Ferrari Mailing List: Santander - Alonzo >Ferrari F1?

[Paul Bennett (pbennett]

>From uk.eurosport

New twist revealed in whispers over double F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso's 
future - and the possibility of the Spaniard joining forces with Ferrari in 
2009...

Despite his denials, rumours continue to link double Formula 1 World Champion 
Fernando Alonso with a move to Ferrari in 2009 - with new suggestions that a 
major sponsor switch will help to seal the deal.

According to German magazine Sport Bild, key McLaren-Mercedes sponsor Santander 
is set to ink a ?25 million-per-season agreement to switch allegiances to 
Ferrari from next year, taking Alonso with it.

The Spanish bank joined forces with McLaren when Alonso did likewise back at 
the start of 2007, but after the man from Oviedo jumped ship just one year into 
his three-year contract with the Woking-based concern at the end of last 
season, it seems Santander is looking to follow suit.

Sport Bild claims the Santander-Ferrari-Alonso deal includes the sponsor's 
lettering on the drivers' overalls and front and rear wing signage, as well as 
a ?30 million-per-year contribution to the 19-time grand prix winner's 
retainer. Santander boss Emilio Botin was present at last weekend's British 
Grand Prix.

Alonso told reporters at Silverstone that he will wait as late as September 
before announcing where he will be driving in 2009, whilst, coincidentally or 
not, F1SA points out that Ferrari traditionally reveals its line-up at the 
Italian Grand Prix, taking place on 14 September this year.

Spanish newspaper Diario AS has speculated that the 26-year-old's team-mate at 
the Scuderia would be defending F1 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen, in the wake 
of Felipe Massa's disastrous showing at Silverstone.

"I don't know if the rumours are true," Ferrari test driver and Alonso's 
countryman Marc Gené told sport.es, "but I don't see there would be a problem 
having Kimi with Alonso, or Felipe with Alonso, or staying with what we have 
now."

Meanwhile, Alonso has insisted he is no longer worried about finishing up on 
the podium in 2008, after the opening nine grands prix of the current campaign 
have yielded not so much as a single rostrum finish for Renault.

He has admitted that he has resigned himself to the Régie's current midfield 
position - sitting just seventh in the constructors' title chase, behind 
Toyota, Red Bull Racing and Williams and barely ahead of Honda - adding that 
the odd podium here or there would likely only come about through 'luck' and 
claiming he took greater satisfaction from being 'one of the few' drivers to 
not commit any notable errors during the rain-lashed British Grand Prix.

"I had said that when it rains, anything can happen," Alonso related, "which 
was the case as we had a difficult race with a very wet circuit. I used up my 
tyres very quickly and I finished the race virtually with slicks, which meant I 
lost a lot of time in certain parts of the track. We could have probably had a 
better result [at Silverstone], but in the end I scored three points, which is 
important for the championship."

"For me, it (the podium) does not have much value," he added, speaking to 
Spanish newspaper El Pais. "What I want to achieve is fourth place in the 
constructors' championship by the end of the season.

"The podium for Red Bull in Canada can be attributed to luck, and [at 
Silverstone] Honda, after their bad results, they're not now driving rockets?

"We have to stay calm and continue to add points. There are years when you are 
lucky and others when you are not. I would rather be unlucky now, when we are 
not fighting for the title."

Fast-improving rookie team-mate Nelsinho Piquet, for his part, was one of those 
to come a cropper at Silverstone, unfortunately throwing away what could have 
been a podium finish - or a strong points result at least - when he lost 
control of his R28 on the treacherous circuit on lap 36.

"I'm obviously extremely disappointed with the retirement," the young Brazilian 
reflected. "The car was very good, our strategy was perfect and we were 
on-course for a very good result. However, when the rain came down very 
heavily, the track was completely flooded.

"It wasn't just in the turns that the car was out-of-control, it was even on 
the straights. It was impossible to control. We have to take positives in that 
the car was good and we showed how competitive we could be, so we have to take 
that to Hockenheim now."

The Enstone-based outfit's managing director Flavio Briatore and executive 
director of engineering Pat Symonds were similarly phlegmatic about the overall 
outcome to the race - one they well knew could have yielded so much more than 
just Alonso's three points.

"Once again it was a race that looked promising," Briatore acknowledged, "but 
we were not able to make the most of our chances. The first part of the race 
showed that Fernando and Nelson were very competitive, and we must make sure 
that we build upon this potential in the second part of the season."

"Our pace at the start of the race seemed reasonable," added Symonds, "but it 
was obviously a mistake to leave the tyres on Fernando's car at the first stop. 
Later in the race we were clearly uncompetitive, and we need to find the reason 
why."