 – Ferrari 056
5 Felipe MASSA
6 Fernando ALONSO DÍAZ
The deal with Alonso is confirmed at Monza, this weekend, as well as sponsorship by Banco Santander, which will take over the Philip Morris (Marlboro) deal from 2012, become title sponsor as well as owner of the space on the car, selling it on to current and new partners, e.g. Shell and Etihad Airways. Fisichella and Gené are test drivers.

Vodafone McLaren Mercedes
McLaren MP4-25 – Mercedes FO108X
7 Lewis Carl HAMILTON
8 Nico ROSBERG
Santander leaves to join Ferrari. Kovalainen gets the boot in favour of Rosberg. Paffett stays on as test driver.

Panasonic Toyota Racing
Toyota TF110 – Toyota RVX-10
9 Timo GLOCK
10 Kamui KOBAYASHI
Trulli’s contract is not renewed, while Glock’s option is taken up, and long-time Toyota development programme driver and tester Kobayashi gets the 2nd car. Nakajima may become test driver.

AT&T Williams
Williams FW23 – Mercedes FO108X
11 Heikki Johannes KOVALAINEN
12 Nicolas ‘Nico’ HÜLKENBERG
A new engine and a new line-up for Formula One’s 3rd most successful outfit. Williams quit their Toyota deal a year early, and decide on Mercedes power, because Red Bull stays with Renault. Kovalainen brings much-needed experience, while a long-term deal with Hülkenberg provides the team with a stable factor for the future.

Renault F1 Team
Renault R30 – Renault R27
14 Robert KUBICA
15 Romain GROSJEAN
With no sign yet of a new title sponsor, Renault continue in F1 without one. Kubica returns to the French fold from BMW Sauber, providing an experienced pair of hands, while Grosjean is the junior 2nd driver. Di Grassi may stay on as test driver, although after 3 seasons in GP2 he may want an F1 drive.

Force India F1 Team
Force India VJM03 – Mercedes FO108X
16 Adrian SUTIL
17 Vitantonio ‘Tonio’ LIUZZI
Profiting from the McLaren partnership and Mercedes power, Force India will try to build on their late-2009 performance for the new season. Sutil stays on for another year, while Liuzzi gets his chance after 2 seasons as test driver, and stepping into Fisichella’s car.

Scuderia Toro Rosso
Toro Rosso STR5 – Ferrari 056
18 Sébastien BUEMI
19 Jaime ALGUERSUARI, jr.
The Red Bull junior team stays with Ferrari power, and keeps their line-up of the 2nd half of 2009, the youngest pair on the grid. Formally, Coulthard and Hartley are testers, but Toro Rosso may get an other Red Bull junior driver to join them.

Repsol Campos Meta Team
Campos CM10 – Cosworth CA2010
20 Pedro MARTÍNEZ DE LA ROSA
21 Vitaly Alexandrovich PETROV
Adrián Campos Suñer takes his F3 and GP2 outfit to the top echelon, with money from Telefónica, Repsol, BBVA and El Corte Ingles, opting for experienced tester and racer De la Rosa and GP2 hot shoe Petrov, who also brings plus sponsorship from Russia (MegaFon?).

Virgin F1 Team
Virgin VF1-1 – Cosworth CA2010
22 Takuma SATO
23 Bruno SENNA LALLI
After a minor deal with Brawn in 2009, Virgin finally take the plunge into the F1 pool with Manor Grand Prix, naming the team after themselves. Sato, already sponsored by Virgin Atlantic, brings experience and a large Japanese following, while Senna brings his talent and, perhaps more importantly, his last name.

Best Buy Toyota Team US F1
Team US F1 2010 – Toyota RVX-10
24 Ryan HUNTER-REAY
25 Alexander ‘Alex’ WURZ
The Americans take the Toyota engines that Williams don’t want anymore, creating a branding opportunity for the Japanese, while Best Buy and other US sponsors bring in the money. Wurz is the experienced hand, while Hunter-Reay is the compulsory American driver.

Petronas Team Lotus
Lotus 110 – Petronas 10A
26 Nick Lars HEIDFELD
27 Christian KLIEN
This is somewhat a wild guess, although not without logic: Malaysian companies Petronas and Proton want to take their Lotus Cars/Lotus Group brand into F1, and team up with Litespeed, who wanted to enter F1 in their own right under the Team Lotus banner. Petronas/Proton take-over BMW’s share in the team and supply sponsorship, expertise and lubricants, Litespeed bring the name as well as Mike Gascoyne as technical director, and Sauber Petronas Engineering is re-established (as Lotus Petronas Engineering?) to develop and tune the Petronas-badged Ferrari engines, just like the old days. Heidfeld stays on, while test driver Klien gets a 2nd chance at F1.

Feeling nervous?

You can't lose unless you've placed a bet with bookies

There will be no driver announcements by Ferrari this week, those that think there will be should stop reading Alonso's PR campaign in the Spanish press.

If Toyota really puts these guys in the car, I predict a quick and timely demise for the team. From what I've seen this year both in GP2 and in F1, none of these guys are really quick enough to do justice to the level of investment Toyota is making. Nakajima is clearly well of the pace compared to Nico and Kobayashi is definitely one step slower than the quickest half a dozen guys in this years GP2.

If Alonso doesnt go to ferrari next year, then they dont deserve to ever have him and instead deserve to suffer in their current mediocrity for another generation. Only a fool, would not sign up Alonso as quickly as possible. The idea of sticking with a broken down massa and a driver whos no better is seriously mind boggling.

Although I'm a big FA fan, I think you're wrong on this one

If Alonso doesn't go to Ferrari, it's more to his mediocrity than Ferrari's

Is it? By whom? Remember, voices in your head don't count.

I'm spanish, I live in Spain and I've never heard that thing about Ham going to Renault. At least, not from any (even partially) reputable source.

At least Alonso knows how to setup his car.

Yes, well, we have this concept called legally-binding documents or contracts which set out the grounds which each party are to abide to. We don't even know what the terms of those contract are, much less whether or not either party have stuck to them.


And as quickly as possible is 2011. On account of the whole aformentioned legal-document thing.


Let's see here ... Ferrari's first points of 2009? Raikkonen. Ferrari's first podium. Raikkonen. Ferrari's first win? Raikkonen has that one to his credit, too. Almost all of Kimi's dud results are not his fault and his alone. I'd like to see how Alonso would fare if his team sen him out on extreme wets five laps too soon. When you break it down and eliminate all the races where Raikkonen had problems, there are only two this season that can be put down to the Finn: Turkey and Great Britain. Massa's accident was hardly his fault, was it? And up until then, the Alonso-to-Ferrari people held him up as a shining example of what a Ferrari driver should be. So what changed?

Oh, I know: your desperation.

Williams said that it has an option on Hulk. I guess that he is seeing what the going rate is and is just finding out what else is on offer.

I hope we sign him.

Yep, with stolen IP

There is nothing so silly as the 'silly season', but it is all good for a laugh.

Ferrari 2007: WDC, WCC, 9 wins
McLaren 2007: 8 wins

Ferrari 2008: WCC, 8 wins
Renault 2008: 1-2 wins

Ferrari 2009: 1 win, 5 podiums
Renault 2009:

Nothing suggests Alonso would give Ferrari a significant upgrade over their current line-up worth the risk.

What do you mean, who is making an announcement today?

Yeah we've really seen that this season.......