Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso: ‘Hard’ to just copy runaway Red Bull

admin — Thu, 27 May 2010 15:38:34 +0000

Red Bull’s rivals cannot catch up with the dominant RB6 car simply by copying its technical features, Fernando Alonso insists.

On Monday, McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton was quoted as urging his engineers to study the Adrian Newey-penned single seater in a bid to match its runaway pace.

Asked by Germany’s Die Welt for his opinion about the secret to the RB6’s success, Ferrari driver Alonso answered: “It would be nice if we knew that.

“It is incredibly difficult to figure out why the competition is better here and there. And so it is hard to copy them.”

But the Spaniard admitted that emulating the cleverness of rival teams is commonplace in Formula One.

“It means that you have to develop better in your own direction,” said Alonso.

Fernando Alonso goes to Ferrari

admin — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:35:32 +0000

Ferrari said the Spaniard had signed a three-year contract and that he would partner Brazilian Felipe Massa.

Ferrari have announced that double world champion Fernando Alonso will join them for 2010 from Renault, with Kimi Raikkonen making way.

“Driving a single-seater for the Prancing Horse is everybody’s dream in F1, and now I have the chance to make this dream come true,” said Alonso.

The 28-year-old said the move had been brought forward by a year.

Alonso’s switch to Ferrari had been the worst-kept secret in F1, and the announcement is likely to trigger a string of driver moves.

“I’m very happy and very proud to become a Ferrari driver,” said Alonso.

Promoters: Alonso will be in Valencia

admin — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 05:42:05 +0000

Organisers of the European Grand Prix are confident Fernando Alonso will be racing in Valencia in a fortnight’s time.
Alonso’s Renault team were handed a one-race suspension following the Hungarian Grand Prix 12 days ago after compromising safety regulations, resulting in the Spaniard losing a tyre off his car. Renault now face an International Court of Appeal hearing at the FIA headquarters in Paris on August 17 as they seek to overturn the ban.
Race promoters in Valencia were outraged at the time as they feared losing a considerable amount of revenue without Alonso on track. However, company operations director Carlos Moreno-Figueroa is convinced the ban will be lifted. “I call on all those who are doubting whether or not to buy a ticket depending on the presence of Alonso to do so,” said Moreno-Figueroa in the Costa Levante News. “We are being told from every side that he will be in Valencia.” Ticket sales, though, have been significantly boosted by Michael Schumacher’s return, with the seven-times World Champion due to deputise for Ferrari in the absence of the injured Felipe Massa. A spokesman for organisers, Valmor Sport, said: “The participation of Schumacher has enabled us to sell 10,000 tickets in just one week.”

Renault suspended after Fernando Alonso loses wheel

admin — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:17:47 +0000

Alonso, who began the race on poll, dramatically lost his right-front wheel during lap 13. Fortunately the wheel bounced safely off the track, but Fernando Alonso was later forced to withdraw due to the damage caused to his car.
The incident comes just a week after the fatal accident in which Henry Surtees was hit by a stray wheel, and just a day after Felipe Massa suffered serious head injuries when hit by debris during a qualifying lap.
Renault seem certain to appeal against the punishment, which will see Alonso and team-mate Nelson Piquet Jr will miss the Valencia race on Aug 23. Explaining their decision, FIA stewards said Renault failed to “ensure their cars comply with the conditions of eligibility and safety throughout practice and the race.”
A statement read: “The competitor [Renault] knowingly released car number seven [Alonso] from the pit-stop position without one of the retaining devices for the wheel nuts being securely in position, this being an indication that the wheel itself may not have been properly secured. Being aware of this, they failed to take any action to prevent the car from leaving the pit lane.
“They failed to inform the driver of this problem, or to advise him to take appropriate action given the circumstances, even though the driver contacted the team by radio believing he had a puncture. This resulted in a heavy car part (wheel trim) detaching at turn five, and the wheel itself detaching at turn nine.”

Alonso eyes cycling team with Contador

admin — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 18:21:19 +0000

Fernando Alonso wants to set up a professional cycling team, according to Italian and Spanish reports on Monday.

Italy’s La Gazzetta dello Sport, as well as the Spanish sports newspaper Marca, claim the Spanish champion is keen to establish a team in time for next season.

Alonso reportedly wants 2007 Tour de France winner Alberto Contador, who currently rides for the top outfit Astana, to front the team, to be backed by the 2010 Ferrari sponsor Santander.

Fernando Alonso is a cycling enthusiast, training in the recent winter period with fellow Spaniard and 2008 Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre’s Cervelo team.

Alonso also watched the beginning of this year’s Tour in Monaco and followed the stage in a chase car, and reportedly held talks there about his plans with Contador.

FOTA UNITED ON THE FUTURE

admin — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 17:14:10 +0000

Silverstone, 18 June 2009 - Since the formation of FOTA last September the teams have worked together and sought to engage the FIA and commercial rights holder, to develop and improve the sport.

Unprecedented worldwide financial turmoil has inevitably placed great challenges before the F1 community. FOTA is proud that it has achieved the most substantial measures to reduce costs in the history of our sport.

In particular the manufacturer teams have provided assistance to the independent teams, a number of which would probably not be in the sport today without the FOTA initiatives. The FOTA teams have further agreed upon a substantial voluntary cost reduction that provides a sustainable model for the future.

Following these efforts all the teams have confirmed to the FIA and the commercial rights holder that they are willing to commit until the end of 2012.

The FIA and the commercial rights holder have campaigned to divide FOTA.

The wishes of the majority of the teams are ignored. Furthermore, tens of millions of dollars have been withheld from many teams by the commercial rights holder, going back as far as 2006. Despite this and the uncompromising environment, FOTA has genuinely sought compromise.

It has become clear however, that the teams cannot continue to compromise on the fundamental values of the sport and have declined to alter their original conditional entries to the 2010 World Championship.

These teams therefore have no alternative other than to commence the preparation for a new Championship which reflects the values of its participants and partners. This series will have transparent governance, one set of regulations, encourage more entrants and listen to the wishes of the fans, including offering lower prices for spectators worldwide, partners and other important stakeholders.

The major drivers, stars, brands, sponsors, promoters and companies historically associated with the highest level of motorsport will all feature in this new series.

Note to Eds: Statement issued by FOTA on behalf of BMW-Sauber, BrawnGP, Scuderia Ferrari, McLaren-Mercedes, Red Bull Racing, Renault, Scuderia Toro Rosso, Toyota.

Alonso expecting ‘not much’ in Barcelona despite ‘130 per cent’ effort

admin — Fri, 08 May 2009 10:02:10 +0000

Renault may be bringing along a significant aerodynamic overhaul and stage two of its ‘double-decker’ diffuser for its underperforming R29 in the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona, but still former double Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso admits that he is expecting ‘not much’ in front of his partisan supporters.
Alonso triumphed around the Circuit de Catalunya en route to the first of his drivers’ crowns back in 2005, has mounted the rostrum on three further occasions and stormed to a front row grid slot there this time twelve months ago, but following a dispiriting start to his 2009 challenge – with a scant five points from the opening four ‘flyaway’ races – he has conceded that he has few hopes of a similar showing this weekend as the European leg of the campaign gets underway.
“I think not much unfortunately,” Fernando Alonso replied when asked what he believes he can achieve on home turf. “We will improve the car from the last race, but it is difficult to simulate what the advantage will be. It can be one tenth, it can be two or maybe four but who knows?
“I think in this particular race everyone will introduce new parts on their cars, so everyone [will improve by] these two, four or six tenths or whatever if someone was clever enough. We all will move more-or-less these two or three tenths forward and the positions will remain more-or-less the same.
“Obviously we all test a lot here in the winter-time and we all know the circuit quite well, so it is not a big advantage for me to be at a home track as it is like a home track for everybody. It is a very special race for me, though. The atmosphere here is quite good and I can really feel the support from the grandstands. “Every year we come here it is something special, and this year I think it will be the same. The whole team is giving 120 per cent every race but here 130 per cent as it is good for everybody, also the mechanics – everyone in the team is quite well-supported here.”

Alonso adamant it’s ‘not too late’ for 2009 F1 title push

admin — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:09:35 +0000

Former double Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso is adamant that he has not yet given up hope of reclaiming his crown in 2009 – after he argues Renault made ‘a big step forward’ in Shanghai last weekend and lauding the team’s ‘amazing job’.

After two grands prix in which he barely scraped into the final Q3 top ten shoot-out in qualifying, Alonso stormed to the outside of the front row of the grid for the Chinese Grand Prix, albeit on a lower fuel load than any of his rivals. That notwithstanding, the Spaniard is confident there is plenty more still to come and that – 17 points shy of the championship lead or not – he is far from out of the equation.
“I feel we can still fight to win the championship,” Alonso is quoted as having said by international news agency AFP. “It is still a very early part of the season, but I am confident. It is not too late. The team has done an amazing job so far and we showed in China that we have the pace to reach Q3.
“Unfortunately, I started the race light on fuel and I made my first stop under the safety car. That pretty much ended my race as I went from the front row to the back of the pack. It was just one of those days when the decisions we took didn’t go our way, but I think we can have a different kind of race in Bahrain.”

Alonso: Court case could decide title

admin — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:55:18 +0000

Fernando Alonso fears this season’s Formula One world championship could be decided in court as the rear diffuser case is heard by F1’s court of appeal.
Ferrari, Renault, BMW Sauber and Red Bull faced Brawn GP, Williams and Toyota at an International Court of Appeal hearing in Paris on Tuesday morning, with a decision expected on Wednesday afternoon.
The case centres around the conceptual design of the diffuser at the rear of the cars belonging to the three defendants. If the judges deem the part is illegal, they have it within their power to overturn those two race results, potentially expunging Button’s two victories from the record books.
However, double world champion Alonso believes if the judges side with the ‘diffuser gang’, it will be difficult for any of the other seven teams to win either the drivers’ or constructors’ title.
“We’ll have to see what they (the judges) decide,” said Alonso.
“It’s a complicated issue, but the championship could be more or less decided.If the diffusers are legal, the Brawns are going to be nearly unreachable for any other team.” The major concern for Ferrari and the rest is that if they do lose, they will be forced into a radical redesign of their cars as the diffuser affects a number of areas.
“You have to work on the whole car,” explained Renault star Alonso.
“It’s not just about adding the diffuser and suddenly the car is a second quicker.
“The diffuser makes you go fast if you have a new front end, new sidepods, a new engine cover.
“You have to rebuild the whole car, and that would take a lot of months.”

Button and Brawn victorious after rain stops play in Malaysia

admin — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 22:05:19 +0000

It was always likely that the rain would affect Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix, but nobody expected the precipitation to play such a key role in a race that was full of excitement. The management of pit stops proved crucial as conditions changed and Brawn GP’s Jenson Button won amid much confusion as the race was red flagged after 32 laps.

Button was leading when the expected rain finally arrived on the 22nd lap, despite making a second pit call (the first had been on the 19th lap) to switch from his second set of soft compound Bridgestones to wets. He resumed still in the lead and continued that way until it became clear just how fast Toyota’s Timo Glock was going on intermediates after his stop on Lap 22. Button swept back in on Lap 29 for inters, and grabbed the lead back from Glock as the Toyota dived in at the end of Lap 30 for wets.

The conditions had changed again, so in came Button for a third time on lap 31 to go back to the deeply grooved rubber. He resumed in the lead again as Glock battled with BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld for second place, and that was when race director Charlie Whiting decided that it was time for the safety car. A lap later, out went the red flag. Confusion reigned.

Up to that point, the Malaysian Grand Prix had been a gripper.

Button made a poor start and was engulfed by Williams’ Nico Rosberg, who made a super getaway. Button tried to run round the outside of him in Turn One and lost out also to Toyota’s Jarno Trulli, and Renault’s Fernando Alonso got in on the act briefly too before Button snatched back third before the lap was over.

Further back, Rubens Barrichello had sprinted up to fifth in the second Brawn car ahead of Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, Red Bull’s Mark Webber, Glock, Heidfeld and McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton.

In the second McLaren Heikki Kovalainen went off the road in Turn Five, while Robert Kubica’s BMW Sauber was all but left on the grid and expired on the second lap.

Rosberg pulled away a little from Trulli, who had his hands full with Button, but after the German stopped on the 15th lap and the Italian on the 17th, Button got the hammer down and was able to concede the lead just to team mate Barrichello before taking it back when Rubens stopped on lap 23.

The biggest gamble of the day came from Ferrari. When Raikkonen pitted on the 18th lap they put him on wets early, and it proved a disastrous decision as he lapped 21s slower than Button. Further back, team mate Felipe Massa struggled with Hamilton as the world champion lost out in fights with the Red Bulls of Webber and Sebastian Vettel, who had been the first to pit, on lap 13.

Just before the rain, the order was Button, six seconds ahead of Rosberg, Trulli and Barrichello. Alonso was fifth from Hamilton (both yet to stop), then came Heidfeld and Massa, Piquet and Nakajima, Webber, Glock and Trulli who had all stopped, Raikkonen, and then the Toro Rossos and Force €ndias.

Then came the wholesale stops on the 22nd lap as the rain came, followed by thunder and lightning and all the drama that had been predicted.

By lap 25 things had stabilised a little as the drivers splashed their way around, and parts of the track became less wet than others. Button was still leading, from Rosberg, Trulli and Barrichello, but Webber was now fifth from Heidfeld after Alonso had briefly fallen off, then came Hamilton, Glock, Massa, Piquet, Nakajima, Vettel (also, like Glock, flying on inters), Alonso, Raikkonen et al. But conditions were still so tricky that many decided to change to inters, only to find, as Button did, that wets were the answer after all.

When the red flag came out on lap 32, the order read: Button, Glock, Heidfeld (a long way behind after a spin), Trulli, Barrichello, Hamilton, Rosberg, Webber, Massa, Bourdais, Alonso, Nakajima, Piquet, Raikkonen, Sutil, Vettel, Buemi and Fisichella (who had spun twice).

That was when the guessing began. Would they restart the race, as the rain eased but the sky became darker with the onset of evening? If not, when would they backdate the result, because of all the pit stops?

At 18.52 the race directors finally called it off. Button had won, it was just a matter of deciding how far they would go back to decide the order behind him. In the end, that was lap 31, giving a race finishing order of:

Button, Heidfeld, Glock; Trulli, Barrichello, Webber, Hamilton and Rosberg as the points scorers. Then: Massa, Bourdais, Alonso, Nakajima, Piquet, Raikkonen, Vettel, Buemi, Sutil and Fisichella.

Since the race had gone past the 50 percent mark but not 75 percent, half points were awarded. But for Button, it was the chance to extend his championship lead from 10 points to 15, with Barrichello next on 10 from Trulli on 8.5. In the constructors’ championship, Brawn have 25 to Toyota’s 16.5.