Alonso Tipped to Win WDC by Uncle Frank

[DriverT]

Frank Williams has tipped Alonso to win this year's title:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/moto...ne/3480137.stm

How credible is this opinion? Is the Renault THAT good?

[Testure]

I think, aerodynamically, the Renault looks like an incredible car. Every last millimetre of it looks curved and swooping; is there a straight line anywhere on the thing? The shape of those side-pods is almost hypnotic Of course the concern is the engine, but perhaps the engine rule changes this year will mean that they won't suffer as much as they might have. Hard to say where they will be in relation to the other teams, but I actually think they'll be more competitive than last year. Also can't see BAR moving up a place in the constructor's championship.

[ljakse]

And to add on that - Renault's philosophy allways was 'realiability first, catch speed later'.
Frank knows that better than anybody else. He remembers very well that 64 consecutive race starts of Renault without engine problems in 96/97. And that kind of thing will matter most this year.

[ralf fan]

Well FW knows a lot about cars than us and he really mustve been impressed with the Renault to tip Alonso for the WDC. All i can say is I hope so!!

[Mr V]

Well, Sir Frank does say....."leaving aside our drivers"

I think he's slightly contradictory in this piece, he says....

"Leaving aside our drivers, I would say Michael [is the favourite] and maybe Alonso - the Renault is a very impressive car," Williams said.

(Saying that Renault might be good enough) Then...

Williams added: "We've got a good car, but I suspect Ferrari will be the team to beat. And I think that Renault will cause a few major problems."

I believe that one day, Alonso maybe WDC, but not this year

[BootsOntheSide]

I think this was intented more as a dig at McLaren than anything. He basically says that he expects Michael, Alonso, Ralf and Montoya to be the top 4 - 5ht or lower would be a disaster for McLaren, but their testing form doesn't bode too well so far.

We're all aware of Fernando's talent, but personally I'm nto expecting Rneault to challenge for regular wins this year. Circuits such as the Hungaroring might suit them best, and you have to wonder how their engine will be on power and reliability considering their switch from the 110 degree model.

[Mr V]

I did wonder why Sir Frank had not mentioned Kimi.

Friendly rivalry between Sir Frank and Ron?

[b.luther]

Its a big mind game throughout Sir Frank is putting down MacLaren and saying BAR is going to be ahead of them at the start of the year which "IMO" is a crock of ****.... BAR??? They have on a very rare occasion seen the light but for the most part have always sucked and if there lucky they will be on the podium 1 time this year. By the way is Sir Frank afraid of mentioning his opinion on Kimi or does he not rate the kid who took both of his drivers out last year in a 2002 modified racer. I dont know what I am talking about anymore so I'll quit.


p.s sign Pantano already and git it overwith.


PEACE to all

[BD]

I think the most surprising statement Frank made was about BAR. He rates them higher than McLaren...???
I personally don't believe that, but he knows alot more than I do. BAR has been performing well in testing (Button keeps breaking lap records), but I tend to not believe pre-season testing as an accurate gauge of a teams year-long performance.
It would be nice though to have another legitimate challenger for the podium...

[paulzinho]

I think BAR could be surprising this year, look at last year, they had a fair bit of pace in the first few races but Honda liked to build an angine which detonated all the time. Also their showing in JApan was promising.

I think they'll mix it up a bit, especially if they get their strategy right.

[Gt_R]

Frank draws his conclusions from evaluating and concluding from datas his team collect of the various team's race simulations times, and hence his remarks does reflect the trend we see in testing so far.

Why read too much into it?

[Mr V]

Originally posted by Gt_R


Why read too much into it?

What else is there to do in the off season?

[DriverT]

I think he's just keeping up the mind games with Dr. Ron. And he is making the comments so everyone can read too much into them.

[Led ZeppF1]

This is a good article about Alonso, "Fernando Alonso: A champion in the making".

http://www.motorsport.com/magazine/f...l&D=2004-02-05

[BootsOntheSide]

Mind games are very powerful when used well, and Frank is good in this area. McLaren are probably quite concerned about their apparent lack of pace, unless they know they are sandbagging.

[Adam43]

Again I suspect that what Williams and Head are just saying what they mean. i.e.

Williams
Leaving aside our drivers, I would say Michael [is the favourite] and maybe Alonso - the Renault is a very impressive car

means: Leaving aside our drivers, I would say Michael [is the favourite] and maybe Alonso - the Renault is a very impressive car
and

Head
It's difficult to say where McLaren are at the moment

means: It's difficult to say where McLaren are at the moment