CloseI recently heard a rumor that Alonso will be driving for Ferrari F1 in 2011:
http://www.motorauthority.com/report-alonso-in-secret-agreement-to-join-ferrari-f1-by-2011.html
From what I can tell, this must be a dream come true for many Rennteamers 
Dec 31, 2008 10:48:23 AM
It could be even sooner (2010) if Kimi does not perform in 2009 (like on 2008):
http://english.gazzetta.it/Motor_sports/Primo_Piano/2008/12/28/alonsoferrari.shtml
Also interesting is that inspite of driving a Renault and not being able to be in the lead in many races or get much coverage, Alonso was named best driver of 2008 by both the italian readers in the Gazzetta dello Sport and english readers of The Times, over Hamilton, Kimi, etc.
Dec 31, 2008 11:02:09 AM
Two wins with Renault in 2008 and 5th place in the championship says a lot for his ability.
I'd love to see Alonso win the title with my favourite team McLaren, but it wasn't to be for the very well known reasons.
Dec 31, 2008 12:04:58 PM
Dec 31, 2008 12:12:05 PM
I think he did a great 2008 championship, particularly towards the end when he was able to win 2 races or at least to be part of the leading group with a middle-class Renault.
I would like him to stay at Renault because I think a 3rd title with this team would bring a lot more value than a 3rd title with Ferrari. It would demonstrate he went back to a middle-class team and brought it back to the top, whereas with Ferrari it would be more a top-driver in a top-team and if he wins the title it will then be more perceived as a business-like-usual thing. Besides Renault is his "historical" team. I am sure he and Renault can be back on top, after all the team in term of ressources stayed the same compared with the 05 and 06 years.
Jan 4, 2009 4:20:28 PM
Jan 6, 2009 9:16:53 PM
Jan 6, 2009 10:10:27 PM
easy_rider911:
With all due respect - no offence to anyone - since I'm not getting embroiled in this fight - BUT the above post is simply appalling - it is designed simply to offend and provoke - I think the moderators should step in here before this escalates.
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997S GT Silver/Cocoa, -20mm/LSD, PSE, SportDesign rims, Zuffenhausen collection: I love this car!!!
Post got deleted.
Jan 6, 2009 10:58:44 PM
I received that story via a chain mailing thing, I read it and didn't find anything offensive, well maybe it is to some hardcore Alonso fans, but it was just a funny parody to Alonso's career.
It passed my personal censor and as I think it was funny and entertaining, I posted it here.
I think the original author may have a point as in by the time Alonso finally gets to drive for Ferrari, Ferrari may not be on top anymore and with next season basically a wide open race for all teams with the spec change, it might be wise for Alonso to STAY at Renault, the team which put 2 WC in his pocket and gave him 2 wins and a bunch of podiums last season.
We heard that with every spec change, but I doubt that there will be an open race for all teams.
They always try to change the specs to reduce the difference between big teams and small teams, but they never work.
Big teams also bring big money for lots of people, so at least they will defend their advantage.
REALZEUS:
Ferrari has won 8 of the last 10 championsips and I doubt it will fall from grace ever again. The stone age of the past is gone for good as the politics and the structure has changed. As long as Luca Cordero di Mentezemelo is in charge, Ferrari's dominance is assured.
There is more to your thought than that, M. Schumacher and Todt playing an important role there. They might need a decent driver that propels the team and its development just the way Schumacher did and Alonso is certainly of that calibre.
Eunice:I agree. You do need the funds to earn your spot at the top but, as Honda or Toyota showed, money alone does not get you there. Modern F1 has a lot to do with efficient and rapid development and, of course, with people heading into the right direction. I tend to believe that the top players do just that, some better and some worse, and they surely benefit from their enormous experience over smaller and successive teams.
They always try to change the specs to reduce the difference between big teams and small teams, but they never work.
I agree with Ferdie, money alone doesn't make a successful team. You need a good driver, a good car to start with, a good team to improve the car over the season and good strategists and all of them have to work together.
Once you get that right, the rules are not that important, as long as they are the same for every team.
However, if they introduce additonal weights for the winning teams (like they do in DTM), that could change the equation.
Ferdie:
REALZEUS:
Ferrari has won 8 of the last 10 championsips and I doubt it will fall from grace ever again. The stone age of the past is gone for good as the politics and the structure has changed. As long as Luca Cordero di Mentezemelo is in charge, Ferrari's dominance is assured.
There is more to your thought than that, M. Schumacher and Todt playing an important role there. They might need a decent driver that propels the team and its development just the way Schumacher did and Alonso is certainly of that calibre.
I seem to recall that in 2007 a certain Kimi Raikkonen won the drivers' title, whereas Ferrari (as per usual) won the constructors' title. That year there was no M. Schumacher behind the steering wheel. Last year Ferrari won to teams' trophy without Schumacher or Todt and Massa (not a superstar like Alonso or Raikkonen) neraly won the drivers' title. My point is that when the structure is right, you do not need a superstar to win. Every time that di Montezemelo was in charge (as director of Gestione Sportiva in the 70s and as President currently) Ferrari blitzed the opposition. Coincidence? I don't think so...
REALZEUS:
I seem to recall that in 2007 a certain Kimi Raikkonen won the drivers' title, whereas Ferrari (as per usual) won the constructors' title. That year there was no M. Schumacher behind the steering wheel.
I seem to recall that McLaren was disqualified for constructor´s title in 2007 and, if it wouldn´t have been for the discrepancies within the team, either Alonso or Hamilton would have won the championship. 
Schumacher earned his titles with dedication and speed, not with a superior car. There certainly are enough remaining talents within the Scuderia but it all rises and falls with the men on top. Schumacher, Brawn and Todt has proven themselves already.
Ferdie:
REALZEUS:
I seem to recall that in 2007 a certain Kimi Raikkonen won the drivers' title, whereas Ferrari (as per usual) won the constructors' title. That year there was no M. Schumacher behind the steering wheel.
I seem to recall that McLaren was disqualified for constructor´s title in 2007 and, if it wouldn´t have been for the discrepancies within the team, either Alonso or Hamilton would have won the championship.
Schumacher earned his titles with dedication and speed, not with a superior car. There certainly are enough remaining talents within the Scuderia but it all rises and falls with the men on top. Schumacher, Brawn and Todt has proven themselves already.
History is not written with "ifs" and "buts". IF that mechanic hadn't released Massa prematurely during the Singapore pit stop - fiasco, then surely he would have won the title! But it never happend that way... The fact of the matter remains that Ferrari usually wins; 16 Constructors' Championships and 15 drivers titles attest to that. Schumacher won with an inferior Benetton but his Ferraris (with the exception of the F300 and the F2005, the latter due to Bridgestone issues and not car design) were always superior to the opposition. Especially the dominant F2002 and F2004 machines that decimated the opposition were light years ahead of any other car. Rory Byrne's brilliant designs, Paolo Martinelli's super-engines and all the other people pulling their weight under the guidance of the President made this possible.
Schumacher's influence, skill and personality resurrected Ferrari in recent years.
The after effects of this golden era will carry on for a few more years until Ferrari's fuel runs out. 2008 was already worse than 2007 with more signs of confusion and miscommunication within the Scuderia. Of course FIA was there to lend a helping hand but in 2008 it didn't save the day like in the previous year.
I see the scuderia reverting to an era of typical italian politics and confusion very soon. Unless of course Mercedes and Renault drop out of F1 too, in which case it will be a one team championship.
REALZEUS:
Reginos in the late 70s Ferrari was winning and Schumacher was a boy back then...
What in detail are you trying to tell us? Ferrari and F1racing in the 70ies were totally different to the scenario in successive years. Certainly, Alain Prost almost won the championship in 1990 but for most of the intermittent time they were lacking the final edge to win the title.
REALZEUS:
Reginos in the late 70s Ferrari was winning and Schumacher was a boy back then... you are too anti-italian and seem to think that only a German can save the day... Then why does Mercedes and BMW that are full of Germans lose most of the time? You are thrashing the most successful team in the history of motor racing... I can't see where you are coming from.
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FERRARI RULES!!!
In the 70s it was mainly Lauda, another great personality (Scheckter won too in 1979 of course but he was a flash in the pan). Also at that time Ferrari's budget was 10 times that of the other private teams with limited resources, the "garagistes" as Enzo Ferrari used to call them in a derogatory way.
In the intervening years until the Schumacher era, Ferrari were nowhere not because they didn't have the technical capability to make a good monoposto, but due to bad organisation and communication and internal conflict. I saw those weaknesses appearing again after the dream team retired.
Eunice: As Ferdie said, Prost snatched defeat from the hands of victory in 1990, due to internal political conflicts. Nonetheless, those were the dark ages of the Prancing Horse and everybody cedes to that. Lest we forget, Ferrari also won the title in 1983. From then on and for the following 15 years (till 1999, when they won the title again) they went through the darkest period of their history. As Reginos put it, it was down to internal conflict and disorganisation. Things changed in the mid to late 90s when president Montezemelo brough on new people and orchestrated the team in an effective way.
Ferdie: I was making the obvious point that Ferrari was a winning tema long before Todt, Schimacher et al.
Reginos: Most double-tripple champions are great personalities. But even Scheckter won, and nearly Massa did the same. There were greater drivers (Sir Sterling Moss for example) that did not win because they didn't have the car to do so. As for the dark ages of Ferrari, I have already mentioned that above. :)
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