Irvine on Alonso

08:57 17May2003 Motor racing-Ferrari will be after you, Irvine warns Alonso

LONDON, May 17 (Reuters) - Eddie Irvine has warned Spanish Formula One driver Fernando Alonso not to tie himself long-term to Renault because champions Ferrari or McLaren are sure to approach him.
"If he has any sense he should avoid any long-term commitments because the time will come when Ferrari or McLaren will be knocking on his door," said world champion Michael Schumacher's former Ferrari team mate.
"The two biggest names in the sport are bound to come in for him at some stage because the sort of natural talent Alonso is blessed with doesn't emerge too often," the Briton wrote in a regular column in the Sun newspaper on Saturday.
Irvine, now out of the sport after leaving Jaguar last season, said the 21-year-old was a champion in waiting.
"The guy is mega and there's no doubt he is the new Schumacher," said the Northern Irishman. "He is the driver who is going to take the world crown away from the Ferrari star."
Irvine spent four seasons as Schumacher's team mate and joined Ferrari from Jordan. He was runner-up in the 1999 championship.
Alonso has been on the podium in three of his last four races and in Malaysia last March became the youngest driver in the history of Formula one to start on pole position.
In only his second season in Formula One, he was runner-up to Schumacher in his home Spanish Grand Prix this month.

Saturday, 17 May 2003 08:57:17
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Well what do you make of that! Is Eddie jumping to conclusions or is Fernando the new shit!?!? :D

I think he may be jumping the gun a bit on saying Alonso will take the title from MS, but the guy definitely has talent and I am sure he will be a top contender in years to come.

Agree :)

for sure, that guy has talent

im surprised eddie said something nice:eek:

I remember when button burst onto the scene....f1 magazine or one of those called him the new shit...But i think alonso could be champ one day, prolly before montoya depending on how the rides fall into place a year or two from now. One thing that would be cool would be a ferrari drive for alonso and montoya. Kinda senna/prost...ish

Originally posted by z33guy
im surprised eddie said something nice:eek:

Ditto...

Originally posted by z33guy
I remember when button burst onto the scene....f1 magazine or one of those called him the new shit...

you have to admit he was very impressive in his first season in F1, considering he jumped straight from F3... his second year was tough, adapting to the shitty Jordan and being put up against a driver as fast as Fisico, who already knew how to make the most of the Jordan. This year i have to say he's been very impressive again; putting ex-champ Villeneuve in the shade is no mean feat, so while these magazines did jump the gun calling him future world champion there and then, with the right equipment i can certainly see it happening, why not? what i would really love to see though is Fisico in a top 2 car... that combination would take some beating... Fisi's second only to schumi in my eyes

its weird how fisi has'nt been able to get a better ride. he was always been know to have alot of talent. I think as schumacher leaves within the next few years the battle will be between alonso, button,webber and maybe Christiano Damatta. Jackie Stewart is behind Pizzonia so maybe hes got something we are'nt seeing in him? justin wilson has some great starts but thats about it. his bad performances are mostly the minardi, too bad we can't tell when he does good because the car wont go. I think alonso is gonna be good, everytime you have a camera on him or he is on the podium or something, you can see him looking at schumacher like......."who does he think he is, I can take him on anytime"

yea dont get my wrong about button, hes my guy in F1. ive liked him since he came into F1. I would have loved to see him stay at williams. I think he was put on the backburner somewhat at benetton. And i think alonso has to be the favorite should schumi retire soon. Button would be a nice replacement for ruben. But i think ferrari is hung up on montoya. What i dont want to see is kimi leave mclaren, not that i think he will.

Originally posted by rcmaxx
you can see him looking at schumacher like......."who does he think he is, I can take him on anytime"
lol... he certainly is confident, and too young to show respect.... he's not in awe of anyone, but im sure he respects the king :biggrin:

I think the long-term future of F1 is Alonso, Kimi, and Button

Originally posted by z33guy
But i think ferrari is hung up on montoya.
I really dont think they are, or at least i would be surprised, despite the recent rumours.. he hasnt impressed me enough, at least not on a consistent basis

Originally posted by crayzayjay

I really dont think they are, or at least i would be surprised, despite the recent rumours.. he hasnt impressed me enough, at least not on a consistent basis

yea i was about to say the same thing, but i didnt. He hasnt impressed me either. He is good, but hes not that good compared to the other drivers. I think alonso is far better.

I certainly think hes fast, but he can sometimes "disappear" on some race weekends... i also think kimi's overrated, alonso's my potential #1 but he needs to keep proving it

Originally posted by crayzayjay
I certainly think hes fast, but he can sometimes "disappear" on some race weekends... i also think kimi's overrated, alonso's my potential #1 but he needs to keep proving it


very true

lets not forget that Jp was in the lead in austria with a good lead when his car broke down. I bet it would have been a close battle. I think its more the car than him and ralf. I have met Juan personally and I tought he was a very cool guy, down to earth and if you did'nt know it you would'nt think he is the star he is.

I can think of a handful of races where he was in a good position to win were the car left him. like someone said, on some race weekends the williams crew just disapear. In monaco I think the first time I heard of Juan was when he actually took the lead. I was suprised to see him win because he was hardly talked about. :smile:

Absolutely, the car has failed him on several occasions, I don’t dispute that one bit