[tharian]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Maybe he will shave it off and trim his hair too during the testing to add to the 6 tenths of a second that he brings to McLaren.

Reminded me of the snap years ago of Alonso and Jenson

[jfxavier]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

THE UNLIKELIEST MARRIAGE: NOTES FROM BEHIND THE SCENES OF A DAY AT MCLAREN A brilliant capture by James Allen! Don't miss.

We will come to know sooner or later, whether both of them have grown up since 2007 as they claim.
For the sake of the sport, hope that whatever Fernando saw in the Honda factory in Japan that made him grow up so quickly is good enough to take the fight to the Germans.

[anachronix]

Oh yes, the cat is definitely in the bag

And Ronspeak...

“There was a turning point for me which was, strangely, the conversation that took place between Jenson and I after [a] race and it was in contrast to the previous month and it re-energised in me the belief that actually Jenson did want, for all the right reasons, to be in a Formula One car and really believed, and I want him to believe, that he can absolutely kick Fernando’s butt.

Originally Posted by polopm

Hahahaha, couldn't stop laughing bringing back old memories of Nando at McLaren.

Ron has definitely got his cat in the bag now. Let's look at next year with anticipation.

http://www.f1fanatic.co.uk/2014/12/1...s-butt-dennis/

[Hatari]

Originally Posted by anachronix

Tombazis decided to leave, he is following Alonso to Mclaren. Bob Bell is coming in March, Pat Fry would be leaving by then. Rob Marshall from Redbull is also linked to Ferrari while Simone will be doing an elevated role in place of Tombazis. Ferrari is strengthening the team very well and its normal for engineers to follow top drivers when they move to other teams, its not the first time an F1 season is going to start with top driver movements, it shouldnt have been a surprise!

I still believe the reason for getting Marco Mattiacci was because of pressure from Bernie, he was a tough nut for Bernie to handle! Ferrari brought in an even more ruthless gentleman Arrivabene but someone who has worked a lot with Bernie, it was a good move from Ferrari.

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/116930



Have read enough from that book through 2014 season, but the drivers deserve respect. Period!

I'm pretty sure Tombazis/Fry have been sacked. Nothing to do with driver movement in this case.

Arrivabene will be tougher for Bernie to handle. The reports of going back to V8s/V10s is coming from him/Ferrari. He is completely against the V6s, Mattiacci was atleast talking V6s and removal of engine freeze.

I think Kimi has got a bit too much respect!

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Personally - I'd be extremely happy to see Mr. Fry leave Ferrari for good. From the day he arrived, Ferrari's cars have been absolute winners - if competing in dog-cart races. Nowhere else. Its more than proven that he has done absolutely no good in the technical design area. Then why keep him? Especially when someone of the caliber of James Alison is now available to take control?

When Fry arrived F1 had moved into the aero era - Ferrari's weakness and so much so that Montezemolo hated investing in aero/simulation tools. This has been Ferrari's biggest mistake and it is showing. Ferrari's strength traditionally has been engineering. Frankly I dont see Allison working wonders either simply because engineers in Italy are not upto speed with current F1 like the F1 engineers in England. Allison's claim to fame was the Lotus, designed by English engineers in Motorsport valley.

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Attachment 1317507

I am sure everyone who has followed the 2007 season up close will find that photo very weird.




THE UNLIKELIEST MARRIAGE: NOTES FROM BEHIND THE SCENES OF A DAY AT MCLAREN A brilliant capture by James Allen! Don't miss.

Nice to see Alonso/Dennis address the mistakes of 2007 in the media and not try to sidestep it. I'm sure both of them realised they need each other and for this to work they have to work out their problems. Negotiating a contract is a being thrown into the deep end right away. Neither are personalities to tip toe around each other, so its obvious they have worked out their issues. Mind you, Dennis always had great respect for Alonso's speed and ability. McLaren-Honda now, is his best chance for a title.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by Hatari

Frankly I dont see Allison working wonders either simply because engineers in Italy are not upto speed with current F1 like the F1 engineers in England. Allison's claim to fame was the Lotus, designed by English engineers in Motorsport valley.

I don't fully agree. Allison's first stint at Ferrari was during the domination era. We are yet to see the results of his return. The F14T was not his design. He joined after it was more or less ready. We'll have to see in 2015.

As for aero - the F2007 and F2008 were aero masterpieces. And so were cars in some previous years. Ferrari actually lost the plot when aero was restricted. And mainly due to ban on track testing that they did on Fiorano.

When Fry was at McLaren, they designed cars alternate years with 2 designers. IIRC Fry's last 2 mclarens were not winners too.

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by Hatari

McLaren-Honda now, is his best chance for a title.

Don't know why we hear this a lot now. It's a big unknown isn't it?


This year, McLaren had the best engine in business. Still they finished below Ferrari and well below RBR. So, even if McLaren had retained the Merc PU, it would have taken quite a bit of effort to get on top. And forget 2015, I think Lewis is the firm favorite to defend the crown.

News states that Honda engine is quite good, but its not like Mercedes has been sitting still. So, McLaren has quite a big job on hand to jump Ferrari, Williams, RBR and Merc. Its not like Honda can fix all the issues. Will take quite a bit of work from the boys and girls at Woking.

Coming back to Alonso, he definitely want to paint a picture that there were many options and he chose the best one. But I am not buying into that. Mattiacci called the Spaniard' bluff after he was shut out by both Merc and RBR. McLaren was the best option remaining. And if next year' car is not so good, I am sure they are some heavy get-out clauses in the contract for the his rescue.

[Fullrevs]

The seats have all been filled and its now time to focus on next years racing. Im really happy that Alonso and Button have paired up at Mclaren. In my 21 years of following the sport, this could be the first time I would be cheering a Mclaren car as well. Or is it that age and maturity has finally sunk in?

I quite like the layout of the drivers in various teams. Now had the Mercedes not had such an advantage, we would have been in for a cracker of a season.

Originally Posted by Deetjohn

Coming back to Alonso, he definitely want to paint a picture that there were many options and he chose the best one. But I am not buying into that. Mattiacci called the Spaniard' bluff after he was shut out by both Merc and RBR. McLaren was the best option remaining. And if next year' car is not so good, I am sure they are some heavy get-out clauses in the contract for the his rescue.

You know, different reports are coming about this. Its been revealed that Mattiaci sent numerous texts to Alonso asking him to reconsider staying in Ferrari around the Singapore GP weekend.

Alonso had a previous arrangement with Montezemolo that he would leave if he found the Ferrari to be a melon and it really was. I think any dealings between Mattiaci and Alonso would have been fresh because it was already known that Alonso would leave by around summer break. I think he had publicly announced that within the Ferrari camp around June-July.

Now its being reported that Ron Dennis have had numerous private meetings and Alonso made quite a few visits to Japan to check out the Honda engine earlier this year. I hear the Mclaren contract is good but does not come with a pay cheque that Ferrari offered. Ofcourse this could change once the spanish sponsors come into Mclaren but as of now he is being paid slightly lower but with an entire team around him to support and provide anything the Spaniard wants.

This time the RD and FA relationship will work and it will shine. The beard looks quite good but Im sure RD will ask him to shave for the first race. It used to be a Mclaren rule that drivers should be clean shaven and have normal sized side-burns. Maybe thats why Hamilton left?

[deetjohn]

Originally Posted by Fullrevs

I quite like the layout of the drivers in various teams. Now had the Mercedes not had such an advantage, we would have been in for a cracker of a season.

+1

The teams look good. I just hope Lewis doesn't run away with it.

Originally Posted by Fullrevs

The beard looks quite good but Im sure RD will ask him to shave for the first race. It used to be a Mclaren rule that drivers should be clean shaven and have normal sized side-burns. Maybe thats why Hamilton left?

Well! Side-burns are allowed.


PS: Okay, thats my last post in here about hair. I promise!

[anachronix]

Fry is fried and he is being dumped by Ferrari but Tombazis wants to leave! When top drivers move, they take along the best people with them. That has been F1 for so many years now.

Originally Posted by Hatari

I'm pretty sure Tombazis/Fry have been sacked. Nothing to do with driver movement in this case.

Its the other way around, he knows how to handle Bernie. I am liking the idea of the V8 or V10 returning, but what if they have a FI & ERS to boot. That will take F1 back to where it belongs, the noise and speed will be back!

Arrivabene will be tougher for Bernie to handle. The reports of going back to V8s/V10s is coming from him/Ferrari. He is completely against the V6s, Mattiacci was atleast talking V6s and removal of engine freeze.

F1 is a million buck business more than a sport, if a team like Ferrari is respecting Kimi and waiting to give him a better car next year its because they have access to a data that you & me are not able to see.

I think Kimi has got a bit too much respect!

[Hatari]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Don't know why we hear this a lot now. It's a big unknown isn't it?


This year, McLaren had the best engine in business. Still they finished below Ferrari and well below RBR. So, even if McLaren had retained the Merc PU, it would have taken quite a bit of effort to get on top. And forget 2015, I think Lewis is the firm favorite to defend the crown.

News states that Honda engine is quite good, but its not like Mercedes has been sitting still. So, McLaren has quite a big job on hand to jump Ferrari, Williams, RBR and Merc. Its not like Honda can fix all the issues. Will take quite a bit of work from the boys and girls at Woking.

Coming back to Alonso, he definitely want to paint a picture that there were many options and he chose the best one. But I am not buying into that. Mattiacci called the Spaniard' bluff after he was shut out by both Merc and RBR. McLaren was the best option remaining. And if next year' car is not so good, I am sure they are some heavy get-out clauses in the contract for the his rescue.

McLaren were going through funding issues, no title sponsor etc.
With Honda pumping in $100 million + engines, it gives them a solid financial platform. They have hired new people and Peter Prodmorou.

IMO, this puts them on a better standing that Williams (on paper) and Ferrari/Red Bull who are limited by their engines.

Originally Posted by anachronix

Fry is fried and he is being dumped by Ferrari but Tombazis wants to leave! When top drivers move, they take along the best people with them. That has been F1 for so many years now.

Its the other way around, he knows how to handle Bernie. I am liking the idea of the V8 or V10 returning, but what if they have a FI & ERS to boot. That will take F1 back to where it belongs, the noise and speed will be back!

F1 is a million buck business more than a sport, if a team like Ferrari is respecting Kimi and waiting to give him a better car next year its because they have access to a data that you & me are not able to see.

Who is taking Fry/Tombazis? Not heard of anybody who wants them. Not referring to others or the past.

If V8s/V10s return, where does that leave McLaren and Honda?
Mind you Ferrari/Red Bull are complaining only because Mercedes is so far ahead.

Ferrari have already fired Kimi once, doing it again would be too embarrassing for them. This isnt a question of data, being some 7 tenths off Alonso over the season in an identical car is shocking, a rookie would have been sacked after 5-6 races (cant remember even a rookie being so far of the pace)

[anachronix]

On paper, yes! That definitely sounds good, but with apparently the record breaking engine of the year on the back of the car they finished behind a donkey that Ferrari made in 2014. So I will wait to see how the Mclaren-Honda partnership comes along.

Funding issues, No! They declared profits ahead of their original target of 2014 with their road car business and like Ferrari they have their road car business partly funding F1 along with investors from oil lands.

Originally Posted by Hatari

McLaren were going through funding issues, no title sponsor etc.
With Honda pumping in $100 million + engines, it gives them a solid financial platform. They have hired new people and Peter Prodmorou.

Dont know about Fry, but Tombazis has a solid reputation in the sport and was one of the magic team that built the best Ferraris. If you dont hear about anyone wanting them doesnt mean they are not wanted by anyone.

Who is taking Fry/Tombazis? Not heard of anybody who wants them. Not referring to others or the past.

I dont know where that leaves Mclaren-Honda, but as a F1 fan following the sport for years I am disappointed with the powertrain choice and the lack of speed for an F1 car. I miss the noise, the speed and drivers taming the brutally handling cars. F1 needs better show, its just too conservative now!

If V8s/V10s return, where does that leave McLaren and Honda?
Mind you Ferrari/Red Bull are complaining only because Mercedes is so far ahead.

If they fired him, they wouldnt want him again. He was shown the door for the asturian and the BIG money from Santander to get the asturian back into a top team from Renault after his rough year with Mclaren.

Its a long read, but has timeline of events that were taken by the Ferrari team to get the asturian on board.

http://f1bias.com/2012/04/05/truth-a...antander-2008/

The team has acknowledged Kimi's problems in 2014 and his reason for being so far behind Alonso. Not everyone would want to agree, so its ok if you like to disagree

Ferrari have already fired Kimi once, doing it again would be too embarrassing for them. This isnt a question of data, being some 7 tenths off Alonso over the season in an identical car is shocking, a rookie would have been sacked after 5-6 races (cant remember even a rookie being so far of the pace)

BTW, I found this collage quite amusing. Its the same smile

[zenren]

Originally Posted by anachronix

If they fired him, they wouldnt want him again. He was shown the door for the asturian and the BIG money from Santander to get the asturian back into a top team from Renault after his rough year with Mclaren.

Its a long read, but has timeline of events that were taken by the Ferrari team to get the asturian on board.

http://f1bias.com/2012/04/05/truth-a...antander-2008/

The team has acknowledged Kimi's problems in 2014 and his reason for being so far behind Alonso. Not everyone would want to agree, so its ok if you like to disagree

Interesting read. If the author wrote the article at the end of 2014, we would have seen some pointers to the pathetic form of Ferrari this year as the same exercise they did with Kimi in 2008 - ensuring Alonso won't put Ferrari in a respectable position this year and hence no regrets once he is replaced by Vettel.

To add some more spice to the article, almost all the folks who were involved/benefited in the whole "firing" of Kimi as mentioned in the article are out of Ferrari once Kimi got back - LDM/Domenicali/Alonso/Massa. Sweet revenge from Kimi?

[anachronix]

May be we should let the author know that he could still reuse the same article with a change of few dates here and there and it would have been fitting the situation. But I guess, he will find the request silly

Poor pathetic form of Ferrari? Thats what everybody has been saying as the team has set very high expectations. But I giggle whenever I see Mclaren failing to beat Ferrari this year even with the record breaking powertrain of the year

Kimi's sweet revenge, that was funny!

Originally Posted by zenren

Interesting read. If the author wrote the article at the end of 2014, we would have seen some pointers to the pathetic form of Ferrari this year as the same exercise they did with Kimi in 2008 - ensuring Alonso won't put Ferrari in a respectable position this year and hence no regrets once he is replaced by Vettel.

To add some more spice to the article, almost all the folks who were involved/benefited in the whole "firing" of Kimi as mentioned in the article are out of Ferrari once Kimi got back - LDM/Domenicali/Alonso/Massa. Sweet revenge from Kimi?

[Fullrevs]

I dont think the talk is of going back to V8's and V10's but is more likely to be standard ERS and other harvesting systems and a twin turbo V6. I dont think it is as easy as done because teams should start developing this particular engine from atleast 6-8 months back. The whole engine change saga is a mess right now.

Coming to Ferrari, even if they dont want Kimi Raikkonen post 2015, they dont have much of a choice. I just couldnt expect Ferrari to hire any young talent until they make a basic quick car. Also considering that Kimi and Vettel like a sensitive front end should probably help Allison make a good car with requirements being somewhat similar.

Would be great to see Kimi come back to form but something tells me he has lost a lot of speed already. Here's hoping Vettel can help develop the Ferrari to be a strong car. Arrivabene is hopefully a risk taker and can speed up some development and innovation compared to the conservative Domenicalli.

I think the 2015 Alonso and Ron Dennis combination is going to be ultra strong. This is going to be something to watch out for. Would love to see Hamilton-Alonso-Vettel in a straight fight.

[Hatari]

Originally Posted by anachronix

On paper, yes! That definitely sounds good, but with apparently the record breaking engine of the year on the back of the car they finished behind a donkey that Ferrari made in 2014. So I will wait to see how the Mclaren-Honda partnership comes along.

Funding issues, No! They declared profits ahead of their original target of 2014 with their road car business and like Ferrari they have their road car business partly funding F1 along with investors from oil lands.

Dont know about Fry, but Tombazis has a solid reputation in the sport and was one of the magic team that built the best Ferraris. If you dont hear about anyone wanting them doesnt mean they are not wanted by anyone.

I dont know where that leaves Mclaren-Honda, but as a F1 fan following the sport for years I am disappointed with the powertrain choice and the lack of speed for an F1 car. I miss the noise, the speed and drivers taming the brutally handling cars. F1 needs better show, its just too conservative now!

If they fired him, they wouldnt want him again. He was shown the door for the asturian and the BIG money from Santander to get the asturian back into a top team from Renault after his rough year with Mclaren.

Its a long read, but has timeline of events that were taken by the Ferrari team to get the asturian on board.

http://f1bias.com/2012/04/05/truth-a...antander-2008/

The team has acknowledged Kimi's problems in 2014 and his reason for being so far behind Alonso. Not everyone would want to agree, so its ok if you like to disagree

I expect them to be ahead of Ferrari and Williams next year, time will tell.

You are talking about McLaren automotive as a group, not the F1 business who were without a title sponsor and finished well below in the Constructors.
The Group subsequently had to infuse fresh funds as required.

Fry/Tombazis have nothing to do with driver movements/poaching from other teams. Both have been asked to stay home by Ferrari.

In an ideal world V10s would be awesome. But those were the days of tobacco sponsorship a plenty. But I would not put my money on the V6s being abandoned, just too messy.