Kimi Alonso Swap at Ferrari 2009

[Miguel]

Plus I love hearing Marcha Real and then La Marseillaise. 17 rounds next season? I think I'll be hearing both SEVERAL times next year.

This is extremely off-topic. I am spanish, but I find Marcha Real as an awful anthem. Its musical qualites are next to none. I suppose this is the result of living in a country with great painters and great writers but nearly no decent composer. The only good thing about it is that it's almost 300 years old (our constitution has just turned 30)

[Conceptual]

Alonso is the best car development driver in F1, no question about it. His move to Mclaren was smart on account of the tire situation but incredibly bad timing with Hamilton coming to F1. The Renault is going to be a rocket in Australia and will only improve. My preference would be to see him stay at Renault, it proves that you don't need special treatment from the FIA or espionage to have a fast car, you only need the best driver in the world.

Plus I love hearing Marcha Real and then La Marseillaise. 17 rounds next season? I think I'll be hearing both SEVERAL times next year.

I don't know... I think Vettel may be very prodigal in this aspect as well. I remember Bourdais saying that it didn't matter how the car behaved on track, that Vettel was always able to bring it under control.

Thats not too shabby coming from a 4xCCWS Champion.

Alonso is deffinately at the top, but I think Vettel may be very, VERY close.

And if the option is between Alonso or Vettel, I can see the Scuderia taking the German.

[xpensive]

Let us hope that EVERY rumour about Alonso and Ferrari is utrue, as I'm afraid that such a combo would mean another stretch of uninteresting WDC's.

[CMSMJ1]

Alonso is the best car development driver in F1, no question about it. His move to Mclaren was smart on account of the tire situation but incredibly bad timing with Hamilton coming to F1. The Renault is going to be a rocket in Australia and will only improve. My preference would be to see him stay at Renault, it proves that you don't need special treatment from the FIA or espionage to have a fast car, you only need the best driver in the world.

Plus I love hearing Marcha Real and then La Marseillaise. 17 rounds next season? I think I'll be hearing both SEVERAL times next year.

I don't know... I think Vettel may be very prodigal in this aspect as well. I remember Bourdais saying that it didn't matter how the car behaved on track, that Vettel was always able to bring it under control.

Thats not too shabby coming from a 4xCCWS Champion.

Alonso is deffinately at the top, but I think Vettel may be very, VERY close.

And if the option is between Alonso or Vettel, I can see the Scuderia taking the German.

Do you really think so? One swallow does not make a summer and Vettel has not been consistent as I would have expected. If he was WDC material (which incidentally he could well be) then he should have comprehensively beaten Bourdais which he did not.

I rate Bourdais too and really hope he gets a drive in F1.

Regarding Alonso as the best developement driver..I could go along with that. I see no other drivers of late that have made such a tangible improvement to the team they race for when they joined...

[Metar]

Vettel's case was a bit more complicated. I read interviews with the Toro Rosso engineers that suggested Bourdais was partly "to blame" for the STR's surprising speed: His never-ending struggles to find a setup that worked for him meant that the team gained deep knowledge of the car and it's dynamics - despite being a mid-season introduction. I think, in some way, STR's season incorporates some of the "old Ferrari spirit" - build a solid car, and rely on maximizing it's potential instead of losing yourself in upgrades (which is, I believe, what BMW got themselves into - they had absolutely no idea, by the end of the season, why Heidfeld's grip-problems were solved while Kubica's worsened).

Also, being able to drive around a car's flaws does not equal good development driver - it simply implies a good driver.

[jon-mullen]

Do you really think so? One swallow does not make a summer and Vettel has not been consistent as I would have expected. If he was WDC material (which incidentally he could well be) then he should have comprehensively beaten Bourdais which he did not.

The two Sebastian's records don't reflect Bourdais being anywhere near Vettel's level. Last year from Valencia on, Vettel scored points in every GP except China, where he finished 9th. His maiden win at Monza was in that stretch, too. In the whole season Bourdais scored points twice, one desipte retiring at the season-opening sh*t-show in Melbourne. Also, Vettel outqualified Bourdais at 13 of 18 GPs.

I would put money on Vettel's winning a WDC some day but right now I'd build my team around Alonso.

Off-topic about the anthems: atleast yours doesn't get three times longer when it's before a baseball game. It's like a d*mn competition to see if the Star Spangled Banner outlasts the first inning. And most people don't even know which war it's about!

Edit: almost forgot, Happy New Year!

[xpensive]

I'm not that ovewhelmed by Vettel and Toro Rosso's season really, that Newey designed car was not bad at all, while they were helped by the most powerful engine in F1.
The Monza win was outstanding though, but to compare the guy with Alonso?

[andartop]

Obviously, it is only fair to compare two drivers in terms of overall achievements (in which case Vettel is nowhere near Alonso, for now) or if they happen to be racing in the same car (which they don't). However, it seems to me that Vettel has been doing at Torro Rosso what Alonso did at Minardi, only even better!

[Metar]

Well, he was at Minardi.

On the other hand, it was a Minardi with a top engine and a front-midpack chassis... A regular points scorer and, with a stroke of luck in the rain, also a winner.