The closer we get to the end of this season and to the start of the next, the clearer the picture will become as to which drivers will be where for the 2009 FIA Formula One World Championship. While his team was undergoing testing alongside its competitors at the Monza track in Italy, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo placed one of the bigger pieces in the puzzle in confirming that Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa would both be back in scarlet for next season. Although towards the beginning of the season it was onto Massa's future which doubt was cast, by now the tides have changed in that Kimi's performance has lagged behind his team-mate and it's Raikkonen's future that was being debated in the press. However Montezemolo confirmed that neither driver would be replaced for the coming season. While in the paddock, Montezemolo also visited former champion Fernando Alonso and current leader Lewis Hamilton, but insisted that Alonso, who has been rumored to be angling for a seat with Ferrari, would have to wait at least a little while longer. Montezemolo also took the opportunity to express his displeasure with the new tracks being mixed into the calendar, stating that because overtaking is so difficult on these new circuits, the winner is often pre-determined in qualifying.
They say a rumor repeated often enough will become true. If that's the case, then one of Ferrari's drivers had better start updating his CV, because the rumor-mill's a churnin' again over Fernando Alonso's speculated move to the Scuderia. The report was flying around Monte Carlo, where the F1 circus made its most recent stop. But while previous reports placed the two-time world champion in the red racing suit for 2009, the latest reports push that off a year until 2010.
Alonso, of course, beat out Ferrari's mega-star Michael Schumacher two years in a row to win the world title before leaving Renault for McLaren. That arrangement most famously didn't work out, resulting in Alonso's release from his contract and his subsequent return to Renault. The contract was said to be for two years with an out clause after one, but the French team has failed to perform this year and Alonso has scored a paltry nine points six races now into the season. He's been angling for a Ferrari drive and the Scuderia has been rumored to take a liking to the accomplished Spaniard.
However, the renewed reports raise several questions. Most pressing is which of Ferrari's current drivers would be given the oust to make room for Alonso? Kimi Raikkonen scored the title for the team, but this year Felipe Massa is following very shortly behind the defending champ. Second to that comes the issue of sportsmanship and teamwork, both of which are highly prized in Maranello and severely lacking in Alonso's demonstrated character. But while these and other issues seem prohibitive, we wouldn't be all that surprised to see how quickly they can be dismissed in pursuit of a dominating championship.
