20th WROOOM 2010 - Alonso in Red

[tk421]

All I know is that Kimi looks a lot better in red than Alonso does...

[WhiteBlue]

Reikkonen was always Montezemolo's man. Todt was dead against employing him as he wanted to continue with Schumacher into 2007.

Hmmmmmm, that's certainly not my understanding of the situation. While Todt and Brawn would certainly have wanted Schumacher to carry on as a first choice, when it became clear that he wasn't going to stay on or commit to anything Brawn took a sabbatical and it was Todt who lined up Raikkonen as a replacement. He had a long history of preferring Finnish drivers and their personalities within rallying circles and he was the one who was OK with Raikkonen snowmobiling just before his first Australian GP victory. For some reason Todt had taken a set against ever employing Fernando Alonso while he was there, hence Raikkonen being recruited.

Chasing away Brawn, Todt and Schumacher in favor of Reikkonen may be the dumbest thing that Montezemolo has ever done.

Quite possibly. I still don't completely understand the circumstances around Todt's departure and Brawn had the Team Principal job at Ferrari down as his first choice. I'm certainly suspicious about what happened around Nigel Stepney, but we'll never know there I suppose. It seems as though the Latin connection did them both out there, and the word 'Latin' has been used in an awful lot of interviews with Montezemolo and Domenicali.

I'm certainly not keen on the vibes coming out of Maranello. For those of us who remember the early 90s and times in the 80s it seems slightly familiar.

Just read the story by Tom Rubython. He is often unreliable but this one was confirmed by other sources

http://forums.speedgeezers.net/index.ph ... opic=23530

The sense of despair from Schumacher was obvious. He is the one driver on the grid who genuinely loves Formula One. He lives and breathes it. Whilst some other multiple world champions have rushed into retirement, he seemed set to drive on into his 40s. He was clearly not ready to retire after 16 seasons of racing, nearly double the average career span and equalling the career of Ricardo Patrese....

The countdown for Schumacher’s demise had begun on 25th August 2005 when Räikkönen signed a one-year option which gave Ferrari the right, within a certain time period, to employ him, at a salary of around US$45 million, for three years from 2007 to 2009 with options to renew beyond that. The option price had never been confirmed but was rumoured around the paddock to be US$5 million...

But as 2006 began, Montezemolo realised he didn’t want that. Signing Rossi was Todt and Schumacher’s plan. He wanted Räikkönen, his man, in the car for 2007, and started scheming to get his way. It may seem ridiculous that Montezemolo had effectively to politic within his own company, but that is the way it was. Todt had made Ferrari his own fiefdom, much to the annoyance of Montezemolo.....

It was never part of Montezemolo’s plan to get rid of Todt, he simply wanted to break up the Todt-Brawn-Schumacher alliance that so effectively controlled the team. And it appears that the battleground was drawn over Michael Schumacher, with both men determined to get their way.
But Montezemolo was more determined.

During the 2005 season Montezemolo decided he didn’t want Valentino Rossi even though he had a firm option to join the team. He persuaded Rossi not to take it up and stay in MotoGP. This decision upset Schumacher who could see what it meant.....

When Schumacher learned the news, he told Montezemolo he wanted until the end of the season to make up his mind about whether he would stay and partner Räikkönen. In the meantime, he didn’t want any announcement made about Räikkönen. But Montezemolo was not having any of that. He wanted the situation resolved and told Schumacher he wanted his decision by Monza, when he would announce Räikkönen. By then it appears Ross Brawn had also decided he would leave if Schumacher did. That news was leaked to journalists to pile pressure on Montezemolo.

The writing was on the wall. Montezemolo had come this far and was not about to turn back. Montezemolo won the battle: Schumacher would not drive with Räikkönen and would
instead announce his retirement. But the decision was very much against his will...

It is pretty much confirmed by Mike Doodson at GP.com in August

http://www.grandprix.com/ft/ft21745.html

And then, of course, there's Michael Schumacher. Three years ago, when he announced his retirement, it was self-evident that he'd be back. Here was a man who was born to race, whose competitive instincts went back to the age of 4 and who was evidently being prematurely squeezed out at Ferrari in the clash of wills between Jean Todt and Luca di Montezemolo. On the beach at 37, it was obvious that Schuey would rapidly get tired with sitting at home with Corinna and counting his money.

[segedunum]

Bit far-fetched really. There are elements that ring true such as the breaking up of the Todt/Brawn/Schumacher triumvirate (who were knocked down one-by-one thereafter) but the part of the story I find non-sensical is the Valentino Rossi thing. There was little chance of him ever leaving MotoGP, and certainly not for Formula One. It was merely something different for him to try, as it is now.

[Fil]

Those articles just scream to me of when you watch a movie, and the text comes up saying "based on a true story".. and you know 10% is true, the rest is fiction to make a good story.

The true story those articles are based on is: Brawn moved on, Schumacher retired, Kimi signed on, Todt later moved on.
The rest is artistic/journalistic interpretation.

No one from Ferrari has confirmed (or denied) any of it.
The most Scumi has said recently (now that he is no longer tied down by Ferrari contractual obligations) is:

I was tired of F1 by the end of 2006...

[WhiteBlue]

If you expect anybody to confirm that story you will have to wait a long time. Schumacher in particular will never criticise his team or reveal inner secrets.

For me the story fits all the events that I have observed over the years and I'm convinced that it is pretty close to the truth. All the mentioned events certainly have happened and many are confirmed by second sources.

Todt certainly was not happy and his role in Ferrari quickly changed from the man in control of the F1 team to the head of the entire Ferrari operation, including street car production. His focus on the F1 team was reduced although by name he remained as the Team Principal of the Scuderia F1 Team for one more season. Officially he was replaced as head of the gestione sportiva by Stefano Domenicali at the end of the 2007 season. That was obviously only a confirmation that he had lost his grip. He remained as CEO of Ferrari for a year but was overshadowed by Montezemolo who effectively made all decisions. In particular Montezemolo started to oppose many of the FIA policies. On March 17, 2009, it was announced that Todt had resigned, leaving Ferrari completely.

In summer Mosley announced Todt as his preferred replacement. October 23, 2009, Jean Todt was elected president of the FIA, with 135 votes against 49 votes for ex-driver Ari Vatanen.

Just this week it leaked that Ferrari's demands for equalizing the power and fuel consumption of the F1 engines will not be met. This is equal to a Liverpool kiss by Todt for Montezemolo. And it is not the first heavy blow for the red team. The way Ferrari agreed to the Schumacher move to Mercedes without a fight looks like some pressure was applied by the right people. On engines read:

http://www.jamesallenonf1.com/2010/01/n ... -for-2010/

In my view this will seriously compromise Ferrari's 2010 campaign. Ferrari in 2009 had the worst of the engines that will remain on the 2010 grid. Alonso has made careful moves to dampen the Tifosi's expectations.

http://www.f1technical.net/news/14022

He said that it may take years for Ferrari to win the championship again as it was the case when Schumacher joined Ferrari 1996.

[Fil]

If you expect anybody to confirm that story you will have to wait a long time. Schumacher in particular will never criticise his team or reveal inner secrets.

For me the story fits all the events that I have observed over the years and I'm convinced that it is pretty close to the truth. All the mentioned events certainly have happened and many are confirmed by second sources.

Yeah that's fair, patience is needed until primary sources confirm the whole affair. Until then all we can do is read secondary sources who do seem to be consistent with each other thusfar.

I'm sure the true version will eventually come out, after Schumi's career, and after Todt's FIA career.

Alonso has made careful moves to dampen the Tifosi's expectations.

He said that it may take years for Ferrari to win the championship again as it was the case when Schumacher joined Ferrari 1996.

yeh, that's interesting, potentially worrying. he went from making excuses for himself, giving him 3-races of leniency, to now a couple seasons for Ferrari as a whole!

I'm not sure Ferrari are at the same state of disrepair as when Schumi initially joined them tho.

Polar opposite comments from Button moving to McLaren compared to Alonso to Ferrari. One claims the need to hit the ground running, the other begs for time.

[DaveKillens]

This appears as an interesting public relations exercise by Marlboro, and I honestly wonder why people are interested in this. Of all the teams, Ferrari use the media the most in furthering their agenda. I will get excited when I start to see cars on track, and until the red lights go out, waiting, and waiting.

It is a great relief to see Massa looking good, and in attendance. Just his presence indicates that he is still eligible as far as Ferrari is concerned. That means that his tests do not show that he is not capable. Ever since his accident in Hungary I have been very concerned about his well-being. So far, so good, whew.

I am in complete agreement with WB as far as the circumstances that led to Schumacher retiring from racing. It was a political battle between Monty and Todt, and Schumacher was a casualty. The end result was Monty running any opposition out of town, and he is presently king of his mountain.

I believe Brawn recognized what was going on, and decided to get out.

Ferrari's history in the last twenty years has been like a weird graph. In the early 90's they were the joke of the paddock. Well funded, but disorganized and confused. Once Schumacher and Co arrived, purpose and focus began to manifest itself in the team, finally resulting in the complete transformation of Ferrari into an incredibly well-organized and ruthless organization that won, and very regularly.

The big question is what direction Ferrari are going. Are they backsliding back into a disorganized state? Considering the many mistakes in decisions, it cannot be ruled out. Of course Ferrari fans desire that the team return to their winning ways. Personally, I think it will fall between the two, with Ferrari never getting back to the ruthless efficiency of a few years ago, not falling into complete chaos, but instead returning to the ways of years past, winning for a few years, suffering a few , and the cycle returns. No team can stay on top forever, they all suffer every so often, then if they are as good as they think, get back to winning again.

Only time will tell, but we the fans will have a wonderful view of a potentially great season to find out if our predictions come true.