Motorsport

Alonso poised for Ferrari move

Fernando Alonso will drive for Ferrari next year, according to sources in Formula One.

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On his way out? Spaniard is set to leave McLaren after only one year

27th September 2007

They say Felipe Massa is tipped to make way for the double world champion by taking up a lucrative offer from Toyota. Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen would then pair up in what the Italian squad’s president Luca di Montezemolo regards as his dream team.

Although the move has yet to be sealed, it’s becoming increasingly clear that Alonso’s position within McLaren is now virtually untenable. Full transcripts from the recent FIA World Council hearing – the meeting that resulted in McLaren being thrown out of the constructors’ championship and fined £50m for its part in the spying saga – have now been published, and they reveal a breakdown between Alonso and team boss Ron Dennis. “The relationship between Fernando and me is extremely cold,” Dennis said. “That is an understatement.”

The two haven’t spoken since the Hungarian GP in August, when Alonso threatened to reveal secret E-mails to the FIA unless he got number one status over team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

“In Fernando’s mind, there is the firm belief that our policy, whereby each driver receives equal treatment, does not properly reflect his status as world champion,” explained Dennis. “We are not on speaking terms.”

McLaren will use the money it makes from selling the remaining two years of Alonso’s contract to balance its books after that massive fine.