The media insist: Alonso soon at Ferrari

Alonso is not the Messiah in Italy…but almost. Most of the Italian media are eagerly awaiting Alonso’s arrival at Ferrari, to the extent that all the sports pages’ headlines are dedicated to the summer transfer event between the Iberian driver and the Italian team.

The media wants to know the announcement of Fernando Alonso’s signing, and the transalpine newspapers are now betting on the end of the season instead of the Italian Grand Prix as previously scheduled, or even a late announcement for the year 2011.

It seems today more likely that Fernando Alonso will join Ferrari. The news announced by the Spanish daily As on June 30, 2009 is now confirmed and relayed by the Italian media, who have published several reports concerning the Spanish double world champion. The most striking edition is the cover of Auto Sprint magazine, on which the Spanish leader of the Renault F1 Team is dressed in the red suit belonging to Ferrari drivers. The caption reads « Alonso at Ferrari on November 15 ». The Gazzetta dello Sport, a major Italian sports daily, headlines « Alonso-Ferrari in 2010 », taking into account the arrival of the Spaniard at the Italian team. The notable difference between the various newspapers lies in the date. The Italian daily believes that Ferrari will wait until the end of the season, even though the Italian GP in Monza is usually the date chosen by Scuderia Ferrari to announce its team for the following season.

Two reasons remain for the rather late announcement by the Reds. The first reason is to avoid any additional and unnecessary pressure on the drivers on the day of the Italian Grand Prix. The second relates to adding stakes between the drivers until the end of the season.

According to the *Gazzetta*, another Italian daily, the agreement between the Spanish driver and Ferrari was finalized a year ago and draws inevitable comparisons to the case of Michael Schumacher in late 1996. The Italian newspaper recalls Ferrari’s refusal to disclose anything during its recruitment of the German… before announcing his arrival a few days later. The arrival of sponsor Banco Santander in Italy is also noteworthy. The Spanish bank is certainly not a mere coincidence at Ferrari. The transfer of Fernando Alonso and Banco Santander to McLaren during the off-season between 2006 and 2007 comes to mind.

The problem remains to know who Alonso will replace at Ferrari. According to the newspaper Gazzetta, the Räikkönen problem seems very complicated. The world champion driver would be the most likely to leave, but the Finnish driver’s contract expires at the end of the 2010 season.