Ron Dennis denies...
Ron Dennis denies that McLaren have already signed
Fernando Alonso for 2015
Ron Dennis has denied that McLaren
have re-signed Fernando Alonso but provided a bullish prognosis of the team’s
prospects in 2015 as the Spaniard mulls over his future plans.
Alonso and Ferrari are believed to
have terminated the final two years on his contract with the Scuderia, paving
the way for Sebastian Vettel to join the Italian outfit and a return to McLaren
for the Spaniard.
"I still have not decided
completely. I have a plan in my head, I have had my mind set for the last two
or three months,” Alonso told Sky F1 on Saturday.
With Mercedes ruling out signing
Alonso, and Red Bull appointing Daniil Kvyat as Vettel’s successor, Alonso’s
only realistic option for next season, other than taking a sabbatical or
plummeting down the grid, would appear to be the McLaren team he left seven
years ago after a solitary tumultuous season marred by the infamous Spygate
scandal.
“None of our drivers are signed for
2015,” declared Dennis in an exclusive interview with Martin Brundle that will
be broadcast in the build-up to Sunday’s Japanese GP on Sky Sports F1.
“We want the most competitive
drivers available and I’ve talked to every driver at the top-end of the
pitlane.”
Alonso's association - and alleged
role - with the Spygate furore, which culminated in McLaren being stripped of
their Constructors’ Championship points and fined $100m by the FIA, has been
frequently depicted as an insurmountable obstacle barring his passage back to
Woking. But Dennis is adamant that Alonso’s role in the scandal has been
exaggerated and there is no reason why he could not drive for the team again.
“Fernando wasn’t the trigger,” insisted
Dennis. “He was just a part-player. It was the action of other individuals. The
emails between Fernando and Pedro de la Rosa were pretty irrelevant.
“I moved on years ago. There’s no
impediment for Lewis Hamilton coming back. There’s no impediment for Fernando
Alonso coming back. And there’s no impediment for Kevin [Magnussen] and Jenson
[Button] staying.”
Nevertheless, it is widely believed
that McLaren will sign Alonso if the 33-year-old can be persuaded to commit his
future – and, in effect, the remainder of his F1 career – to a team without a
win since 2012. But Dennis is adamant they have an ace up their sleeves in the
shape of Honda and the engine they will exclusively supply for McLaren in 2015,
making the Woking outfit one of just three ‘works’ teams in the field.
"Everybody started with the
same engine and as we’ve moved forward I don’t think the mechanicals have
changed that much, I think most of the other teams other than Mercedes-Benz are
one step behind always," Dennis said when discussing the disadvantages of
being an engine customer.
"But it’s really not having
access to the source code that allows you to both harness and harvest the
energy-recovery systems and that’s crucial for getting a well-balanced car.
"Having said that, they’ve been
great partners of ours for the best part of 20 years and I would actually be
doing exactly as they’ve done if the boot was on the other foot. At the end of
the day they’re there to win but no grand prix team is going to win a World
Championship in the future unless it is the dominant recipient of an engine
manufacturer’s efforts."
Asked specifically about the
progress Honda are making with their power pack, Dennis enthused: “It is
mindblowing, the engine is a piece of jewellery. They are further ahead than
expected. The competiveness of the engine is without question.”
Dennis can rarely have sounded more
persuasive.
“It takes time to turn a team around
and this team will be turned around.”
(fonte: skysports.com)
***
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Sabe, cada ano que passa, eu vou ficando mais desestimulada a seguir na F1...
Não sou destas que estão aqui só para curtir o esporte. Estou aqui para seguir ALONSO e só. Curtir o esporte era um super e delicioso extra... mas cada dia mais este extra tem se tornado insuficiente.
Não sei qual será o futuro do Alonso para 2015: ano sabático?! McLaren?! Marussia, Caterham... rsrs
Não sei mesmo, a única certeza que tenho nisso tudo é que terei o prazer de ver Vettel se arrastar na Ferrari pelo menos no início. Porque EU SEI que será questão de tempo para ele reconstruir a Ferrari e fazê-la vencer. Isso vai acontecer, como dois e dois são 4. Eu sei disso, a Ferrari sabe disso e ele sabe disso! Ele tem tempo e 4 títulos para fazer da vida o que quiser, até mesmo jogar fora 2 a 3 anos da sua carreira, para no futuro poder dizer que fez a Ferrari vencer novamente, como fez Schumacher. Com a vantagem que AGORA, com a Ferrari todo desmantelada, ele levar "SUAS pessoas" não será arrogância... será uma necessidade.
Alonso pegou a pior Ferrari dos últimos anos, não levou ninguém e não venceu nada. Em 5 anos. É isso que vai ficar para história. Se ele DEU mais do que RECEBEU, se lá ele DESPERDIÇOU a melhor fase de sua carreira, ninguém irá perceber ou falar... o que valem são os números. E isso Vettel tem de sobra, sejam em vitórias, títulos e dias no calendário...
Que sejam felizes... pelo menos agora vou poder torcer CONTRA!!!!! E muito!
A outra certeza que tenho é a sensação nauseante que tenho cada vez que Ron Dennis fala a palavra "Fernando"...
Quando paro para pensar só na possibilidade de Alonso me fazer ter de ver este sujeito ao lado dele depois de TUDO que passamos... me dá vontade de dar um corretivo neste espanhol... sério.
Serão (seriam?) 10 anos de F1 na minha vida com Alonso em 2015, e eu acho que merecia mais, muito mais do que comemorar esta data especial tendo que torcer para um McLaren de novo...
Ou pior... talvez nem chegar a ter o 10. ano...
Não sei mais o que falar, ou pensar... sei lá!
Minha vontade é virar a costas, ir embora sem sequer olhar para trás...
Bjusss, Tati
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