Formula 1 News

Spanish press celebrates: “McLaren, what a fine !” 

Spanish press unanimously condemned McLaren and hypothesize future prospects for Fernando Alonso. According to Marca, “Now Fernando has a chance to change team even at the end of this season”. According to As, “It will be difficult to obtain a contract release”. Ferrari, Renault and Toyota are three of his possible next destinations.

Madrid, Sept. 14th 2007 – “Never so far”. That’s how the Spanish press considers the relationship between McLaren and Fernando Alonso at the time being. Reactions and comments on the FIA Committee’s sentence seem to go towards one and only direction: build an enormous gap between McLaren and the Spanish driver.

Is it a Goodbye? The idea that World Champion Fernando Alonso could ask a contract resolution at the end of this season, is sustained by El Pais, As and Marca. According to Marca, “Alonso will try to break his contract this year. Fernando is determined to leave the team and his lawyers are searching the appropriate legal actions to obtain the contract resolution”.

El Pais sustains that the fact that the sentence judged as ‘fraudulent’ McLaren’s behavior, is enough to declare null most of McLaren’s contracts: “All kinds of contracts contain clauses that protect the image of teams and drivers. If a driver drinks, uses drugs or infracts rules of appropriate conduct can be dismissed, or viceversa”.

According to an unknown source, As is quite sure that Alonso’s contract contains a similar clause as the one used by Michael Schumacher in order to transfer from Benetton to Ferrari in 1996, due to a legal sanction imposed at Briatore’s team in 1994. As also sustains that Alonso will have to fight more than Schumacher in order to obtain his ‘freedom’.

Destiny – The only aspect that could change the cards on the deck is, if Ron Dennis decides to leave the scene. According to all major press releases in Spain, Renault, Ferrari and Toyota are the three most probable destinations of the Spanish World Champion, with the first one having a slight advantage on the other two.