Fernando Alonso, Ferrari, Silverstone, 2011
Fernando Alonso will remain at Ferrari until the end of 2016 after signing an extension with the team.
Ferrari announced the deal on the eve of Alonso’s home race.
Alonso said: “I am very happy to have reached this agreement.
“I immediately felt comfortable within Ferrari and now it feels to me like a second family.
“I have the utmost faith in the men and women who work in Maranello and in those who lead them: it is therefore natural for me to decide to extend my relationship in the long term like this, with a team at which I will no doubt end my Formula 1 career one day.”
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said: “It is a great pleasure to have renewed our agreement with a driver who has always demonstrated a winning mentality even in the most difficult circumstances.
“Fernando has all the required qualities, both technically and personally to play a leading role in the history of Ferrari and I hope he will be enriching it with further wins very soon.”
Last year Felipe Massa signed a deal which runs to the end of 2012.
2012 F1 season
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Browse all 2012 F1 season articles
Image © Ferrari spa/Ercole Colombo
RIISE (@riise)
19th May 2011, 8:52
Well what news this is. I can definitely see Alonso becoming a 4 time WDC by the end of this contract.
2016 though, he’s going to become a Schumacher-esque figure at Ferrari (Although he won’t overtake the greatest ever).
BasCB (@bascb)
19th May 2011, 9:36
I guess it depends on how much Neweys magic keeps ticking at Red Bull though. And certainly Fernando will want to keep pushing their development team to actually come up with a smashing car next year, or at least in 2013.
Fixy (@)
19th May 2011, 12:10
Schumacher passed 11 years in Maranello. If Alonso stays until the end of 2016 it will be his 7th year in red. I’m sure he will still be competitive by then.
Nick
19th May 2011, 12:44
“I can definitely see Alonso becoming a 4 time WDC by the end of this contract”
I agree. Providing he becomes resilient. Which might be a struggle.
The New Hope
19th May 2011, 14:13
I honestly do not see Alonso winning any more championships.
Ella
19th May 2011, 14:18
Your name is obviously ironic then :)
I have to disagree though, I think there is a strong chance that with his and the team’s talent, and a lot of luck, he could add to his championship tally.
PT
20th May 2011, 8:21
To be honest, being an Alonso fan, I think if Red Bull keeps dominating races this way it will be Vettel adding to his title and not Alonso. I’m surprised he’s renewed his contract for such a long period. Ferrari no longer has the Todt/Brawn/Byrne invincibility factor that enabled Schumacher to romp away with titles. The glaring strategy errors they’ve made (Raikkonen – Sepang 2009, Alonso – Abu Dhabi 2010) show that Ferrari is just any other team now. Performance wise they don’t have the edge either. Let’s hope the Barcelona updates given them a leap.
There is a hint of discontent in Montezemolo’s tone, and rightfully so. The last part of his statement: “…I hope he will be enriching it with further wins very soon” shows that the Alonso partnership hasn’t worked as expected in terms of hard results. The only hope Ferrari and Alonso can have is from 2013 when the new rules will shake the grid.
FED UP WITH RED BULL DOMINANCE
As long as Newey is there in Red Bull no one can have a sniff at the title. It is a shame that Formula 1 has a tendency to become predicatable every now and then. If Vettel is going to be winning every race why should I care to watch? I might as well crown him World Champion 2011 and sit back.
FORMULA 1’s TENDENCY TO BORE
Why is it that in spite of having so many world class outfits, one team sometimes manages to run away with the wins in this self-professed highest rung of motorsports every now and then? Is Newey a superman? He, Ross Brawn, and Michael Schumacher have been the greatest engineers of predictability, making Formula 1 Formula Yawn. This is back to the Schumacher – 2000-2004 and Button – 2009 boredom.
William Stuart (@williamstuart)
14th August 2014, 12:01
Haha, how unfounded were these claims?
Dan Thorn (@dan-thorn)
19th May 2011, 8:54
This makes me happy.
You’d expect him to grab another couple of titles in that time, though a lot depends on what happens with who his team mate(s) is/are during that time…
Icthyes (@icthyes)
19th May 2011, 9:23
Having a team-mate that can take points off of others will be vital in this age of F1. It’s not like before, only having to worry about one challenger. There are at least 4 other guys out there who could also win. As much as he’s improved, Massa isn’t quite there yet. If he doesn’t get back to his old form Ferrari need to make a point of going back to the 2007-2008 mould of fielding two strong drivers. They can’t afford to have a fast lackey unless they have a dominant car.
Of course, Webber and Button will fade as challengers over the course of time. But Rosberg will come into the fray too and who knows how youngsters like Paul di Resta will turn out?
Dan Thorn (@dan-thorn)
19th May 2011, 9:35
I agree. Alonso certainly has the talent to probably beat any of the current drivers, the question is does he have the mindset? If someone like Vettel, Hamilton or Kubica (though I’d be amazed if he’s as good as he was before the accident) joined him would have learned from his experience at McLaren and do his talking on the track?
Would Ferrari want to take that risk and put another top driver against Alonso, knowing that it could potentially become volatile? To be fair I don’t think Ferrari were aware that Raikkonen and Massa would as closely matched as they were and they still like to have a number 1 and number 2 driver.
Massa is certainly improving this year and if he can get to a point where he regularly mixes it with the top guys, Ferrari may well opt to keep on past 2012 – that is, if Massa wants to stay, but that’s another matter…
Steph (@)
19th May 2011, 10:19
If anyone terminates the Massa Ferrari relationship it’ll be Ferrari. Massa’s the clingy one-despite all the times it seems Ferrari might ditch him he still manages to keep the seat.
As for Fernando this news has really made my day. I remember Alonso saying after his title wins that he may not stick around in F1 for very long but I guess the uncompetitive years in Renault, the messy 07 and the oh so close title hunt last year has seduced his competitive nature and convinced him to stick around. I am still surprised it’s until the end of 2016 at least.
I don’t want to get my hopes up but I’d really love Alonso to get at least a third title. 2006 seems like such a long time ago!
Fixy (@)
19th May 2011, 13:29
You’re right. This though leaves only one vacant seat between 2012 and 2016, and that is Massa’s. He will be the one leaving if Ferrari want someone else.
Eggry (@eggry)
19th May 2011, 15:09
Alonso should know this could be last chance in really big team. He have to supress his feeling when something like 2007 is happend and beat his teammate on track.
Icthyes (@icthyes)
19th May 2011, 9:15
No more titles for Alonso then ;)
Nah, this is the only smart choice for him. Ferrari will be back at some point and will give him the tools to do the job. A great driver like him deserves more than the haul he has at the moment. Hopefully Ferrari won’t go back into the doldrums but with Alonso at the helm it’s hard to see it happening any time soon.
Eggry (@eggry)
19th May 2011, 15:13
Yeah, What he have to do is just wait for great car and maintain his driving skill. be patient. one day he would be champion again.
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
19th May 2011, 9:16
Well, so long as Alonso and Ferrari are in the one place, I don’t have to spread my hate around. See? I can hate efficiently.
BasCB (@bascb)
19th May 2011, 9:44
LOL, now move Hulkenberg in as well an it will be perfect!
GeeMac (@geemac)
19th May 2011, 10:12
With Nick Heidfeld as Test Driver…
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
19th May 2011, 10:13
I don’t hate Hulkenberg. He’s not worth it.
CarlitosF1
19th May 2011, 11:14
LOL!
BasCB (@bascb)
19th May 2011, 11:34
Below your interest level! That hurts, haha
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
19th May 2011, 12:23
It’s harsh, maybe, but it’s true. Alonso only raises my ire, and I’m thoroughly invested in seeing him have as poor a weekend as possible. I was delighted by Abu Dhabi last year when he was forced to sit on Petrov’s rear wing for lap after lap in the knowledge that Sebastian Vettel was getting away.
But with Hulkenberg, it was usually a case of “Oh, hi! I didn’t see you there, Nico!” (which was also the first thing Vitaly Petrov said to him after the start at Suzuka). To me, he’s just a footnote.
NJB
19th May 2011, 13:56
So just try to comprehend how insignificant you are to him.
Julian
19th May 2011, 16:05
That right there is my comment of the decade
f1alex (@f1alex)
19th May 2011, 23:02
LOL!
HG
19th May 2011, 23:43
lol, and so true.
Becken
19th May 2011, 14:05
I think Keith will not choose this one here as the comment of the day, but i like it.. ;)
Mike
19th May 2011, 15:21
I hope he does, funniest thing I’ve read in ages!
Alonso4ever
19th May 2011, 9:19
This is the sweetest news for Alonso Fans like me. Though i did not expect the announcement to come so early. Clearly shows the faith Ferrari have in Alonso. Hopefully he will win at least a couple more Titles and will be a Legend on the lines of Senna and Schumacher. Go Alonso !!!
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
19th May 2011, 9:30
Alonso will never be a legend like Senna. And that’s not my hatred of him speaking – no-one will ever be able to incite the same passion that Senna did. No-one will ever be able to drive so instinctively. Alonso has never had a breathtaking drive like Donington 1993. And while both he and Senna had both their fans and their detractors, Senna’s detractors respected him. I know a lot of people with no respect for Alonso (and most of them felt that way before Hockenheim 2010) and who think the sport would be better off without him.
Alonso might be good. He might even be great. But he cannot ascend to the level of Senna. Not even Michael Schumacher can do that.
Keith Collantine (@keithcollantine)
19th May 2011, 9:32
I beg to differ, at least as far as the first lap is concerned:
Three great first laps
Prisoner Monkeys (@prisoner-monkeys)
19th May 2011, 9:43
Oh, he might have the odd great first lap … but wht about a great race, lights to flag?
Senna got caught up in all manner of controveries. But ask any fan the first thing that comes to mind when they hear his name, and they’ll likely remember things like Donington 1993, his battles with Mansell and Prost and his astonishing record.
Alonso has had his share of controversies, but if you were to ask fans of the first thing they think of when they hear his name (after he leaves the sport, of course), and they’ll likely recall a double World Champion who was a key player in the two biggest scandals the sport has ever seen (even if he was innocent in both, neither could have happened without him – particularly Singapore), plus the team orders row in 2010. Fernando Alonso has made an impression in Formula 1 … he’s just done it in all the wrong ways.
Taib
19th May 2011, 17:23
If you are going to hate at least do it with facts instead of bile filled conjecture. “Ask the fans?”. You have been asking all the fans then?
Alonso is already a great driver. Clearly he has made such a great impression that Ferrari felt that more doubling his initial contract was necessary.
Icthyes (@icthyes)
19th May 2011, 9:51
That race was always over-rated anyway. Everyone remembers it for the stunning opening and forgets about the rest. Don’t get me wrong, it was exciting, but the race didn’t finish on Lap 1!
But if we’re comparing first laps, even I would say Alonso’s was better.
GeeMac (@geemac)
19th May 2011, 10:14
Ok, if its lights to flag you are after, then how about Monaco 84, Estoril 86, Suzuka 88…
GeeMac (@geemac)
19th May 2011, 10:16
Estoril 85 of course! Ah the perils of ommenting at work!
Icthyes (@icthyes)
19th May 2011, 10:29
Monaco 84 is a bit of a cheat as we only had half the race – he might have binned it ;)
But yes, all great drives by Senna. I find it a bit silly to stack up “he has greater drives than you” because subjectivity and context are king.
alex
19th May 2011, 14:36
I went to see again alonso’s 1st lap. It is really good, but you have to consider he was overtaking car much slower (except for massa).
Besides, Renault (not alonso) was fantastic in the starts… (now it is even clearer, given the poor ones alonso has had recently)
Adam Tate (@adam-tate)
19th May 2011, 9:41
Nor is Alonso at the level of Schumacher. In 162 starts Alonso has 26 wins, which looks very impressive, until you see that Schumacher had 52 wins, exactly twice as many, by his 162nd start.
Alonso may be very very good, but he is no legend, at least not yet.
Butterfly
19th May 2011, 9:53
That’s right, not yet.
Time is on his side, though.
Lustigson
19th May 2011, 10:04
You have to take into account, too, while comparing Schumacher’s and Alonso’s 162 starts, that the former had had a car capable of winning every single season of his career, bar his debut year 1991, while the latter has had a less-than-optimal car for 2004, arguably 2008, and 2009.
Plus, the Renaults, McLarens and Ferraris that Alonso drove to victory haven’t been as dominant as Schumacher’s Benetton in 1995 — he took 8 wins from 17 races — and more so his Ferraris in the 2000 through 2002 season — I’m only counting his first 162 starts, i.e. until Malaysia 2002 — handing him 19 wins in 36 Grands Prix.
The way I see it, Alonso is in Schumacher’s league. Perhaps not statistically, but hey, most of us don’t consider Schumacher to be in Senna’s and Prost’s league, despite his 91 wins and 68 pole positions. :-)
Adam Tate (@adam-tate)
19th May 2011, 10:14
That is a very valid point, but when you look at it, and despite the car dominance, Schumacher got his 26th win by his 96th start, it took Alonso 60 more races to reach that mark.
I think Alonso today is as good or better than the Schumacher of today. But compared to the Schumacher of the late 90’s – early 2000’s he has a long way to go.
Something I think he is trying to answer with the new and very lengthy Ferrari contract. I suspect it shall work and we shall see at least one more, if not multiple Alonso title, and it will take that for me to see him as being in the same class as Schumacher, because in my mind, he just isn’t quite there.
Dan Thorn (@dan-thorn)
19th May 2011, 10:18
Not to forget that Alonso has arguably come up against a stronger and wider field of talent than Schumacher did…
Icthyes (@icthyes)
19th May 2011, 10:38
Well let’s see. Schumacher won against Senna and Prost. You may say he had a car capable of winning races, isn’t it just as likely he won those races more than the car? How many races did Brundle win? Irvine didn’t win in a Ferrari until 1999. How many wins did Schumacher take from Hill having a dud year?
@Dan Schumacher was also up against superior machinery from 1996 until 2000. Alonso by contrast had 3 seasons where his car was either the best or equal best.
Personally I don’t think Alonso is as talented as Schumacher was. He reminds me much more of the later Schumacher years, driving from experience more than instinct. If we’re talking about legacies,Alonso is not there yet. Win two more championships and we’ll see.
brum55
19th May 2011, 11:33
How many of Schumacher’s wins were against Senna and Prost? 5 wins in 3 years. Then it was wins against the mighty Hill, Villeneuve and Hakkinen before having the most dominant car in history.
Alonso’s rivalry with Hamilton has already lasted longer than Schumi’s with Mika. Not forgetting battling an on-form Kimi and the emergence of Vettel. And of course he battled with Schumacher and came out on top.
The reason people rate Senna and Prost so highly is because of the standard of their opposition and the fact they more often than not came out on top. And once they retire, people will be rating Alonso, Hamilton and Vettel as highly for the same reasons regardless of whether they get near Schumacher’s records.
David A
20th May 2011, 2:59
@brum55- if Schumacher wasn’t driving, then the driver’s you mentioned would have been more even, and fighting for the championships and wins Schumacher took. Then you’d be talking about how great the competition was, like now or in the 50’s-80’s.
There is a difference between being no competition and simply being better than everyone else.
unnnooocc
19th May 2011, 10:09
Adam, much of that has to do with which teams he is in.
Schumacher collected a win in his first full year (1992). Along with all podiums bar DNF in 1993. He then had fast cars (with reigning champions to go against) in 94 and even more so 95. Fast cars capable of winning for the next 4 years. Then fastest cars and a lapdog teammate for 5 years and 2 fast cars at the end.
Alonso on the other hand, could only muster 1 win due to the cars he had in his first 3 years. Schumacher has a champion by the end of his 3rd full year. Alonso never had the car. He then had 3 years of championship capable cars although he faced more oponents to take wins off him.
then 2 ‘wins’ in 2 years before the 3rd fastest car last year and something even more off the pace so far this year.
Compare that with someone like Hamilton and it looks even more amazing purely by facts.
Hamilton was brought up by an F1 and in his first year had the fastest car. 2nd year he had fastest/2nd fastest car along with bias from team and a move over I’m coming past teammate
3rd year he didn’t have anything until later in the seasn.
4th he was challenging till the final GP despite several large mistake near the end. 2nd fastest car.
I’m not a proper fan of either of the 3 drivers, I personally like the later two more than Schumacher but I would prefer Webber and Massa to be on the podium before any of them.
Senna could only manage 41 wins from 162 starts. So is Schumacher 150% better than Senna? nup… I wouldn’t say he is even close.
Prost had 43 in his first 162 starts. I wouldn’t call Schumacher better than Prost either.
Adam Tate (@adam-tate)
19th May 2011, 10:18
I think you still have to take into account that he scored 16 wins with Ferrari before his first championship season with them in 2000. 16 wins during seasons in which the Williams, and then the McLaren were arguably faster cars.
Yes, Alonso has had more time in inferior cars than Schumacher, but he just hasn’t gotten as much out of them as Michael had.
I’m not trying to say the stats make Schumi out to be any better a driver than Prost or Senna, but he is(or at least was) clearly a better driver than Alonso who now seeks to emulate him with this new Ferrari contract.
Icthyes (@icthyes)
19th May 2011, 11:32
I’m sorry but it’s a little rich to say Hamilton had a “move over” team-mate when you’re sticking up for Alonso. Fisichella was exactly the same and the less said about Massa moving over, the better.
Icthyes (@icthyes)
19th May 2011, 10:52
I sometimes make this point about Senna but it also fits in with Alonso.
A lot of Senna fans say he would have had Schumacher’s records if his career (i.e. the level of cars he drove) had gone the same way. Probably true. If Alonso’s career goes the same way as Schumacher’s he’ll challenge them too, at least in “real terms” (taking into account level of opposition, etc.).
But the thing is, Schumacher actually did them. And whilst in Senna’s case the reason is tragic, it’ll always be a “what if”. Maybe, seeing as he was so demotivated from Prost’s retirement, he would have slumped and given up.
Alonso himself still has the chance to emulate Schumacher. But whilst we fall over ourselves comparing them like-for-like, the fact is Alonso won’t be in Schumacher’s league until he does what Schumacher did (in “real terms” of course) over the rest of his career.
Adam Tate (@adam-tate)
19th May 2011, 11:04
Thankyou Icthyes!!
You have helped prove the point I was trying to make. That Alonso needs a lot more success to be truly compared to Schumacher.
I did some digging, and those that say Schumi didn’t have enough competition need to look at their history.
During Schumacher’s career, so from late 91-06, 2010-present:
Hill had 22 wins, Hakkinen had 20, Alonso had 20, DC had 13, Mansell had 12, Villeneuve had 11, Rubens had 11, Senna had 10, Kimi had 9, Vettel is up to 8, Prost had 7, Montoya had 7, his brother Ralf had 6, Berger had 5, Webber and Hamilton had both had 4, and there are several others you have 4 or less.
On this list are many of the best drivers to compete in the sport. Schumacher may have had the best car for several of his seasons, but it is because he earned it, during his time he’s amassed 91 wins and had to compete against the likes of Senna at the beginning, Hakkinen at his peak, Alonso near his retirement and now he’s come back to deal with Vettel, Hamilton and others. To say he has not had enough competition is nearly blasphemous.
Robbie
19th May 2011, 14:14
No driver has ever had nearly the resources for such an extended time period as MS/Ferrari…FIA/F1 desired for MS to end the Ferrari WDC drought and hence the mega contract including contracted subservient bootlickers for teammates to not be a bother, decided in the boardroom, not on the track…the extra 100 mill per year just because they were Ferrari, the 3 seats on the board to the other teams’ one, thus giving them veto power on upcoming rule changes throughout MS’s tenure at Ferrari.
No driver will ever achieve the numbers MS compiled until the FIA/F1 decides to make it so.
I will honour any driver who has achieved ‘only 1 WDC’ but achieved honourably, vs. any of MS’s WDC’s achieved with the underhanded tactics of massive favouritism on his teams robbing we the fans of true racing on MS’s teams, the FIA’s desire to see him win, the career long unethical behaviour on the track…
The likes of JV, MH and FA beat an MS that had the cards stacked moreso toward him, not just on his team(s) but amongst the whole grid, moreso than any driver in the history of F1, so I honour those WDC’s hand over fist more than those of MS.
The proof MS needed all that he received to win? Look at how he is doing now without it.
The effort and motivation just isn’t there like it used to be to give MS a hand up, and the results show it.
I look for Ferrari to honour we the viewing audience with worthy teammates for FA such that we are not robbed of racing in the pinnacle of racing. I look for FA to want to earn his WDC’s honourably, by beating his fairly treated teammate first and foremost on the track, not in the boardroom, and then by beating the rest of the field.
David A
20th May 2011, 3:22
The majority of this stuff has already been pointed out to you as being fiction, or inaccurate. The rule changes in 2003 and 2005 for example? To prevent Ferari domination.
That’s your very misguided opinion, which I have to respect. MH and JV had superior cars to MSC in 97 and 98, and MS’s talent meant he could keep up and almost beat them in those years. In everyone else’s mind, JV isn’t even close to MS. Hakkinen is an underrated driver, but overall still isn’t in Schumacher’s league (with Senna, Prost, Fangio, Clark).
No, it’s just clear that F1 drivers get better, not that Schumacher was never the best. It’s a sign of how great Schumacher, that when MH (a 2 time WDC) tried to test a Mclaren after retirement, he was seconds off the pace, yet MS is tenths off the pace.
meadowlark
19th May 2011, 11:22
no not your hatred speaking/ it must be your close personnel relationship with him /or your extensive bitching on blogs
Robbie
20th May 2011, 16:27
The majority of this stuff has already been pointed out to you as being fiction, or inaccurate. The rule changes in 2003 and 2005 for example? To prevent Ferari domination.
Actually MS is seconds off the pace…he is only tenths off of NR’s pace. And it’s been a season and a half almost…did MH had a season and a half to test a Mac after he retired? Or are you just going to pick on selected momentary flashes in time of different circumstances to make your argument?
Robbie
20th May 2011, 16:30
Oops, looks like I need practice at blocking quotes.
David A
20th May 2011, 17:46
Sigh…Brawn, Byrne, and the rest of the technical staff at Ferrari were the best people around at the time. Combined with the talent and leadership of Schumacher, you get domination. F1 became boring, and so “the show” had to be livened up. By signing the best driver and people, Ferrari set themselves up for an end to the WDC drought.
It’s pretty amazing that you can accuse others of making “selective memory flashes”, when that is all you ever do. Consider every negative thing about Schumacher, blow it up a thousand times and claim Villeneuve scraping one title are better than all of Schumacher’s. Yeah, we can’t pretend that Schumacher’s conduct was always perfect. Yes, the team was geared towards him. But you can’t take away his dedication to everything on