[Lightening-Fast]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Though, I still haven't warmed up to Alonso being a Ferrari driver even now

Thats right. I remember Schumi losing couple of close world championships to Alonso when he drove for Renault. I hated Alonso, only because i adored Schumi so much. Though over a period of time, i quite like his driving and is one of the best drivers, i still find it hard to digest Alonso driving a ferrari

[Blue_V]

Driver line up at Mclaren still not decided.

Team boss Boullier said on Saturday the uncertainty will not roll on beyond the next few months and into the off-season.

"It is not our plan to wait that long, no," he is quoted by NBC Sports.

"I'm sure there are a lot of fans waiting, and these two guys (Button and Magnussen) are waiting.

"We are in the position to wait a few days or a few weeks until we know where we go in the next few years. That's why it takes a bit of time," Boullier added.

And Red Bull may just see themselves sliding down the grid in 2015. So its all Mercedes in the next couple of years?

Adrian Newey says Red Bull will not replace him as technical director when he steps down at Christmas.
Frustrated with the direction of the regulations, F1's most respected designer (Newey) will begin to head Red Bull's new advanced technologies centre in 2015 rather than work full-time on F1.

[asr245]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

51 million looks big, but its still very reasonable when you bring other sports and world class professionals into picture.

For example, Real Madrid paid Spurs 80 million GBP last year for Gareth Bale. His weekly compensation and other perks are all extra. So, 50 million for Alonso is amazing value for money, ain't it?

I think you have it mixed up. 80M pounds were to buy out Bale's remaining contract at Spurs. They were paid to Spurs, not to Gareth Bale. It was not his salary. Salary of top footballers is in the range of 100K-150K pounds/week which is more like 5-6M pounds/year. Buying contracts is common in football but not in F1.

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by asr245

I think you have it mixed up. 80M pounds were to buy out Bale's remaining contract at Spurs. They were paid to Spurs, not to Gareth Bale. It was not his salary. Salary of top footballers is in the range of 100K-150K pounds/week which is more like 5-6M pounds/year. Buying contracts is common in football but not in F1.

LOL! I haven't mixed it up. That's exactly what I wrote right? It doesn't matter who got paid. End of day, Real spent close to 100M GBP to get their man who will just be 1 of 11 players that they can field for a game of football. OTOH, a F1 driver is such a vital cog in each race.

Considering that, Alonso asking 50M in salary is justified, isn't it? I think so. And all bargaining chips are in favor of Alonso considering Ferrari' last title was in 2008.

[zenren]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Considering that, Alonso asking 50M in salary is justified, isn't it? I think so. And all bargaining chips are in favor of Alonso considering Ferrari' last title was in 2008.

Interesting point. Here is my perspective:

If Kimi starts performing on par with the expectations, Ferrari might also have some bargaining chips. Spa performance is no indicator since Kimi has always excelled here, we'll have to wait and see in the next few races to see if Kimi is really back to the expected levels.

McLaren-Honda is not going to be an assured title winner next season either and Alonso doesn't have many other options. He is only trying to earn a fortune to compensate for a lack of opportunity for a 3rd title and not many teams can afford the salary he is asking now.

Red Bull might be happy to focus on RIC in case Vettel decides to leave rather than trying to lure in Alonso to replace Vettel, since they have a long future ahead with Ricciardo while Alonso would retire in a few years for sure.

Rosberg seems to have showed his true colour after his contract was extended. However, even if Lauda thinks about getting rid of Rosberg, Mercedes + Hamilton + Alonso combination is not likely to be something anyone would want to go with considering the past.

[asr245]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

LOL! I haven't mixed it up. That's exactly what I wrote right? It doesn't matter who got paid. End of day, Real spent close to 100M GBP to get their man who will just be 1 of 11 players that they can field for a game of football. OTOH, a F1 driver is such a vital cog in each race.

Considering that, Alonso asking 50M in salary is justified, isn't it? I think so. And all bargaining chips are in favor of Alonso considering Ferrari' last title was in 2008.

Oh. You are talking about CTC (cost to company ) I guess. Got it.

Alonso & Kimi both have been confirmed. So I guess they might have agreed to the hike or maybe Alonso had nowhere to go or both.

[myavu]

Sebastian Vettel Takes First Ever Lap of Sochi F1 Track!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88b7VqEeisc

WOW! Excellent flow of track and great infrastructure.

He's truly enjoying it.

Cheers!

Vinu

[deetjohn]

Guardian reports McLaren Honda wants Alonso to replace Button for 2015.

With the support of Honda as power-unit supplier, it is understood the Japanese manufacturing giant are looking for a big name to spearhead their return to the sport following a seven-year hiatus.

Fernando Alonso is believed to be top of their wanted list, however, the Spaniard is contracted to Ferrari to the end of the 2016 season.

While money is no object to Honda, it would cost £40m alone for Alonso to be bought out of the remaining two years of his deal with Ferrari, even if they are willing to let the Spaniard go.

Source

[zenren]

Rocky gets promotion, Vettel gets a new race engineer for next season.

Guillaume Rocquelin will be promoted to head of race engineering from the start of 2015.

He will be responsible for all of Red Bull's race engineers, including Vettel's new engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, who will join from Force India.

source: formula1.com

[ecenandu]

Mean while in Mercedes HQ,

[Fullrevs]

Rumours are that Mclaren are waiting on Vettel and Alonso to reveal their schedule post 2015. Mclaren are keen on having one of them sign up and are willing to wait till the two champs give some sort of commitment to the Woking based group.

My opinion is that they will get Vettel. Ricciardo is showing up the 4 time champion and RBR may not go the extra distance to retain the champ. Alonso may start to think retirement after next season if he goes without a few trophies and a chance at the title.

[mayankk]

Originally Posted by Fullrevs

Rumours are that Mclaren are waiting on Vettel and Alonso to reveal their schedule post 2015. Mclaren are keen on having one of them sign up and are willing to wait till the two champs give some sort of commitment to the Woking based group.

My opinion is that they will get Vettel. Ricciardo is showing up the 4 time champion and RBR may not go the extra distance to retain the champ. Alonso may start to think retirement after next season if he goes without a few trophies and a chance at the title.

Vettel?
I don't think rbr will look to release someone who's brought them multiple championships based on one year's performance. However despicable I may find him to be, and however much I believe that the Car won, not the man, truth is he was at the wheel for so many WDCs.

Him leaving, however, that can happen, since he's the one in the second spot now.

[Blue_V]

Why would Alonso think of retirement when his form has never been better? As I said, Alonso's salary demands may come in the way of a seat at Mclaren. Vettel might be a better bet but seeing Vettel struggle against DR and the new regulations, Mclaren might just have second thoughts on hiring the german.

[Fullrevs]

I agree Alonso is still peaking but he does have age against his side and Mclaren are looking at a fresh restart after Whitmarsh messed up on a lot of fronts. Surely they will look for someone young and quick to stick around for a few long years (5-6 years) and re-establish Mclaren to the top. There's also the Ron Dennis vs Alonso factor which didnt really get fixed post 2007. Alonso is quite vocal on his criticism of RD even today. Given that they dont come more shrewder than Ron Dennis and that is only a minor obstacle in getting Nando back.

Alonso need not retire but is he a long term prospect for Mclaren? 2-3 maybe 4 seasons for the spaniard? Of which two of those years are already with Ferrari. Montezemolo will pay anything to ensure Alonso finishes his contract with the prancing horse which is till end of 2016.

Looking at all the prospects for Mclaren, Hamilton seems to be the best fit still. A reunion?

[anachronix]

I think the big boys of F1 would be interested in Mclaren only after they prove their alliance with Honda to be successful. Even now, they are using the most powerful Mercedes on the grid and are behind Ferrari in the constructors and leading FI by a few points.

For a team of Mclaren's size of infrastructure and budget, they should be doing lot better than Williams. But they are not! The drivers cant be blamed either, just look at Williams. I will be surprised if Mclaren got either of Alonso or Vettel to drive for them next year.

Alonso's best bet is a Mercedes powered team for next year or stay at Ferrari giving them one last chance and hope they make a good car at least next year