What is it With Reigning Champions?
I first started this piece over at my second home, Fast Machines (Who should be commended for finishing fifth in a large field for the 2005 Weblog Awards), - as opposed to my third home - and contained two speculative stories and asked if they were possibly related.
One story, that Renault would pull out of Formula One after the 2006 season, was quite possible in my eyes. The second, and based on its original and only source at the time, I judged to be entering Area 51 territory. By the time I had reached the halfway point of writing my piece it became evident the most speculative of the two was true.
Reigning, and youngest F1 Champion in history, Fernando Alonzo had become smitten with another suitor, “pulled a Kurt Busch,” and signed a 2007 contract with Mclaren and will ride out next year as a lame duck for currect team Renault.
A shocker, but not unprecedented (as was Kurt Busch’s move). McLaren nabbed current driver Juan Pablo Montoya a year early too. But Juan Pablo wasn’t the reigning F1 champion when he decided to sign the contract that would move him from Williams. Alonso is.
He is also the driver who nearly single-handedly revived the moribund Renault F1 team in 2005, making the sky blue and yellow more ubiquitous on the international tube than even the Prancing Horse’s famous red (which, in another McLaren coup, will be bereft of Vodafone decals).
Alonso’s defection will more than likely result in Kimi Raikkonen being shipped to Ferrari in anticipation of a Michael Schumacher retirement. That leaves both McLaren and Ferrari in good shape when 2007 rolls around, but it also leaves Renault with a lame-duck Spaniard next season.
McLaren team principal Ron Dennis said the announcement had been made to enable all the drivers to concentrate on next season. Yea, right. Better ask the previously mentioned Kurt Busch how that worked out for him. As I step out onto this 10 foot in diameter limb I’ll go on record now. Kimi Raikkonen will get his first World’s Championship next year.
It also casts doubt on Renault
I can’t begin to tell you how upset I am that you beat me to the punch on this one! Here I’ve been wallowing around waiting for some interesting story to break on F1 news, and you got to it before me. Ouch!!
Nice take, I can now only offer some personal perspective.
With “Flavio Flav” as Fernando’s business manager I can only believe that he (Flav) is privy to the inside scoop on Renault’s future in F1, and it must be dim. I can also see Renault, Flav, and Fernando executing a maximum effort next year to repeat as champs and then bail out of competition. With Carlos “The Knife” Ghosen at the corporate rudder I think it inevitable that they will leave the sport as team owners, and possibly maintain a presence as engine suppliers only. What better way to leave then as repeat world champions?!
The real kink in the speculation is if Kimi and McLaren can manage to solve the V8 equation and bring a tiltle to the team. What then relative to Kimi’s future and Ferrari? I really can’t see Kimi jumping to Maranello without an indication of how well they adapt to the new realities of V8’s and and other new reg twists. Bridgestone tires wil no longer matter in ‘07 with all teams riding the same compounds, will it?
With my Area 51 tin foil hat firmly upon my dome, how’s this sound?
1. Kimi and McLaren manage to eek out a title over Renault in second place, and Kimi stays and JPM is released and goes to….Williams. End of Webber, JPM will partner Rosberg in ‘07.
2. Michael and Ferrari finish third (again), they bring in Rossi and Michael goes to…. BMW Sauber. Perfect marketing strategy and look for BMW to make a huge leap in ‘07.
3. Renault fold their team tent at the end of ‘07 and supply engines to…Williams! That bold statement is only based on the speculation of the Cozzy not performing up to snuff, and Renault giving heavily subsidized engines to Frank in ‘07. I still have hope for the Cozzy’s to perform well next year, then who knows, anything is possible. But it would be hard for Frank to turn away a factory engine deal on the cheap.
The biggest fly in all of that speculative ointment is Michael’s personal sponsorship by…Vodaphone. I can’t avoid a sneaking feeling Michael will follow Vodaphone to McLaren in ‘07 regardless of whether Kimi wins a title. If Alonso can leave Renault after winning a title, if Williams can release Hill after he won a title, I wouldn’t hesitate to think that McLaren would let Kimi go for the chance of the seven time champ to drive a Benz with Vodaphone decals.
My tin foil hat is now causing my synapses to short out, so I’ll stop now before I hurt myself…even more!