alonso proudly tells the world "i needed a new challenge" as the reason for his renault departure. oh please...
first of all, there's nothing challenging about making a move from renault to mclaren. it's almost every driver's dream to be able to race for the fast teams. and why is that so? well, because your chances of winning more championships are much higher in a fast car. and given mclaren's championship winning history, it isn't such a hard choice.
second of all, let's not pretend this isn't about the money. it's always about the money. and after mclaren signed vodafone, they can show alonso the money. it isn't surprising that the deal is sealed just days after vodafone is confirmed switching from ferrari. imagine the hefty sum they get, and at the moment we can only speculate how much they are offering alonso.
so if this is about a new challenge, alonso should have joined teams such as bmw, that toro rosso team, or even honda. alonso, if you want a real challenge, then help those team win their first championships. do what michael did when he joined that shit ferrari and help turned it into a dominant force. instead, you're joining a rich team that has already won multiple championships. you're joining a team that has the fastest car on the grid. where is the challenge? what is the challenge?
i can't imagine how fast alonso has became a sellout - even faster than his driving. well, i guess you can't expect much when his manager is flav. i'm sure flav was only taking care of his own bank account. with that move to mclaren, he is also making a lot of money. what more when renault might be quitting formula 1, he needs to take care of the future well-being of his star driver. else who can he depend on, that shit mark webber?
how would renault and the crews feel when they have supported him to championship stardom, to only get a slap in their faces. renault is no longer a challenge for alonso, because he's too good for the team. now what i wish to see is that renault engineers focus more towards fisichella, and support a little less for alonso. give alonso a few loose screw or something. i wonder whether alonso will be able to take in the pressure of play second fiddle. and wouldn't winning another championship with renault under such circumstances be a real challenge?
and fans of alonso, you can go ahead and throw those renault merchandise away. they are ugly anyways.
as of 2007, everything we are familiar with formula 1 will be erased. it'll be time of confusions. teams, brands, constructors, and drivers we have once supported will turn into rivals. drivers we've once loved will make drastic moves and join teams we've always hated. things are going to be different come 2007.
and we haven't even started 2006.
alonso's signing with team vodafone mclaren mercedes definitely made that the package to beat. although losing adrian newey to red bulls is a big set back for the team, the new sponsorship from vodafone will add on extra millions to mclaren's budget. that will definitely be a huge boost. i bet ron dennis is a happy man at the moment. i just hope alonso can get used to the corporate image that is mclaren.
signing alonso to team mclaren means kimi is possibly on the way out. long being rumoured to leave mclaren for ferrari, it seems like this will no longer be a rumour. after being with mclaren for so long, and being frustrated with the fact he still isn't a champion, i think it is about time kimi drop that team. jean todt has repeatedly shown interest in kimi as well, so i think it is only a matter of when the news will be annouced.
if kimi is over at ferrari, does that mean michael is finally on the road to retirement? personally, i don't want to see that happening. it would have been fantastic if we get to see michael and kimi racing in the 'same' car. we'd finally find out the age old question of who's 'faster'. however, realistically that wouldn't happen (plus it isn't a fair comparison). if ferrari is extremely keen on signing kimi, we could well see michael in ferrari for the last season.
so will we see michael in formula 1 for the last season? i'm not so sure. we've heard about his passion for racing, and some even suggested he should go on racing till he's in his 50s. well, that might happen if he doesn't get tired of losing in a red bull. red bull has shown interest in hiring michael as their driver, and with adrian newey and many other star personnels already on board, i don't think that would be such a bad idea. besides, it would be great to see michael help build another team towards championship dreams.
before michael moves away from formula 1, i hope he can still win one more championship. that would have been totally awesome. putting all the controversies aside, imagine saying this to the next generation, "son, i was there when michael schumacher made history by winning his eighth driver championship." that would be pretty cool.
other than unorthodox drivers movements in the future, be ready to get used to seeing mclaren in orange, red bull as champions, renault out of formula 1, ugly f1 cars, and a legendless grid. it is going be a weird formula 1.
michael cut short his holiday and came back to testing this week. he said he didn't deserve the holiday, since last year they didn't achieve anything (one win and one pole weren't exactly ideal). his return made quite an impression.
planetf1 decided to pick on him, the headline reads "not the sort of start schumi wanted". after just two laps around jerez, he went wide and got his car trapped in the sand. indeed, not exactly impressive.
however, it is important to note that this is michael's first feel of the v8 engine. most drivers are taken by surprise and were pretty careful in analyzing the v8's potential. sometimes they do overdrive it.
what is more important to note is that, although experiencing the v8 for the first time, michael was the fastest driver on track and topped the time sheet with a 1min18s. his drive was faster than massa, who despite driving a faster limited-v10 engine, only managed a 1min19s. in fact, michael's drive was also faster than the renaults' limited-v10s. the next fastest v8 (honda) is a full seconds down. now that is pretty impressive.
let's see what will happen in today's test when both michael and alonso will be on track. interesting.
yesterday michelin announced its withdrawal from formula 1 at the end of the 2006 season. although the single tyre supplier rule is to come into effect starting 2008, michelin has decided to depart one year earlier. this is definitely a sad news for competition in formula 1 as a whole.
michelin's statement, with slight insult to the fia:
"This decision is the result of profound differences between Michelin’s long-standing sporting philosophy and the way Formula One is managed by the regulating authorities, which no longer provide a clear and sustainable environment to justify long-term investments"
ouch!
the exchange of subtle ugly words have been on going ever since fia decided to kick michelin out of formula 1. and it didn't stop after michelin's announcement of withdrawal. fia returned the final blow:
A single tyre supplier will undoubtedly make Formula One fairer, safer and less expensive for the teams but, above all, it will avoid a repetition of the problem which arose at the 2005 US Grand Prix.
so what was wrong with the 2005 season? i have read comments from people that say 2005 season was one of the best seasons in the past years. however, i totally disagree and in fact, 2005 has been the worst season of the new millenium.
sure, we've had the new driver and constructor champions this season. but that's about it for 2005 season. and if people think having new champions means the f1 show has improved, well then those people don't understand f1. those people probably need to stick to sport like "football".
here are reasons why 2005 season totally blew:
let me start off with qualifying. this season alone we have had two qualifying formats, that's one qualifying format more than season 2000, 2001 and 2002 combined. when you need to make format changes in the middle of the season, that is an indication that the year is sucky. and for god's sake, it was soooo boring even die hard fans get turned off by it.
next, even the races were boring as compared to previous two seasons. no thanks to the one engine per two races rule, the new one tyre per race rule, and that fucked up aerodynamic rule. overtaking was almost non-existent. in fact, this season needed rain to bring back some fun to the races, as we saw in belgium and japan. unfortunately, the new rules killed most of the other races.
viewership actually dropped this season as we saw more empty grandstands this year than couple of years ago combined. don't be fooled by the slight increase in tv ratings, because those people were just wondering why renault was leading the championship. and when they followed a couple of races, they soon realized they were crappy races.
this season, politics dominated f1 with the tyre war, and the rebel gpma. god damn it... and who can forget the american grandprix? what a fucking joke!
finally, if we compare 2003 and 2004 seasons with 2005 we will see how f1 has definitely deteriorated in terms of winner statistics. in 2003, we saw eight drivers (david, kimi, fisichella, michael, montoya, ralf, rubens, alonso) winning a gp. in 2004, we saw five drivers (michael, trulli, kimi, rubens, montoya) winning a gp despite michael's "utter domination". yet in 2005 (the supposedly good season), only four drivers (fisichella, alonso, kimi, montoya) won a gp. constructor wise, 2003 had five constructors winning, 2004 had four constructors, and 2005 only two.
so how has the f1 show improved in the past years? how was 2005 one of the better seasons? does having new champions mean better season? give me a break.
