Alonso not tempted to join Red Bull – Briatore

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Flavio Briatore says Fernando Alonso does not want to join Red Bull.

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Your daily digest of F1 news, views, features and more.

‘Alonso will not swap Ferrari for Red Bull’ (The Telegraph)

“Alonso has never said he wants to leave. Ferrari-Alonso remains a winning pairing.”

Romain Grosjean Wants More in the Second Half of the 2013 Season (Lotus)

“After our performance in the last few races, I honestly believe my first win is now just around the corner.”

Ferrari orders investigation into form (Autosport)

“Then a lot will depend on the choice of compounds for the races at the end of the season. It is something we need to analyse carefully – as it seems Mercedes has solved the issue that it was suffering massively in the races.”

Hungary 2013 – race edit (F1)

Video highlights from the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Lewis Hamilton and Rory McIlroy have lead roles in soap opera of sport (The Guardian)

“Hamilton’s touching confession and the feverish speculation over McIlroy’s slump remind us once again that we are doomed to look on as sport becomes less and less distinguishable from soap opera, feeding the hunger for the noisy headlines and glamorous images that keep the revenue streams flowing for all concerned.”

Kimi Raikkonen, a man on a mission in Monaco (MTV3)

Jacky Eeckelaert, Raikkonen’s race engineer at Sauber in 2001: “I told Kimi that changing it takes a lot of time, but what I proposed was just to get back in the car. I disconnected the traction control system and then he could do another 40 laps till the end of the race, just gaining experience for next year.”

Chandhok’s racing idol: Alain Prost (MotorSport)

“I thought his philosophy of spending hours to set the car up and make it as driveable and comfortable as possible to go fast in the race was brilliant. Yes, it’s easy to get excited by qualifying and I must admit I love nothing better than a low fuel, new tyre qualifying run, but the reality is you only get points on a Sunday. Alain’s ability to put aside qualifying glory and consciously work on the long-term game seems so logical to me.”

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Comment of the day

Jon Sandor finds the lacks of radio messages involving one of the sport’s top drivers during races curious:

Really, have Ferrari got some private deal with the FOM to not publish Alonso’s radio messages? It’s beyond peculiar how in race after race we see absolutely nothing between him and his engineer.
Jon Sandor (@Jonsan)

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On this day in F1

Juan Pablo Montoya dominated the German Grand Prix at a sweltering Hockenheimring ten years ago today. He won by over a minute from David Coulthard, who passed Jarno Trulli late on.

At the start of the race Kimi Raikkonen crashed out following a collision with Rubens Barrichello and Ralf Schumacher:

Image © Ferrari/Ercole Colombo

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76 comments on “Alonso not tempted to join Red Bull – Briatore”

  1. Chris (@tophercheese21)
    3rd August 2013, 8:34

    “Ferrari-Alonso remains a winning pairing.”

    Well, no… It isn’t.

    1. @tophercheese21
      That pairing has already won more than one race in just half of this season.

      1. Chris (@tophercheese21)
        3rd August 2013, 9:17

        I was looking at it from a championship stand point.

        Alonso came to Ferrari to win championships. And he hasn’t won one yet.

        Last year Alonso carried Ferrari to the final race and only lost by 3pts. Ferrari have not given him a championship winning car.

        And this year looks like no exception as his championship hopes are dwindling away as Vettel and Redbull look too strong and Ferrari continue to underperform.

        Believe me, I would love to see Alonso beat Vettel to the championship. But as great as he is, no one can do it with their current machinery.

        1. At a quick glance, it’s very easy to say Alonso carried the team. However, had Massa not woke up, I don’t believe Ferrari would have got second in the WCC…

        2. He would have won the 2012 championship if he hadn’t driven way to aggressively and crashed out in Suzuka.

    2. @tophercheese21 Rose-tinted glasses I think ;)

    3. The picture from the article is hilarious. It must take Fernando hours to comb those eye-slugs!!

    4. WilliamB (@william-brierty)
      3rd August 2013, 10:21

      @tophercheese21 – In fairness it is a partnership that would have won Alonso two driver’s championships had Ferrari not made that idiotically early pit-stop during the 2010 Abu Dhabi GP and if Alonso hadn’t been “Grosjeaned” at Spa last year.

      1. Chris (@tophercheese21)
        3rd August 2013, 10:43

        ‘Ifs’ and ‘Buts’.

        Vettel had his fair share of poor results and DNF’s.

        1. Breaking down or poor strategy isnt really bad luck, its bad preparation by the team and it is a team sport.

          On the other hand being rammed off by nutty lotus drivers is quite unlucky…

          1. Not so much when the faulty part is required and supplied by the engine manufacturer. The team can’t do much to guard themselves against updated engine parts which turns out to be rubbish.

          2. You could also interpret a poorly qualifying car being involved in an incident as a consequence is not really bad luck @q85 – the likelihood of a crash is significantly increased if you’re in the pack (I acknowledge Spa probably isn’t the best example of this as Vettel was behind Alonso and so avoided it but Suzuka was definitely a prime example).

          3. @vettel1

            I acknowledge Spa probably isn’t the best example of this as Vettel was behind Alonso and so avoided it but Suzuka was definitely a prime example

            I don’t know if it is short or selective memory but anyway i still remember last year’s qualifying at Suzuka
            Alonso’s grid position in Suzuka has nothing to do with poor qualifying in his flying lap Kimi Raikkonnen has spun and Alonso was right behind him & he got yellow flagged the car behind Alonso was already green & then in the last chicane he was clearly blocked by Vettel who got a reprimand instead of a grid penalty (strangely the stewards decided he had impeded the Ferrari at the chicane)

          4. @tifoso1989 I’m not sure who the yellow flag affected in the end but the impeding incident I think was deemed to have caused little hindrance to Alonso’s final grid position, hence why the punishment may have appeared lenient.

            The point is though that Alonso’s average grid position was significantly lower than Vettel’s if I recall correctly, hence the likelihood of being involved in an incident increased. We can even look to Vettel to illustrate that: he dropped back at the start of the Brazillian GP and so was mixing with a lot of cars, which then led to him having a tangle with Senna.

            @jonsan I wouldn’t go as far to say that his own errors cost him the title but absolutely he has had far superior reliability to Vettel from 2010, so I personally wouldn’t play the luck card if I were arguing Alonso’s case.

      2. Alonso had a good deal less bad luck in 2010 and 2012 than did Vettel. His own errors cost him the title both years.

        1. Vettel was luckier because he was driving a Red Bull, his own errors cost him the title like Spa accident !!!!!!!! I don’t believe how dare some people are in changing facts

          1. Michael Brown (@)
            3rd August 2013, 20:40

            @tifoso1989 It’s a clear fact that Vettel lost more points than Alonso did due to incidents and reliability in 2010 and 2012. If anything, Alonso is luckier to have been so close in the title fight for those years.

      3. Don’t blame Grosjean or pitstop errors for that. Remember, errors happen everywhere. The problem is Ferrari never gave Alonso a fundamentally strong car

    5. Ferrari is the only team willing to sacrifice a WCC for a WDC and give a driver 100% attention. So I think Alonso needs Ferrari more than Ferrari needs him.

      1. OmarR-Pepper (@)
        3rd August 2013, 14:54

        +1

  2. Alexander (@)
    3rd August 2013, 9:02

    The one on Kimi Räikkönen was a great read!

    1. crazy bloke……6th fastest without traction control.

    2. I wonder why we don’t hear more of this stuff. I am sure it would make for a great program/article on any medium. We can now get insights on how Senna drove in Monaco, what happened behind the scenes etc. which is all good fun. But we get so little of that from the current drivers and teams. This story clearly shows even a rather unremarkable 6th fastest lap by a relative midfield team could have a fascinating story behind it. And I am sure there is nothing too confidential about revealing how malfunctions or other mishaps sometimes bring out the best in a driver. I am pretty sure there are many such stories that get lost in time, which would be pretty darn good to know.

      1. you can find these stuff up by reading team report.

        For example in Canada 2013, kimi lost his rear brake…he had to move the brake balance all the way to the front and rely on the front brake alone to stick to the race at rear limited track, ended up finish in the point while his teammate with functioning car couldn’t.

      2. Michael Brown (@)
        3rd August 2013, 20:37

        Why would teams and drivers want to give us insights on how they perform? We’ll hear about that sort of thing after some years like the two you mentioned.

    3. Yeah, very fascinating. Completely unfazed to go out in Monaco without traction control on his first ever weekend there and sets the 6th fastest lap as well. He did say recently in an interview as well that he’d like the cars to have more power and less grip:)

      1. Alexander (@)
        3rd August 2013, 14:04

        Bottas said he’d also like more power from the cars… It seems they are too easy to drive these days.

        1. @alexanderfin they have a ridiculous amount of aerodynamic grip these days which I think is the major contributer. 2014 is a step in the right direction but I’d much prefer if the onus was even more heavily weighted towards engine development, with the front wing complexity significantly reduced and the rear wing effectiveness reduced.

          1. Alexander (@)
            3rd August 2013, 15:23

            True, but I’m quite disappointed with the 2014 engines though, the engines has a lot of potential in them, the restrictions on max fuel consumption per race is fine but others like the relatively low 15.000 RPM limit and fuel flow restrictions should be different for more power.
            Btw Kimi holds the speed record in a race 370pointsomething Km/h that’s something to strive for.

          2. If it was up to me, both front and rear wings would have a single element, and flat endplates (no slits, flicks or tricks). I’d then think about bringing back blown diffusers and ground effects, since they work even in the ‘dirty air’. This would then make DRS obsolete.

          3. @alexanderfin I was rather disappointed not so much that they restricted the revs (as they probably wouldn’t go much higher anyway) but that they didn’t allow the engine designers more freedom with the ERS and that they mandated that they have to have 90° V6’s – why not allow the manufacturers to design whatever engine they please within the 1.5l, single turbo, restricted fuel flow limit? Surely that’d be much more lucrative for car manufacturers than what we currently have?

    4. I’d heard about this – seeing some video on YouTube it is fierce how the power kicks in at full throttle, now they barely break traction! Definitely worth a rewatch, if you haven’t seen it before then definitely worth watching. That Raikkonen hadn’t been to Monaco before (yet still learned the track and outqualified Heidfeld, a top driver) in itself shows you how top draw Raikkonen is. His speed of adaptation is one of the best out there, if not the best – jumping from Karts to F.Renault 2.0 to F1 in itself is a mammoth jump. That it was done in the pre-TC era (Spain 2001) is even more astonishing! Same with Alonso (straight to F3000?), Button, Davidson..

      Video of Montoya (a beast at applying full throttle) and Raikkonen of that time is breathtaking to watch.. Remember Montoya’s overtake of Schumacher at Brazil 2001 (His second race??) – destined for victory until punted out by Verstappen. I think the TC coming in really slowed these guys down and helped the Ferrari’s dominate 2002 (that and tyres, but this is a driver skill taken away for car speed to dominate). Thank god it was outlawed in 2008.

      Skilled drivers will rise to the top easier without TC/power limitations – hence Raikkonen and Bottas wanting more powerful cars that will bring back skill and break traction left, right and centre. The Lotus 49 has been released in iRacing now and you get wheelspin in top gear on the Mosport back stretch – as the car is even generating lift at those high speeds! Smoothness is the order of the day.

      At least the 2014 regs are moving in the right direction with smaller wings and more torque – engines are fixed I think near the ‘optimum consensus’ anyway (what they’d all come to in a few years with free development) and so engine spend is all focussed and relevant (more bang for fewer bucks), although we could dispute some of the fixes (fuel flow sounds like trying to make it relevant for road cars to me).

  3. This year the rumors have a streak to become reality – first Webber joining Porsche and Kimi in the run for a RB seat. But still, I don’t see Alonso leaving Ferrari for RB.

  4. COTD, fe-no-me-na-le, avanti fer, grande weekend is all we hear about Alonso.

    1. Hehe, so true…
      I guess most of the messages from/to Alonso are in Italian and that’s why it may not be published…

    2. But maybe it is because they speak in italian

      1. @celeste That’s not an excuse, as I explained before the FOM have already subtitled Italian messages live on TV (last year’s Brazilian GP), so there really seems to be another reason why they’re not showing them.

        1. @mantresx Maybe he is as boring when tlaking in the radio as he is when he tweets… goes running for hidding

  5. WilliamB (@william-brierty)
    3rd August 2013, 10:15

    I really am getting sick of these rumors of Alonso joining Red Bull. They’re utter rubbish. We know that Alonso’s manager also manages Carlos Sainz Jnr. We know that Sainz was impressive during the Young Driver Test and is currently vying for the Red Bull reserve role. We also know that Alonso has openly stated that Ferrari is his “final team”. I cannot believe how quickly people jump the gun, no wonder why Alonso looked so amused when he was asked about it. Alonso is quite rightly frustrated at the moment. He knows that he is in his prime and is the best driver in the world at the moment, and really should be dominating the sport in the manner that Vettel is doing. His problem? Arguably Ferrari haven’t rocked up to a Grand Prix weekend with the out-and-out fastest car since the 2010 Italian Grand Prix, and with Williams and McLaren also struggling, one can sense something of a technical revolution going on at the moment, with the “new-er” teams of Red Bull, Mercedes and Lotus taking the helm. Saying that, the “Works team advantage” factor may lend Alonso a much needed opportunity in 2014…or it may just put wind in the sails of Mercedes and Hamilton…

    1. and is the best driver in the world at the moment

      Is he? I would bet money on him not beating Hamilton if they drove the same car. Alonso never was the best driver and he never will be. He’s fast, consistent and smart. But so are Raikkonen, Vettel and Hamilton.

    2. David not Coulthard (@)
      3rd August 2013, 13:29

      Mercedes is about as new as the team with which Jackie Stewart took all of his championship wins, so they’re not that new.

      Lotus=The team with which Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher made his debut.

      Red Bull’s a new boy among the front-runners, though.

    3. @william-brierty +1; even though I think the inevitably explosive relationship that would result from partnering Vettel with Alonso (I would argue at this stage in their respective careers that would make it the best driver pairing since Prost and Senna, certainly in terms of world championships each) would make for fantastic entertainment but giving it thirty seconds thought makes the odds against it minuscule. Firstly as you’ve said Alonso’s manager also manages Carlos Sainz Jr. Secondly, Alonso as has also been said above is contacted with Ferrari until 2016 which would mean signing him would be a massive expense for Red Bull, not worth the extra development which could be funded otherwise. Thirdly, it has been widely stated by members of the Red Bulk team (namely Christian Horner) that it is essentially a two/three horse race between Räikkönen and the Toro Rosso drivers, with others also having had been in talks but unlikely to land a seat.

      So as much as I’d love the entertainment, it won’t happen – simple as that really.

      1. WilliamB (@william-brierty)
        3rd August 2013, 16:54

        @vettel1 – I think it is dangerous even to assume that a “dream team” like Alonso and Vettel would work in the modern era. We haven’t really seen a team field a line-up of “big names” in recent years, and although Button fans would argue otherwise, the Hamilton-Button partnership was definitely headed by Lewis’ natural ability. Arguably the only line up of “big names” was the Hamilton-Alonso partnership of 2007, and the rivalry there arguably lost McLaren both titles in 2007, or at least was a contributing factor. Even in 2007 though, McLaren clearly had anticipated that Alonso would lead the team, and Hamilton, the wet-nosed rookie, would play a nice supporting role; Hamilton’s immense talent was the only thing blocking that rather appealing, and potentially championship winning idea. The inevitable rivalries and conflict of an Alonso-Vettel pairing would render Red Bull incapacitated beyond the levels of tension that plagued McLaren in the late ’80s, thus allowing an opportunity for more benign teams like Mercedes to take advantage. Teammate cooperation is so essential in these times of data collection, data overlay and setup briefings, the inevitable conflict that would come about in an Alonso-Vettel pairing, or in a Raikkonen-Vettel pairing after Vettel realizes that Raikkonen has better race pace than him, would leave Red Bull compromised. Also, in both cases, there would a rather strange dynamic in the team, with Vettel likely to out-qualify either Alonso or Raikkonen, only to fall back into their clutches during the race. Couple that with inevitable conflict, the intense commercial nature of Red Bull, the diminishing asset value of Adrian Newey in the 2014 era and the fact that Alonso would be chucking away the 2014 “Works team advantage”, and you have a full, complete, comprehensive explanation as to why Daniel Ricciardo has already the Red Bull contract. Saying that though, it doesn’t detract from the sheer, tear-curdling pang of sadness that comes from the prospect of seeing Vettel go yet again unchallenged by his teammate…(sigh)…

        1. @william-brierty I definitely feel Räikkönen/Vettel would be a far less volatile relationship as Alonso seemingly takes opportunities for a political boost as they come and also seems terribly fond of his preeminent status at Ferrari which I wouldn’t say is true (at least to the same extent) of Räikkönen – he appears to be of the type that solely lets his driving speak for itself.

          However, I would highly doubt that they would be rejoicing in an unfrictuos relationship for any great expanse of time – the will to win is a more powerful stimulant than disposition to conserve one’s friendships in the egotistical world of Formula 1. That is all very well until the sporting respect sours and begins resulting in petty attempts at destabilising and disadvantaging your teammate – it is at this innevitable juncture that points start being lost.

          However, if one can delay the inevitable then the benefits can be tremendous: note how comprehensibly McLaren dominated the 1988 season. So it’s a huge gamble and you need a very powerful team leader to control what is comparable to two fierce animal rivals battling over a mate. Is Christian Horner that powerful team leader? I’m not sure: undoubtably he has fantastic credentials as a team boss but the strains have sometimes resulted in a swipe of a claw between Vettel and Webber even, which is a problem which would only be heightened by employing Räikkönen. Then again though, Red Bull have been terribly successful over the past three years in the constructor’s championship…

          Having taken all factors into consideration, I actually think in the short term a Räikkönen/Vettel partnership could reep very great rewards. That said, I agree Ricciardo has probably already signed on the dotted line: he is a “decent peddler”, he is a great ambassador for the Red Bull brand and I imagine would work seamlessly with Vettel. There is also the added bonus that he could theoretically take over team leadership should Vettel decide to go to pastures new, a lure Räikkönen does not posses due to his age. So the odds are that it will still remain a subjective topic of debate whom of Vettel, Alonso, Hamilton and Räikkönen possesses the greater talent. Is that such a bad thing? ;)

          1. You’ve also got to remember about when each driver was at their peak – speed-wise I think the guys in their 30s have lost a touch of speed. But they have gained in being complete drivers. Webber has mostly kept his speed at 36 with an insane body-punishing workout regime, to try and challenge a prime Vettel. Massa has slightly rounded, developing rocket starts, and kept his pace mostly but is still prone to the odd error. However, testing god knows what kind of dodgy suspension/braking parts makes him look like a fool this year regularly.

            I also think Hulkenberg is ready for a step up to the top table, possibly Di Resta too but I can see Force India’s line up remaining static for another year.

      1. @f1fannl

        Alonso never was the best driver and he never will be.

        He was in 2006.

        1. @kingshark

          Why? Because he beat Fisichella? LOL.

  6. Briatore:”Fernando has a contract and contracts must be respected.”

    Hearing this guy talk about respect just doesn’t sit well with me, I can’t respect nor take anything that this guy says or does seriously anymore. Someone who is proactively willing to risk another human beings life for the sake of winning a competition doesn’t deserve to be seen, heard or respected in any form. He still (to my knowledge) hasn’t shown any remorse for what he did which makes his face and entire being even more repugnant and stale to behold.
    Still, I’ll give him is dues, he definitely knows how to rock a pair of shades whilst simultaneously wearing look of disdain for his fellow human! View Pic

    1. OmarR-Pepper (@)
      3rd August 2013, 14:57

      Probably he thinks Alonso shouldn’t go to RedBull because he wouldn’t be the rooster there, just another driver alongside Vettel.

    2. *wearing a look of disdain

  7. That’s the go Stefano, order an investigation into the team you are responsible for running. That’s confidence for you!

  8. When he felt that Ayrton was getting preferential treatment, he quit McLaren. When he thought the Ferrari wasn’t good enough, he called it a “truck” and got the sack for saying so.

    That’s what I don’t like about Prost: subsequently Gordon Murray has denied that anybody was getting preferential treatment at McLaren (and I agree with him – it’s the same story now with the Red Bull drivers) and although probably not far off the mark you don’t simply insult your own team and expect to be presented with a rose bouquet for your valiant driving efforts.

    Also, I found the way in which he expressly stated he did not wish to be paired with Senna at Williams in ’93 was essentially an admission that he felt he may lose. I can understand why he would do that but I felt that was a rather cowardly move.

    Just my two cents!

    1. You often write some good comments @vettel1, but your love for Vettel is second to none. I think Stevie Wonder has a clearer vision of how the RBR team is run.

      1. @funkyf1 I was meaning purely in terms of the conspiracy theories surrounding the team that Webber is being deliberately “sabotaged”, which was what Prost also complained (that he was being given sub-par Honda engines). I hope that clarifies it for you – I’m not really referring to number one driver debates!

        1. How do you know he wasn’t? :D

          1. @mike I’m just taking Murray’s word for it – he seems like an honest enough guy ;)

            @stephanief1990 absolutely. Don’t get me wrong I think Prost was a fantastic driver and am happy to admit Senna had his flaws (that move at the 1990 Japanese GP was just downright dangerous) but of the pairing I’ve always found Prost to be a very sly character!

        2. @vettel Webber got a sub-par front wing. I think you are kidding yourself if you think (especially in the top teams) that a certain driver isn’t preferred over another. Some teams are just more open about it.

          1. @funkyf1 in terms of development direction, yes. In terms of parts, no. Webber only lost that front wing because Vettel was getting a greater benefit from it anyway – it was hardly like Ferrari deliberately breaking Massa’s gearbox say, just Webber makes an unnecessarily massive fuss over such trivial things!

          2. @funkyf1,

            Of course Vettel is the preferred driver within Red Bull. He’s got 3 titles and is still very young whereas Webber was always going to call it quits sooner than later.
            But it’s not like they try to do everything to appease Vettel and ‘sabotage’ Webber. The start of the 2012 season where Red Bull went the Webber route in terms of car development and Malaysia this year are proof of that. If they had concentrated solely on Vettel they would have done the opposite at the start of 2012 and they would ordered Webber to move out of the way for Vettel in Malaysia.

    2. Steph (@stephanief1990)
      3rd August 2013, 15:08

      It’s just different ideas on what honour is. Both were very different and pushes the rules. Some see Ayrton as the hero, others see him as a bully. Some see Prost as weak, others as the overlooked legend.

    3. A lot of drivers, including Senna himself, have refused to have certain teammates. I believe Senna vetoed Derek Warwick joining him in Lotus.

    4. That’s what I don’t like about Prost: subsequently Gordon Murray has denied that anybody was getting preferential treatment at McLaren

      In 1989 it was obvious that Senna was having a preferential treatment over Prost (don’t get me wrong i’m not saying Senna has won because of that or anything else we are talking probably about the 2 greatest drivers), Prost bad relationship with Dennis & Senna good relationship with Honda has contributed to that, Then how do you explain that a Driver like Alain Prost was 2s a lap slower than Senna in Monza (in the race not the qualifying) if it was not for a power disadvantage
      You have only to see Ron Dennis’s reaction when Prost gave his trophy to the tifosi when they were cheering to him after his win at Monza

      1. @tifoso1989 I still don’t buy it: Ron is not one to oversee a sabotage. He just rules with a very heavy hand!

      2. Did they ever get that trophy back? Or did they commission a replica? :D

        1. No i don’t think that they got it back, i wish i was the person who had it

  9. Really, have Ferrari got some private deal with the FOM to not publish Alonso’s radio messages? It’s beyond peculiar how in race after race we see absolutely nothing between him and his engineer.
    Jon Sandor (@Jonsan)
    ___

    His Radio talk is in Italian. Chill on the conspiracy theories.

    1. Isn’t there a rule that they must speak in English? I recall reading about it somewhere…

      1. OmarR-Pepper (@)
        3rd August 2013, 18:17

        No, @yoshif8tures, it’s on the press conference, even now on the podium , I remember when Takuma got 3rd in Japan and he tried to start all in Japanese but he was “reminded” to start in English first, then he had his turn to do it in Japanese, but after everybody finished the speech in English.

  10. I find the blackout on Alonso’s radio messages more irritating than curious. No offense to the drivers on the bottom tier teams, but what VDG and Pic say to their engineers is not all that interesting to me unless they happen to be involved in some controversial incident. It’s different with the championship contenders. At Montreal Alonso and Hamilton had a great battle, banging cars together – you can’t tell me there were no angry messages to the pits there. Even in races like Hungary it would be useful to know what’s being said … if Alonso was complaining vociferously about his cars performance during the race, for instance, it would give the recent stories of his little spat with Ferrari a different complexion.

    Saying “he talks in Italian” is neither here nor there. Even if he does, and that’s far from certain, a international organization like the FOM is more than capable of a simple task like translation. They don’t publish his radio transmissions because they don’t want to. The only people being kept in the dark here are we the fans. You know that RB, Lotus, Mercedes etc monitor Alonso’s radio messages, with an Italian translator if necessary.

  11. How I would love to see Alonso and Vettel head to head in the same car. Maybe Vettel should swap and move to Ferrari; he’s said he wants to race for them one day

  12. I wish Redbull persuade Juan Pablo Montoya to fill in Mark Webbers seat…. It would be phenomenal…

    1. @laminator Vettel and Montoya are actually friends. Vettel used ot raced againts his younger brother, He was even invited to Montoya´s wedding (at least that was the rumor)

      1. @celeste : Montoya is one of my fav drivers… Plus he is a no non-sense kind of guy.. Anyhow I would love to see him back in F1

        1. @laminator Montoya is a legend. Very colorful character… I wish he could get more atention in Nascar series…

  13. Hi Super Mario

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