Fernando Alonso announces his retirement.

[Macklaren]

I stopped following F1 when Schuey/Ferrari were winning everything, the most boring era in the sport ever.

I never understand these statements on a F1 site which is frequented by serious F1 fans

You will find many genuine F1 fans who will agree with this view. There was a perception (right or wrong) that Ferrari was favored by the FIA and their domination was not "fair" (esp. given the lack of competition between teammates). The RB and Merc domination spells didnt come close to that level of one-sidedness.

[ALO_Power]

I never understand these statements on a F1 site which is frequented by serious F1 fans

Watching f1 seriously for over two decades, I completely understand - the predictability and boredom of races in that Era is still unmatched, it was beyond frustrating.

What I do not understand is that if you have stopped following F1 why are you taking time out of your life commenting on a dedicated F1 forum which is a lot more effort than casually watching it on tv? If you have stopped following it ( which is totally acceptable and obviously your prerogative) why enter an area of discussion filled with people that still love it and follow it with these statements? If you were not following it you would not know enough to comment on the latest events!? Not following it and being less enthusiastic about it recently are two different things. If you are genuinely not following it anymore then do us a favour and do exactly that and we would not have your negative statements here.

He means that he stopped watching till that time, not till now.

[garygph]

I stopped following F1 when Schuey/Ferrari were winning everything, the most boring era in the sport ever.

I never understand these statements on a F1 site which is frequented by serious F1 fans

You will find many genuine F1 fans who will agree with this view. There was a perception (right or wrong) that Ferrari was favored by the FIA and their domination was not "fair" (esp. given the lack of competition between teammates). The RB and Merc domination spells didnt come close to that level of one-sidedness.

I understand not being a fan of that era, not being enthusiastic about that era and so on ( that includes me!), but when someone states they stopped following F1 but is here on a forum with serious F1 fans commenting on the latest events?

[garygph]

He means that he stopped watching till that time, not till now.
[/quote]

I respect your perception of that comment but I must admit to not being as generous as you.

[Avocado]

So Vandorne and Lando @Mclaren next year?

Sainz and Norris.

Autosport reporting that Alonso will retire at the end of 2018!

CONFIRMED by Fernando Twitter!

He never said that.

"My heart is with the team forever," said Alonso.

"I know they will come back stronger and better in the future and it could be the right moment for me to be back in the series; that would make me really happy.

"I have built so many great relationships with many fantastic people at McLaren, and they have given me the opportunity to broaden my horizons and race in other categories.

"I feel I am a more complete driver now than ever."

[Miha_v]

He means that he stopped watching till that time, not till now.

I respect your perception of that comment but I must admit to not being as generous as you.
[/quote]

@ALO_Power is right, it was just in that era. I actually never stopped following the sport, merely spent far more time reading about aerodynamics and technical f1 stuff then watching races (you knew who is going to win, anyway). And returned to be a full-on spectator ever since Schumacher/Alonso fights started spicing up the sport again. I find it funny I have to defend myself,... why would I be posting here, if I weren't a serious f1 fan?

back on topic: Sainz and Norris, definitely the best combination in my opinion.
by the way, from what I understood,... there is still a slight posibillity Fernando could one day return if the car proves to be competitive.

[Wass85]

Sadly for many Alonso has announced he will be retiring from F1 at the end of the season. He's had a very good career no doubt but he will leave a lot of if's. I have a feeling Christian Horner shunning him recently was the final nail in the coffin.

[Jolle]

ALO’s move to quit now feels to be to be a bit of a dick move. He was one of the forces in McLaren to switch to Renault (with Zak’s one core message “we have to keep Fernando happy”) and now after one season he leaves them. There are no good driver options left for McLaren on the market. All the world champions are taken, even all the race winners have good seats. Grosjean, Perez and Stroll are the only drivers left with a podium to their name. So next year it’s going to be a sponsorless car, no works status and second choice drivers. The ingredients never have been this bad, even in the Peugeot and early Mercedes days they had at least works status and a good deal with Philip Morris. I think we have to go back before Fittipaldi and Texaco...

[diffuser]

LOL, Pretty funny. Even when he retires everything is his fault.

[Tommy Cookers]

McLaren's worst season ?
1967
they used an Indy Ford destroked to 3 litres for F1 by Stelliting the crank (think of better ways to adapt that engine ?)
it was so bad that they reduced the inlet diameter - then went to a road Ferrari-ripoff engine

Bruce McLaren took it quite well
as a child he had spent 2 years fixed flat on his back to a metal frame - the treatment for Perthe's disease

I bet (at good odds) on Fernando to win the championship and he did
the greatest thing he did was to show that opposite-lock drivers were deceiving themselves and their fans
a car setup to understeer was a car setup that could have the power brought in earlier and so was faster
with an open-minded driver who could bottle his pride and drive it well

[RonDennis]

So McLaren did everything Alonso wanted, after he already made the decision months ago. Zak Brown did what he needed to do, nothing to do with Alonso. I do feel kind of sad, he’s one of the greatest drivers F1 has ever seen. McLaren should sign Sainz and Norris. Brown probably told him they wouldnt be competitieve until 2021, why would they pay him this money while they knew the car wouldnt be good enough.

[strad]

He never said that.

.
????
Guess you either didn't read the whole announcement or have a totally different interpretation of what he said.
As for the statement that Liberty need to do more and save F1. Alonso said they spent months trying to talk him out of this.

[PlatinumZealot]

Autosport reporting that Alonso will retire at the end of 2018!

CONFIRMED by Fernando Twitter!

He's running away from Max Verstappen!

[PlatinumZealot]

ALO’s move to quit now feels to be to be a bit of a dick move. He was one of the forces in McLaren to switch to Renault (with Zak’s one core message “we have to keep Fernando happy”) and now after one season he leaves them. There are no good driver options left for McLaren on the market. All the world champions are taken, even all the race winners have good seats. Grosjean, Perez and Stroll are the only drivers left with a podium to their name. So next year it’s going to be a sponsorless car, no works status and second choice drivers. The ingredients never have been this bad, even in the Peugeot and early Mercedes days they had at least works status and a good deal with Philip Morris. I think we have to go back before Fittipaldi and Texaco...

Yes. That's true come to think of it! McLaren always had a race winner in the seat as far back as I can remember. I have a feeling they will take a punt at Kimi... or gasp.. Maldonado.. On a serious note I can't believe Mclaren has come down to such lows myself.

[Redragon]

It is funny that after his last 2 years being part of outside f1 teams where team work is fundamental there are still people speculating about how difficult would be to work with Alo. I think the F1 is full of hypocrisy that it is killing the sport. Horner looks like a dick head one week after and Massa like a big mouth he is, just to continue to get attention. If the F1 really believes he is a great driver and deserve a winning car, it should be given independently of the character of the driver as wins will come, but in this political correctness world is just not possible, since when business is related to confy pants. Shumi wasn't a teddy bear but his perfectionism and character gave him 7 WC to him and Ferrari . Now F1 has lost a legend and will suffer from it because the the racing will be just the challenge of the same drivers who are at the top teams and are scare to be facing other great drivers with the same tools. The old days of Senna - Prost on same team are all gone. This sport is dying year after year.
It will continue to find more gimmicks to able more racing but they don't want to give the change to a natural raw racing character.