Double world champion Fernando Alonso will depart from Ferrari come the season finale at Abu Dhabi as the Scuderia confirmed Sebastian Vettel for 2015.
Alonso has cut short his contract with the Maranello-based team by two years, while Vettel’s departure from Red Bull Racing was announced during the Japanese Grand Prix weekend.
“Today is not an easy one for me, because even if I always look to the future with great enthusiasm and determination, at the end of this season my journey as a Ferrari driver will come to an end,” said Alonso.
“It was a difficult decision to take, but a carefully considered one and from start to finish, my love for Ferrari was a prime consideration. I have always been lucky enough to make my own decisions about my future and I have that possibility now too.
“I must thank the team for that, as it understood my position. I leave Scuderia Ferrari after five years, during which I reached my very best level professionally, tackling major challenges that pushed me to find new limits. I also proved to be a true team player, putting the interests of the Scuderia before my own.
“When I had to take important decisions about my future, I did so with Ferrari in my heart, driven by my love for the team. I am very proud of what we have achieved together. Thanks to the efforts of the men and women of Maranello, on three occasions we came second in the Formula One World Championship, two of them fighting for the title right up to and including the final race, running in a championship winning position for many laps.
“Without a shadow of a doubt, these five years produced some of the best moments of my career and I also feel that, in leaving the team, it is family rather than friends I am leaving behind.
“Now I look to the future with great enthusiasm, knowing that part of my heart will always belong to the prancing horse. I want to thank each and everyone of the team for the trust they showed in me.”
Alonso joined Ferrari from Renault in 2010 and came ever-so-close to winning the championship in his first season. The following year he signed a deal which extended his contract to 2016.
But despite coming close to the title again in 2012, Alonso’s five years with the Scuderia has failed to yield any championships.
Team principal Marco Mattiacci said Alonso “will always occupy a special place” among Ferrari’s greatest drivers.
“We offer him our heartfelt thanks for what has been an extraordinary adventure with the scuderia, when in the past five years, he twice came so close to winning the world championship.
“I am sure that a great driver like Fernando will always hold the prancing horse dear to his heart and I also expect the Ferrari fans will continue to hold him in high regard in his future endeavours.”
As for the new Ferrari recruit, Sebastian Vettel will take his place alongside Kimi Raikkonen from next season as the four-time world champion begins a three-year contract with Scuderia Ferrari.
“The next stage of my Formula One career will be spent with Scuderia Ferrari and for me that means the dream of a lifetime has come true,” said Vettel.
“When I was a kid, Michael Schumacher in the red car was my greatest idol and now it’s an incredible honour to finally get the chance to drive a Ferrari.
“I already got a small taste of what the Ferrari spirit means, when I took my first win at Monza in 2008, with an engine from the prancing horse built in Maranello. The scuderia has a great tradition in this sport and I am extremely motivated to help the team get back to the top. I will put my heart and soul into making it happen.”
Ferrari team principal Marco Mattiacci said the team “has decided to put its faith in the youngest multiple champion in the history of Formula One”.
“In Formula One terms, Sebastian Vettel is a unique combination of youthfulness and experience and he brings with him that sense of team spirit which will prove invaluable when, together with Kimi, they tackle the challenges awaiting us, as we aim to be front runners again as soon as possible.
“With Sebastian, we all share a thirst for victory as well as enthusiasm, a strong work ethic and tenacity; key elements for all the Scuderia members to write a new chapter in the history of Ferrari.”
So out goes one champion replaced with another. Fernando Alonso has ended his dream hopes of winning the championship in the red car. Can Sebastian Vettel achieve the championship after years of promise for Fernando? Only time can tell but Ferrari needs to deliver the ideal car so that the drivers can do their magic.
Ferrari has officially announced Fernando Alonso’s departure at the end of the 2014 Formula 1 season, paving the way for it to confirm Sebastian Vettel as his replacement.
AUTOSPORT revealed in September that Alonso and Ferrari’s relationship had reached breaking point.
Outgoing Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo subsequently admitted that Alonso was leaving, while Red Bull team boss Christian Horner confirmed that Vettel was heading to Ferrari after the German’s split with his current team was announced last month.
Ferrari finally provided official confirmation of Alonso’s exit on Thursday, with team boss Marco Mattiacci warmly lauding his contribution.
“In the Scuderia Ferrari roll of honour of great drivers, Fernando Alonso will always occupy a special place,” said Mattiacci.
“We offer him our heartfelt thanks for what has been an extraordinary adventure with the Scuderia, when in the past five years, he twice came so close to winning the world championship.
“I am sure that a great driver like Fernando will always hold the Prancing Horse dear to his heart and I also expect the Ferrari fans will continue to hold him in high regard in his future endeavours.”
AUTOSPORT understands that the 2005 and ’06 F1 world champion has completed a deal to rejoin McLaren, although the Woking team will not announce its 2015 plans until it has chosen which of Jenson Button and Kevin Magnussen is retained as Alonso’s team-mate.
Alonso joined Ferrari in 2010, and came close to taking the world championship that year and in ’12, with Vettel denying him on each occasion.
Alongside those high points, there was regular frustration that Ferrari was not competitive enough to consistently challenge the dominant Red Bulls, and this year’s top team Mercedes.
Alonso has won 11 grands prix during his time with Ferrari so far.
“Today is not an easy one for me, because even if I always look to the future with great enthusiasm and determination, at the end of this season my journey as a Ferrari driver will come to an end,” he said.
“It was a difficult decision to take, but a carefully considered one and from start to finish, my love for Ferrari was a prime consideration.
“I have always been lucky enough to make my own decisions about my future and I have that possibility now too. I must thank the team for that, as it understood my position.
“I leave Scuderia Ferrari after five years, during which I reached my very best level professionally, tackling major challenges that pushed me to find new limits.”
He insisted that parting company with Ferrari was in the team’s best interests as well as his own.
“I also proved to be a true team-player, putting the interests of the Scuderia before my own,” said Alonso.
“When I had to take important decisions about my future, I did so with Ferrari in my heart, driven by my love for the team.”
Source: Autosport.com
Sebastian Vettel said the lure of joining “the greatest team in the sport” drew him to the Ferrari Formula 1 squad even though he was happy at Red Bull.
Ferrari finally announced ahead of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Thursday that Fernando Alonso would be leaving and Vettel taking his place for 2015.
The deal had been widely anticipated in the six weeks since Red Bull revealed Vettel’s departure.
Vettel reiterated that leaving the organisation that brought him into F1 and to four world championships was not easy.
“I think it felt like the right time,” he said.
“It is not an easy decision to make, I’ve been with Red Bull for my entire life since I was 12 years old, supported by them and I have a very, very strong link to all the people in Austria.
“It has been an incredible journey but at some stage you feel like you want to take on a new challenge and something different.
“I don’t have to mention the history of Ferrari. It’s probably the greatest team in the sport.
“So I am very excited and very motivated to try to do my best, put my heart in it and obviously be successful.”
Red Bull had Vettel under contract to the end of 2015, but he said his desire to move on over-rode that agreement.
“Obviously my wish was to leave, and I think it is not a good thing to stop people when they want to leave and force them to stay, or try to convince them, because ultimately they want to leave,” said Vettel.
“It was not a decision against the team or Red Bull, but a decision for my future.
“Big decisions are not easy, but you listen to yourself, listen to your heart and go with that.”
Source: Autosport.com
Double world champion Fernando Alonso had Ferrari doubts during the 2013 season. Autosport.com has the details.
Fernando Alonso has admitted he already had doubts about his future with Ferrari during the 2013 Formula 1 season.
The Italian squad finally confirmed on Thursday that two-time F1 champion Alonso was leaving at the end of the season, after five years together, to make way for Sebastian Vettel.
Although Alonso revealed he had informed Ferrari of his decision to leave in September, the Spaniard conceded plans for a possible exit had already began to take shape during the latter part of 2013.
“It was not a special moment of the year that I opened my eyes,” said Alonso in Abu Dhabi. “Last year I had some doubts about 2014.
“I knew that it was a big change of regulations so I thought best thing to check how the 2014 new turbo era was going for Ferrari.
“I had a very close relationship with president [Luca] di Montezemolo. We talked every week and we more or less agreed that if this year we were not competitive again we could think of different options.
“In the summer break it was time to sit with the president and say, ‘OK, I would like to go’.”
This year Alonso has endured his worst season since joining Ferrari and is set to finish without a victory for the first time since 2009.
Alonso is expected to move to McLaren, but the British team said it will not announce any plans until next month.
“Obviously it is a new chapter in my career, and I think I felt it was the time to find new projects, new motivation, and it was not an easy decision to make,” Alonso said.
“I was in talks even last year, to be honest, and we waited for this year, the new car, the new turbo era, and this year I felt around summertime/September that it was time to move, and I made the decision.
“Only time will tell if it is a good one or bad one.”
He said Ferrari would always be close to his heart.
“I am so happy, so proud to have those five years with this amazing team. I grew up as a driver and a person,” Alonso added.
“We missed the championship, came three times second but I’m extremely proud of those second places and the work we did those years.
“Now it is time to close one door and open a new one and we see how it goes.
“I stop as a Ferrari driver but from Monday I am a Ferrari supporter.”
As for Kimi Raikkonen, The Iceman is looking forward to working with Sebastian Vettel and is expecting some ‘fun’ with the four-time world champion. Autosport.com has the story.
Kimi Raikkonen believes his close relationship with new Ferrari Formula 1 team-mate Sebastian Vettel will be a boost to Maranello’s efforts to return to the front of the grid.
Nearly two months after Vettel agreed to join Ferrari, the Italian F1 outfit finally announced on Thursday that the German would be replacing Fernando Alonso next year.
The move is one that Raikkonen is excited about, as he claimed that Vettel is the driver he knows the best in the paddock.
“Obviously I haven’t worked with him before in the same team but I know him best out of any of the guys,” said the Finn.
“Our relationship has been always been very straightforward and I don’t expect any changes.
“On that side, I expect it to be normal and good, and hopefully we can get the team where we should be.”
Raikkonen reckons he and Vettel can put their own competitive interests to one side, and actually have “fun” in their quest to help Ferrari.
“I think it is nice to be with him in the same team and obviously the main objective is to get the team, Ferrari, in the position where we should be in front,” he said.
“We try to beat each other all the time, but we can have fun and get things done in a good way.”