Alonso returning to Renault?

Cadena SER -that is Spain's largest radio broadcaster- is running the story that Alonso will be returning to F1 with Renault "as soon as possible": https://cadenaser.com/ser/2020/07/02...32_457561.html

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The agreement between the two parties will be announced in the coming days and depends on more than one factor, such as the relationship between Renault and Ricciardo, as explained by José Antonio Ponseti in 'La Ventana'. The team wants the Australian to leave the team but we will have to see when and on what terms.

It is almost certain that Fernando Alonso will not be able to make his debut in the first race of the 2020 World Championship, which will be held next weekend in Austria, but it is possible that he will do so later, although we will have to wait for the announcement of the two parties to know that detail. The idea is that the return occurs as soon as possible.

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I don't know what to make of this, but it's a very interesting claim. As much as I dislike Spanish press, Cadena SER is fairly reputable - this is definitely not Marca. That said, it's hard to see how Renault would pay Ricciardo to sit out most of the 2020 season on top of paying Alonso's wages, which can't be cheap. The only reasonable chance for that would be that McLaren kicked Sainz out to make way for Ricciardo and I can't see them doing that.

I really struggle to trust press when there is a nationalist angle to their story. It is highly likely, but l fail to see why Renault would be in such a hurry to bring Alonso onboard. That aspect does not ring true. The urgency would only arise if Ricciado has fallen out with Renault due to their reaction to his leaving the team or vice versa. Otherwise, it sounds porky to me. I doubt Renault has made their decision with Vettel loose and available as well.

I think it is just propaganda to shore up Alonso's chances at Renault.

There's a few teams likely eager to make this happen .

Ferrari has a disgruntled Vettel on their hands , and would likely be happy to take Sainz on early .
Renault is none too happy with Ricciardo , a guy they were likely designing the car around , but now won't be privy to much development talk .
And McLaren , who is happy to let the cookies crumble , as they get Ric in the end .

And , seeing as Alonso is seen as a heavily disruptive influence in any team , all the rest will be happy to see him at the developing Renault .


I'd love to see it , as , disruptive or not , he's not too bad as a driver .

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Originally Posted by Bagwan

There's a few teams likely eager to make this happen .

Ferrari has a disgruntled Vettel on their hands , and would likely be happy to take Sainz on early .
Renault is none too happy with Ricciardo , a guy they were likely designing the car around , but now won't be privy to much development talk .
And McLaren , who is happy to let the cookies crumble , as they get Ric in the end .

And , seeing as Alonso is seen as a heavily disruptive influence in any team , all the rest will be happy to see him at the developing Renault .


I'd love to see it , as , disruptive or not , he's not too bad as a driver .

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I really can't see this happening, as much as I'd like. Keep in mind that we're talking not about one, but three, driver movements - it would just take one team to say "no" for this not to happen. On top of that, as much as Ferrari would like to get Sainz on board soon, I'd be extremely surprised if they decided to drop Vettel mid-season, or right before the season started. If Alonso is actually joining Renault in 2020, Ric will probably take a year (well, a couple of months) off. And then again, there's obviously the money bits involved.

Anything can happen in F1 , and it usually does .

Would this be for next season, correct?

If the ball starts rolling early on these moves, it'll be Ferrari the give the push. I see two scenarios where this push might happen:
1 - They do poorly enough early in the season that they give up on it midway and decide to get Carlos in the car half way through to familiarize himself with the team.
2 - Vettel either refuses team orders or clashed with Charles on track, making the team furious enough to get rid of him early.
Either of these would get Carlos into Ferrari, opening up the McLaren seat for Ric, leaving a seat empty for Alonso. Other than that, I can't see it happening until after the season.....well unless there's an injury to someone but I don't want to speculate on that.

For what it's worth, Alonso himself has criticized the media for running the story the same day that they announced that Renault weren't considering him at all, which is a fair point - although still not a denial.

Still, as I said, there are lots of moving pieces involved and Autosport also ran the story that Renault is considering "big names" to replace Ricciardo. There's definitely a lot of chatter coming from the yellow camp.

Looks like it’s happening. Alonso returning. He’ll give them the finger a year later if a better seat becomes available

I doubt it. He's old and been out of the league for a few years. He may pull a Raikkonen at Lotus but I doubt he is going to be super competitive.

Step lightly , Ocon , as Alonso will win every argument .

It's not gonna be smooth , but it will be fun to watch .
Welcome back Fernando .

Well, so it turns out that SER wasn't really that far off. They were the first (that I know about) to announce Alonso's return and while there's nothing about a comeback during 2020, it's likely that such talks have been had, or that it's still in the table.

FWIW Renault have announced that they don't have an intention to boot Ricciardo during 2020, but then again, Abiteboul also said that they weren't interested in Alonso a few days before announcing his signing, so it's hard to trust them on anything.

I can't say that I'm an Alonso fan, but he does add some drama/excitement to F1. Hopefully Vettel will find a seat next year too. Alonso, Vettel and Kimi are three characters that I'd like to see remain in F1 for awhile longer, even if they aren't my favorite drivers.

BTW, how do we know when a Formula One team principal is lying? His/her lips are moving. :D But if Renault bounces Ricciardo (a driver who I do really like), I hope that he doesn't have to sit out and wait for his McLaren seat. Course, that would mean Ferrari would have to bench Vettel in order to take on Sainz. So hopefully all of this will take place at or near the end of the season.

This is good news I think. We need FA back. I just hope Renault is at least semi-competitive next year (P5-P8) before the new rules are in effect for '21

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Originally Posted by Jag_Warrior

I can't say that I'm an Alonso fan, but he does add some drama/excitement to F1. Hopefully Vettel will find a seat next year too. Alonso, Vettel and Kimi are three characters that I'd like to see remain in F1 for awhile longer, even if they aren't my favorite drivers.

BTW, how do we know when a Formula One team principal is lying? His/her lips are moving. :D But if Renault bounces Ricciardo (a driver who I do really like), I hope that he doesn't have to sit out and wait for his McLaren seat. Course, that would mean Ferrari would have to bench Vettel in order to take on Sainz. So hopefully all of this will take place at or near the end of the season.

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The funny thing is that everyone who's talking about this move is assuming that McLaren would want to replace Sainz with Ricciardo during 2020, which I don't think will happen. McLaren is probably going to be challenging for that P3 in the WCC. I don't see them letting their first driver go after he vastly outscored Norris in 2019 to replace him with someone who hasn't driven the car. That seems like a very risky choice.

Doh, the fuzy magic will return to the F1 forums. Now Alonso will regularly finish outside of podium positions, but, as in 2011, he will be always praised after every race for extracting 105, and sometimes 115 percent of performance out of his car. It won't matter if he finishes 5th or 7ths, he will always be voted as the racer of the weekend by a humongous portion of the forum crowds.

Glad to see Fred back. This should be fun!:champion:

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Originally Posted by Tazio

Glad to see Fred back. This should be fun!:champion:

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Tazzy , you didn't post that favourite picture of King Fred overlooking his flock .
Maybe you couldn't find it ?

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Originally Posted by Bagwan

Tazzy , you didn't post that favourite picture of King Fred overlooking his flock .
Maybe you couldn't find it ?

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Yeah, I'm afraid that one is lost to the ages :(

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Originally Posted by Tazio

Yeah, I'm afraid that one is lost to the ages :(

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No, no, no, wait, I found it! :dork: :angel:


http://ep00.epimg.net/deportes/image...cia_normal.jpg

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Originally Posted by Tazio

No, no, no, wait, I found it! :dork: :angel:


http://ep00.epimg.net/deportes/image...cia_normal.jpg

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That's it !
Forza , no that's Vive la Fernando !

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Originally Posted by Bagwan

That's it !
Forza , no that's Vive la Fernando !

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No, no no, no:
"César ceux qui vont mourir te salue" :devil:

Well well. Alonso retuning to Renault. About as likely as Kimi returning to Ferrari. But that happened too.

I guess we will see what he still has. It's almost a shame Daniel will be gone when it happens, since we know the car isn't strong and Ocon really won't be a good gauge of Fernando's pace ability.

Ferrari in need! They will take Kimi back for sure!

I'm genuinely hoping that Ocon is on pace next year and gives Frednando a run for his money. That should kick off some fireworks. :D

Fred to test R.S.20 on Tues? :bandit:

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It's not known whether the team will also take an older 2018 car, which will not be subject to any mileage restrictions, following the strategy used by AlphaTauri at Imola earlier this year.
Renault has such a car ready to go, as it ran Daniel Ricciardo and Esteban Ocon in a two-day test in Austria before the start of the season.

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https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/a...-week/4890507/

How quick/strong do you think Fernando is going to be at his age especially coming back after 2 years out?

Not sure what he has been smoking but my brother reckons Ocon will beat him! :o
His main reason for thinking that.. is how much Michael struggled on his comeback with Merc to beat Nico and largely failed.
Also... Ocon will have a fresh season under his belt after a 2 year hiatus while Fernando is starting afresh.

Just cant see it. Personally I still think Fernando will easily outperform him.

Predictions?

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Originally Posted by Zico

Not sure what he has been smoking but my brother reckons Ocon will beat him! :o
His main reason for thinking that.. is how much Michael struggled on his comeback with Merc to beat Nico and largely failed.
Also... Ocon will have a fresh season under his belt after a 2 year hiatus while Fernando is starting afresh.

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The main argument against your brother is that Ocon is no Nico Rosberg - hell, he isn't even a Dan Ricciardo. Maybe Fernando will struggle at the beginning of the season, but I would expect him to be on par with Ocon pretty quickly and ahead of him in the later part of next season.

I think Ocon with one full season under his belt would give Alonso a good run for his money. But Alonso is a tiger, he would find a way to get ahead or at least be on par. Ocon is quick, so don't under estimate him.

I will be very surprised if Ocon can hang with Fred, and I think he (Ocon) is a pretty good country pilot. If Fred doesn't methodically destroy his will to live, they should be a stout pair! :D
:sailor: Laissez les bon temps rouler!:roll::kiss:

I am sure that 2021 F1 season is going to be another shit-show, with RedBull's Verstappen almost always finishing the race behind Mercedes, and Alonso finishing the race behind RedBull-Verstappen with a big gap. However, Alonso-fans, just like in 2011, are going to proclaim that Alonso, despite finishing seventh in the race or qualifying, drove his car to 140 percent of its performance. I am already sick of Alonsofans in advance of that season.

Similar to Taz, I rate Ocon as a pretty good driver.

But like him or not, Fernando has huge talent and a hefty mental game. Depending on how they can change the car to his liking, I expect that he will better Ocon in short time. Then again, it doesn't take a long time away from the sport to lose some of that ability.... but I think Alonso will still step up to the challenge.

It was a good close fight; Ocon proved his worth, but the big surprise is how mellow, and dare I say magnanimous 'Zo was!

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Originally Posted by Tazio

It was a good close fight; Ocon proved his worth, but the big surprise is how mellow, and dare I say magnanimous 'Zo was!

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Well said Tazzy. Though he might have lost a little of his 6/10ths over the years, he still put in some great drives and gets what is available out of the car most of the time. Him and Seb seemed to take great joy in making fun of the overtaking award recently, and he seems to have mellowed quite a bit.

But with him now becoming the "old man of F1" with Kimi gone that only seems fitting. He really has nothing left to prove, and I think most of us accept that with the right car he would have had more WDC's under his belt.

But what he did for Ocon in Hungary was not the Fernando of years gone by. He put it all on the table to give the youngster a chance at a top podium step, and it worked out.