Where will FA end up??

[checkered]

Remember when WDC D. Hill was a problem? Next year he was in an Arrows. Way back on the grid. FA is a problematic kind of guy and maybe the powers, thats Bernie and Max, will have him exiled to a lower team. Maybe Toyota. The squeeky wheel gets sent to the back of the pack. It happened before. Thats the F1 show...well, circus

EDIT - But then again...with Flavio on your side anything is possible. FA spoke his mind this year, some people call him a whiner, some disloyal. I just think he is intelligent, political and an individual that will not be intimidated. I don't usually express an opinion on the character of drivers, but with MS gone, the next favourite to kick in the teeth is FA. Oh... I forgot the LH haters.

I'm a bit surprised

Fernando and McLaren decided to sever their relationship seemingly without the involvement of a third party i.e. Alonso's next team. But perhaps this allows for a re-evaluation of what he wants to achieve in F1; to exaggerate quite a bit, it's a position oscillating between being a soldier of fortune and being the ultimate company man. This season he was within a shot of a quite an incredible feat, three back to back championships in two different teams, something that might've affected how aggressively he thought he had to pursue things.

I've shelled my share of criticism on him, but am equally intrigued by his perspective and what he can provide for F1. If I weren't genuinely interested I wouldn't bother keeping up to date on what he does, thinks or says, now would I? He can be paid incredible amounts of money since his presence has expanded F1's market base to Bernie's and CVC's content. Fernando hasn't been afraid to play to his off-track strengths, but I suspect that's equally burdensome for him. By this I don't mean to say that fans are burdensome, but living up to roles and expectations is, no matter how benevolent those may be. There's an awful lot riding on him that has only indirectly to do with what is supposed to be his day job - that is racing. And he's undoubtedly very good at that. Curiously Alonso has quite a closed circle of trusted persons (some family members, managers and trusted journalists) and I've been given the impression that perhaps there just aren't enough people around him to cushion him from everything that he needs to be cushioned from. Whether this arrangement is his own decision or not, I couldn't tell.

This season, some of the actions and decisions he's taken or been involved in I haven't been able to agree with or have found to be largely negative. But F1 is a human activity and it's impossible that anyone could bring only positive things to the table and in a competitive setting I wouldn't expect anyone to be so selfless as to defeat the purpose of winning if that's possible. My present stance has more to do with intent and degree than idealism. There's a whole lot that is positive about Fernando's presence in F1, shadowed by all the drama, if only because each and everyone has only so much energy to highlight and discuss things. Being anything but a "fan" type of person, I fully recognise that his presence in F1 or whether he "changes" in his approach to anything is not in any way contingent on my approval. Fernando adds to what F1 is and can be and I don't view his (or any other driver's) presence as subtracting anything from the sport. He has every right to exist as a Formula One driver, a World Champion and make up his own mind.

I certainly wish he'd land in a position where politics don't matter all that much and where he can highlight all his opinions in a positive setting. Equally I hope he stays motivated and can display the best of his racecraft. Right now I can't quite see where that could be, but if anything is characteristic of F1, unlikely stories are. I very much like to understand things, that's my nature, but I've spent enough time attempting that to be philosophical about my disposition. There's still every chance I'll be impressed by the conclusions Fernando is going to draw from the current state of his affairs, not least because he'll propably end up providing me with more things to understand.

[bizadfar]

It is not for certain Prodive will make the grid next year.
I find it interesting that Mark Webber's manager if the Flav-O-Flav.
Musical chairs anyone? FA to Red Bull in a swap with MW. Then with a possible return to Renault when they get their act back together?
Maybe it would not hurt the FA to be in a lesser car for a year or to. To humble him a bit. Maybe he forgot his Minardi days?

As I understand it they have a design team that rotates from year to year (or at least they used to) so maybe this year is the turn of the designers that know what they are doing???

Mclaren?

My view: This is exactly why it's called Silly season.

[Rob W]

Without doubt there is a lot of drivel being spouted by media with no evidence at all.

Firstly, an article I just read claims Alonso was allegedly fired for not being part of the 'team'. If that is the case then he would have first been able to invoke a 'reputation' clause in which he could get out of his contract scot-free if the team's conduct hurt his reputation - which he would easily be able to argue. By the rulings of the WMC McLaren acted the worst of any F1 team ever - officially. I don't know how there could be a more clear cut situation when this sort of clause could be invoked. (before anyone thinks of replying with : "but Alonso was part of it" - you're focussing on the wrong thing - Alonso didn't get the team found guilty/punished - they were doing 99% of their alleged misdeed without his involvement).

Secondly - Failing the above, the contract they had with each other tied them together. They both had certain powers to end their arrangement - not just the team. I've said I before: his contract will have has a "use me or lose me" clause with a date on it - probably 1st Nov. That date is the cut off - either the team confirms him as a driver (not a test-driver) by that date for the next season or he is automatically allowed to act as a free agent (until they decide to come back to the party). There is absolutely no way McLaren would be able to hold him in the lurch and deny him the opportunity to negotiate a deal with another team - once again, that is what a "use it or lose it" clause is.

Alonso was in a very very powerful position when negotiating his contract - there is no question he could cause the team as much pain as they on him. Some of what I've read in the media about it makes absolutely no sense and wouldn't be possible in a contract drawn up by a 1st year practicing lawyer.

The most likely scenario as I see it is Alonso and Dennis met, decided it would be better to part ways, and Alonso received his severance (part of next year's pay as McLaren's penalty for wanting 'out' early on the agreement).

Rob W

[Carlos]

Good insights, adds to my considerations and saves me from buying F1Business. Like a conversation with someone in trading/law/ financial devices. Thanks Rob W

[HKS]

Good insights, adds to my considerations and saves me from buying F1Business. Like a conversation with someone in trading/law/ financial devices. Thanks Rob W

Great analysis Rob W

[meves]

Thanks for the run down Rob, that's the most sensible thing I've heard on the subject in a while. If Alonso had acted against the team off of his own back, then they would have fired him for gross misconduct as any company would.

I'd like to see Alonso in a decent drive next year and see a fair, closely fought championship between as many teams as possible. Which includes the team that Alonso ends up at, Ferrari, McLaren and other competitive team!

[meves]

Oh and to answer the threads question, I'd love to see Red Bull with Alonso, Adrian Newey, and Ross Brawn. If they can make a reliable car what an amazing team!

[Belatti]

Oh and to answer the threads question, I'd love to see Red Bull with Alonso, Adrian Newey, and Ross Brawn. If they can make a reliable car what an amazing team!

And big car manufacturers beated in their new buyed gruond!

[Militia Est Vita]

Oh and to answer the threads question, I'd love to see Red Bull with Alonso, Adrian Newey, and Ross Brawn. If they can make a reliable car what an amazing team!

Yeah sounds like an exciting combo, but I wonder if they will be able to get close to the top of the grid with the Renualt engine? It is my only concern. Does renault supply the same engine they use on their cars to RB or do they obviously supply lesser engines?

[checkered]

Most mainstream media

admits that there's scant information around about the terms of Alonso's departure from McLaren. It's just as with anything to do with F1; some are more prone to speculation, but others are decidedly not. Actually we don't even know under what contractual nicety the relationship ended, but we do know that it wouldn't have ended unless Alonso's position within McLaren hadn't become untenable. Otherwise there'd have been no sense in severing the relationship.

We know that prior to this, McLaren's leadership and Alonso's camp have disagreed publicly and privately. Fernando has made statements in the press and in the media, statements that the leadership of McLaren have felt as being so detrimental to their interests with regard to the regulatory bodies and sponsors alike that they've had to issue comments, amendments and rectifications. They were unable to communicate directly for the latter part of the season, by Dennis' own admission well after the fact. This has resulted in some dire situations where neither the team's nor Alonso's interest has been protected.

Such a conflict of interest would have anyone draw the conclusion that such a relationship can't continue. Whether you call the end result "being fired" is semantics compared to the facts of the situation. Alonso even spoke of his willingness to cut his stay at McLaren short on the record. How were Mclaren decision makers supposed to take this? Hold him forcibly or effectively let one of their drivers run the team for which they're ultimately responsible, a fact so glaringly highlighted in the "spygate" proceedings?

The media's representation of the situation is of course affected by their perhaps all too willing participation in the process, something that they're perhaps keen not to highlight. The fact is, though, that in being the main intermediaries between Fernando and his team (when it came to other things than routines to do with racing itself) the media for the most part hasn't been able to distance itself from the situation, sometimes even being seemingly unwilling to do so. I've viewed with some cynicism how every party to this "triangle" has seen the others as pawns in the game. It's a lose-lose-lose situation.

As was discussed extensively in the spygate thread, the WMC trodded the line of "respondeat superior" - the managers are responsible for the actions of their employees. The extraordinary part was that the FIA pre-emptively decided on what part of the team any punishment should befall. McLaren was found to be in breach of article 151c of the sporting code. The quantitative punishment was a fine of $100M and the loss of constructors' points. The action was in relation to McLaren's capabilities as a team. In no way was it a qualitative assessment with regard to other punishments nor can it be.

Nor does it state anywhere to what percentage any single person was responsible - it doesn't have to. Who "got" McLaren punished, by the principle the punishment was decided upon, doesn't enter the regulatory consideration. Whether we have opinions about percentages, they remain matters of taste and nothing much more. If anyone is interested in futile exercises, I'm sure the degrees with which Fernando's, De La Rosa's, Coughlan's etc. names and actions came up in the published evidence and transcripts can be calculated. I suspect all the protagonists would be featured beyond one percent of the time ...

Alonso was in a very powerful position when negotiating his contract. It was remarked upon many times even before the 2007 season started as it was unlike of Dennis to relinguish control to that degree. This hasn't been highlighted all too much with regard to the events that followed. It seems pretty likely that Ron made some fundamental mistakes in how he set out for this years campaign, as did Alonso with regard to how he wielded (and subsequently lost) his power. What better evidence than none coming out a winner in anything.

Whether any party got any sort of contractual or financial severance is only for them to know. Perhaps we've the shakiest of grounds to speculate on a clause that prevents them both from commenting on the issue any more. Anything else is speculation similar to the content referred to as "drivel spouted by the media".

[DaveKillens]

Agreed, and most likely, those who really are in the know won't say anything, while the press and public (myself included) have made all kinds of wild speculations.

[astsmtl]

My vision:

• Ferrari - no, they simply don't need Alonso. Massa is a good teammate for Raikkonen and his salary is not so big compared to Spaniard.
  
  Renault - possible, they are eager to get Alonso back. But if not, then they still have good driver lineup for 2008 (Kovalainen + Piquet) Alonso still did not accepted their proposal and I heard that Briatore set the deadline to 6 November.
  
  RedBull - possible, they showed a great potential in the last part of the season 2007. But Renault guys will be very unhappy if Alonso joins RedBull, this will possibly break their engine partnership.
  
  Toyota - yes, they have money and a free seat. They want him. And Jarno Trulli is better teammate than Kovalainen or Piquet (from Alonso's POV) One problem - the car.

[meves]

Would Renault mind if a Red Bull beat them or would they see it as an excuse to cut the F1 team and go back to becoming an engine supplier?

[axle]

Well the Williams seat has gone.
Nakajima and Rosberg are the confirmed drivers for 2008.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/63827

[modbaraban]

I don't think Nakajima is up for it yet. i'd rather give him another test-driver season