So Alonso or Vettel for Renault if they wanted experience as everyone else was taken. What a choice.........between an old man with a big ego and a washed up ex 4xWDC who can't keep a car point the right way. Joking aside (or am I?), was there really no other young talent out there for them to choose, or does it suggest they don't believe Ocon is good enough to lead the team next year?
Renault needed a big name. Ricciardo dumping them after only one season was seriously embarrassing and they seem to be constantly battling to prevent the board from pulling the plug. Zhou's record is OK, but nothing special, not a suitable replacement, so I don't see them harm going for broke with the Alonso signing. Fernando's old now, but still looked strong in 2018 and in other series since. Vettel is surely done for now unless he tries to get into Aston Martin. On the basis of how bad the relationship with Ferrari looked last weekend, I wonder if he'll even see out the season. I wouldn't totally rule out seeing the Sainz, Ricciardo, Alonso swap early.
I think this is a real possibility with the truncated season. Little benefit to these teams hanging on to drivers who want to move or are being replaced for a short season and it all fits neatly into a little merrygoround between them.
I said during the race that Vettel might not make the end of the season. McL are a bit low on funds so Ferrari might help out in exchange for Sainz moving early. Not sure how they would persuade Renault to let Riccy move, maybe just the prospect of Alonso early to help with the dev of the car to his liking for next year (Ok so limited dev allowed). but with such an unknown possibly very crowded season???..... Interesting....
I suppose in retrospect it is a smart move for Renault. I get the feeling they don't want to be in F1 any more and what better way to get out of the sport that to hire Alonso and give him free reign. Will be an interesting final year for Renault in 2021.
I am confused at the Renault strategy. What are they trying to achieve? They signed Danny but failed to invest in the car. Now it is Alonso. Someone at Renault is trying to appear strategic but is not. There is someone at Renault with a big ego playing boardroom politics with a boardroom that doesn't understand F1. Trying to appear serious but are not able to bring the real deal home. They need to get the car and engine right.
Do we have any info on whether Liberty Media are paying some of Alonso salary? There was talk of this earlier in the season. This would be a huge bonus for Renault. Their car doesn’t look bad at all this year- Ricciardo would have been very close to the McLarens last week with better fortune and with Pat Fry steering they should have a good foundation for the 2022 regs. Alonso and Renault have tended to be the best fit for one another- their successes come together that’s for sure. Wouldn’t it be awesome to see Alonso able to get in the fight for podiums with some of the other talent? Such a shame the McLaren Honda partnership was in its infancy that he never had the chance to really fight. Hope to see Renault and McLaren at the sharper end over the next couple of years.
My experience when working with the French they are very good at looking at and decomposing all the processes and rebuilding in an organised way, sometimes with complex but workable solutions. My experience comes from both software development and boat building. It can be frustrating but when all the cogs work in unison it works well. What it rarely does is result is something exceptional or inspirational. The Italians have more of a creative flare that works very well WHEN they get it right. The Germans, they have processes and management. It is cultural. When I lived in Italy I had a party, with Italians, Germans, Americans, Japanese, English (obviously), Canadians, Dutch and Dutch Jews. Mid way into the evening it was like ******g WW2 all over again! Point being culture has a role in many things, F1 included. There were no French or Spanish at my party but maybe the French and Spaniards work well together.
Mugello - Sept 13th. Not a track I'm familiar with but at a glance looks like there should be good racing there!
Only played it on Forza (or could have been GT)! Not sure how suited it will be to F1 as quite twisty, but does have a long straight for DRS overtakes.
I think it'll be a challenge the drivers enjoy, and makes the cars look impressive, but I do worry that there's really only one overtaking spot, and with DRS it might be too easy.
Russia confirmed and a race in Portugal also likely here, but again overtaking opportunities look limited. Surely there must be other circuits available? Why not Turkey again or reschedule Zandvoort? please log in to view this image
I THINK Zandvoort have said they will not / don't want to host a race with no fans ? Can't remember where I read it though .
Anyone remember Estoril in Portugal? would love to see an F1 race there. Just up the road from Lisbon (30 mins on train), what a fabulous weekend that could be when fans are allowed back again. Think the track has to modify though to meet FIA regulations (surprise )