[Driver] Bye Bye Fernando

[The Fat Clerk]

Time to give a youngster a chance, well done.

[Mike Bell]

Wish him well, wherever he races. Have enjoyed watching him in F1 over the years!

[chillibowl]

i've had my ups and downs with him, but yes...certainly have also enjoyed watching him over the years and look forward to his next endeavour!

already looking into tickets for the 500 next year!

[JHamilton]

Originally Posted by chillibowl

i've had my ups and downs with him, but yes...certainly have also enjoyed watching him over the years and look forward to his next endeavour!

already looking into tickets for the 500 next year!

I'm excited! I've done a complete 180 on Alonso and he is now one of my favorite drivers.

[Casper]

What a relief, we can now read stuff about F1 without constantly seeing fanatics singing his doubtful praises. He can drive ok but he sure has a doubtful career in a personal sense starting with the Singapore incident. I am personally very happy to see the back of him and can someone show him the way out immediately instead of waiting to the end of the year. No one will ever convince me he was not unaware of the Singapore incident and he did not stitch up Ron Dennis for revenge. i have had my say so I won't reply to further posts on my comments but please fire back with the denials and requests for proof because I don't have any except to say that the premier teams don't want a bar of him at any price.

[VIVA GT]

So this leaves the question of what he's going to do next year instead of F1?
I'd guess maybe a couple of WEC races including Le Mans, plus some Indycar stuff (maybe a whole season?) to gain experience ready for the Indy 500?

The other (set of) question(s) is who will McLaren replace him with?
Williams seem to have proved that although young drivers who bring money in may be useful to the team in the short term, experience is needed in order to develop the car. The trouble is there aren't that many good & experienced drivers without a contract for next year as far as I know...

[gert]

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

The other (set of) question(s) is who will McLaren replace him with?

Sainz and Vandoorne?

Sainz because McLaren has shown interest, he's probably free (soon), and fast and quite experienced.
Vandoorne because it's not the team's habit to change both drivers at once (last time was in 2006/07) and he offers some kind of continuity. Even if he hasn't got the results, McLaren knows what kind of feedback/input he provides and if that is of any use or not...

Norris is a possibility but the team has indicated they first need a good car before they could put young inexperienced drivers in, and he too has said a second year of lower formula wouldn't do him harm.

Apart from these 3, I don't see who else might go there?
* Perez? Been there, done that ...
* Ocon? A Mercedes junior ...
* ...?

[JHamilton]

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

So this leaves the question of what he's going to do next year instead of F1?
I'd guess maybe a couple of WEC races including Le Mans, plus some Indycar stuff (maybe a whole season?) to gain experience ready for the Indy 500?

I have it on good authority that Fernando will be taking the Grave Digger drive next year. True story.

[broadrun96]

Originally Posted by JHamilton

I have it on good authority that Fernando will be taking the Grave Digger drive next year. True story.

Don't they run those crazy Robby Gordon trucks on the street course in Detroit? Could see if there's an Alonso Detroit triple crown, Indy, IMSA and trucks win. And it seems TransAm was there as well so a quad for Alonso?

[fieldodreams79]

Originally Posted by JHamilton

I have it on good authority that Fernando will be taking the Grave Digger drive next year. True story.

I heard it was going to be the Caterpillar sponsored "BroDozer"...

[JHamilton]

Originally Posted by Akrapovic

Clearly he is returning to Honda, with Team Dynamics in BTCC.

That's the Triple Crown, right? Monaco GP, Le Mans 24 Hours, and Race 3 at Croft in the BTCC?

No, like I said, it's Monaco, Le Mans, and the Cardiff Monster Jam.

One thing is for sure, Monster Jam is more entertaining to watch than Monaco.

Originally Posted by fieldodreams79

I heard it was going to be the Caterpillar sponsored "BroDozer"...

Well that takes all of the irony out of it. Bring back Stomper Bully, Bearfoot, Carolina Crusher.

[Mike E]

Originally Posted by VIVA GT

So this leaves the question of what he's going to do next year instead of F1?
I'd guess maybe a couple of WEC races including Le Mans, plus some Indycar stuff (maybe a whole season?) to gain experience ready for the Indy 500?

He signed to do the full 2018/19 WEC season, so that means:

Silverstone 6 hours - Aug '18
Fuji 6 hours - Oct '18
Shanghai 6 hours - Nov '18
Sebring 1000 Miles - Mar '19
Spa 6 hours - May '19
Le Mans 24 hours - Jun '19

[Akrapovic]

Clearly he is returning to Honda, with Team Dynamics in BTCC.

That's the Triple Crown, right? Monaco GP, Le Mans 24 Hours, and Race 3 at Croft in the BTCC?

[BSchneiderFan]

I doubt we’ll see Alonso back in F1. And if we do, I SERIOUSLY doubt we’ll see him win races, let alone championships. A career of missed opportunities, but his were wounds largely self-inflicted.

[The Fat Clerk]

[QUOTE=. A career of missed opportunities, but his were wounds largely self-inflicted.[/QUOTE]


Can't argue with that.

[chillibowl]

yep really cant argue with that either.

[Adam43]

Shame, I’ll miss him.

[BSchneiderFan]

Trenchant opinions from Jody Scheckter: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/13...nso--scheckter

[rwintle]

SkySports blatantly making stuff up about him going to IndyCar next year.

http://www.skysports.com/f1/news/124...from-formula-1

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by BSchneiderFan

Trenchant opinions from Jody Scheckter: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/13...nso--scheckter

Does Scheckter really think that anyone gives a stuff what he thinks (like Villeneuve)?

For my money, whatever hangups people have about him (and since when did any great F1 driver not generate hangups....? ), still probably the best driver in F1. To be honest, after the last few years I'd say he's well rid of it and F1 is the poorer for his departure.

It's a personal opinion so please don't feel free to disagree as I'm not really that fussed.....

[BSchneiderFan]

Yes, presenting as fact what is only supposition (however plausible).

[chunterer]

If I may...

No matter what people may think of Fermando Alonso, I find it quite distasteful to read disparaging and sarcastic posts in most of a thread about a legendary driver retiring from F1!

😞

This is a driver who's statistics belittle what a tremendous talent he is.

It's upto an employer to manage their people, drivers, whatever. If a team does not manage properly things fall down.

So far Andrew Benson's piece on Beeb F1 has been the most sensible and respectful summary of Alonso's decision.

[BSchneiderFan]

Originally Posted by chunterer

If I may...

No matter what people may think of Fermando Alonso, I find it quite distasteful to read disparaging and sarcastic posts in most of a thread about a legendary driver retiring from F1!

😞

This is a driver who's statistics belittle what a tremendous talent he is.

It's upto an employer to manage their people, drivers, whatever. If a team does not manage properly things fall down.

So far Andrew Benson's piece on Beeb F1 has been the most sensible and respectful summary of Alonso's decision.

This isn’t a hagiography site. Alonso is not universally popular, often because of his own behaviour. As for the idea that he should have been managed better by team bosses, what is he, a screaming toddler with no self-control? He made decisions and chose courses of action which sometimes damaged his own career prospects and negatively affected the way he was/is perceived. It’s called being a grown-up. For me, respect for him - as opposed to recognition of his abilities as a driver - fizzled out when he spat the dummy while paired with Lewis in 2007.

[chillibowl]

Originally Posted by BSchneiderFan

This isn’t a hagiography site...

in a way i think it is. substitute saints and prophets for athletes and we are very much engaging in a modern day ecumenical debate about myth creation resulting in their canonization (and in some cases demonization).

and in time, opinions will change, soften or harden, new facts will come to light and we will go about reimagining these stories all over again.

fascinating in a way...archetypal even.

love him or hate him, this is the Book of Alonso.

the talented youth full of potential whose reward for early victory was fame and the feeding of a particular sort of arrogance that only comes from having massive ability in the first place. naturally, this was followed by inevitable controversy and self destruction. a downfall is really the only place this kind of arrogance leads and deservedly so.

his fall from grace was of course self inflicted but made better by several years wandering around in the desert in machinery far beneath his abilities. an exile from every home, he paid for his arrogance though this humbling.

and like all great saints, his contrition culminated in redemption and he emerged stronger on the other side, finding the glory in the light and a new path to walk (and hopefully a better car to drive).

its a classic tale as old as time. love it and love sports!

anyways...this analogy was far to much fun for me to walk away from. a load of hogwash to be sure but i think it will make for a great movie one day!

[wnut]

To my way of thinking this is a damning indictment of what F1 has become. The value of experience and skill has fallen to such a degree that the sport can no longer support the aspirations of its great talents, or provide them with the means to compete at the top level, the sport is indeed dead and we are just marking time until the faceless corporations decide enough and the sport dies.
Bye bye Fernando, vale F1.