Fernando Alonso’s unexpected victory in the Singapore Grand Prix last night was very well deserved and will be remembered as one of the Spaniards finest drives. Although the former champ was extremely lucky to have inherited the lead from 15th on the grid, he was on the leaders pace and driving superbly all weekend.

The Singapore street circuit proved to be particularly challenging for the drivers and this was mainly due to the incessant bumps. The cars would either ‘bottom out’ or be forced to run with inefficient ride height settings meaning they were often unstable and tricky to handle. This gave sensitive and skilled drivers an advantage, and explains why Alonso was able to wring some genuine speed out of the Renault that would otherwise be fighting in the midfield.

Fernando certainly doesn’t have the wisest head, or mouth, in F1 but he is still a great driver and was really on form in Singapore. He topped two of the three practice sessions and looked strong at the start of qualifying before a broken fuel line put an end to his good run.

Fernando may have been very lucky with the Safety Car (and he was the first to admit it after the race) but his fastest lap was beaten only by the two Ferrari’s which is in indication of just how much speed he was producing. This was also evident in the dying stages of the Grand Prix after the final caution period compressed the field. Alonso was under a mountain of pressure, but overcame that to pull away from Nico Rosberg at an astonishing rate of three seconds per lap.

Renault’s Singapore trophy can be considered a just reward for the team’s efforts throughout the 2008 season. This has not been a good year for Renault or Alonso but things have not been as bad as they might appear. If the team had used different tactics Alonso could have won the Canadian and Belgian Grands Prix. He could also have taken solid podiums in Spain, Britain and Monaco, and would therefore be sitting third in the drivers championship.

2008 has been a season full of mistakes (just ask Ferrari’s pit crew) and it is a shame that Renault haven’t been able to take more advantage of that.

Alonso has taken plenty of risks this year and should now be relieved that one of them finally paid off, even if he did need some help from his teammate. It is hard to ignore the irony that Piquet’s smashed Renault gifted the team victory.

Having secured a race win, Renault can now look more confidently towards 2009 although they might actually be doing so without Fernando Alonso.

The Spaniard is yet to confirm where he will drive next year and his win at Singapore has done little to quash speculation.

It seems highly unlikely that Alonso will leave Renault, especially when he told reporters that “I have always said Renault will be my first priority because I feel at home in this team”.

However, he is refusing to rule anything out and still has a few options on the table.

Ferrari is no longer one of them.

Despite some rumours that Alonso had already signed a deal with the Scuderia, it is now clear that he has no chance of joining the Italian team until 2011 at best since Ferrari have resigned Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa. Two years is a long time in Formula One so he might be better off signing a lengthy lucrative deal with someone else rather than holding out for the seat at Maranello.

Alonso needn’t worry, because there are other teams interested.

BMW and Honda have expressed an interest in securing Fernando’s services. Mario Theissen and Ross Brawn would be more than happy with Alonso on their payroll, despite his seemingly poor attitude towards teamwork.

BMW would be the better of those two options for Alonso. The old Sauber team always produced smart fast cars, and now they have the budget of a major manufacturer they have started mixing it with the big boys. Remember that Robert Kubica is still an outside chance of this year’s World Championship. Earlier in the year BMW was briefly leading the constructors championship so the team is definitely in a very good place right now.

It is also worth noting that BMW have directed many of their 2008 resources towards their 2009 campaign. They are in the privileged position of holding third place in the constructors championship unchallenged, so can focus more on next year than the other team around them. This will give them a huge advantage given the significant regulation changes in 2009.

Most importantly, BMW has a suitable vacancy for Alonso. Nick Heidfeld is no longer the team’s favourite son and had been consistently off Kubica’s pace. He has still managed to score 56 points but some of that has been thanks to good luck rather than raw speed.

Alonso and Kubica in the same team would be a force to reckon with. Heidfeld and Kubica doesn’t quite have the same level of potency.

A similar driving vacancy exists at Honda. Rubens Barrichello is in the twilight of his career and does not feature in Ross Brawn’s long term plans. Rubens is consistently behind Jenson Button and will only stay with the team until a suitable replacement can be found.

Alonso would be the perfect replacement, and Ross Brawn knows it. The Honda team boss recently said “My view is that he’s the best driver in Formula One at the moment and we’re happy to wait and hope that he makes a positive decision for us”.

That’s a glowing endorsement, and should come as some concern to Barrichello. The words probably aren’t music to Anthony Davidson’s ears either since the Englishman has been on the cusp of a Honda drive for the last four years.

It would be interesting to see Alonso next to Button at Honda, given that Jenson was pushed out of Renault to make way for Fernando in 2003. If nothing else it would put Jenson back in the British media.

However, once all is said and done, Alonso will probably stay with Renault because they are still his best option.

He knows the team very well, and they know him, which is an important factor given Fernando’s behaviour at McLaren.

The team also has a strong engineering base that was responsible for two world championships, and that will bode them well once the new regulations mix up the field.

Alonso might be a little hasty to walk out on Renault for a second time because it is a risk he probably doesn’t need to take.

Depending on how much you want to read into Flavio Briatore’s comments this weekend, you could even suggest that a deal with Alonso has already been done. The Renault team boss said “We have a good relationship with Fernando. We are talking together and we will be happy with his decision. That is all that I can say for the moment.”

It sounds like Alonso will be staying right where he is for the time being, which isn’t a bad thing because he might find a few more wins are just around the corner.

Post a comment