Tim and Julie Harris discuss how Fernando Alonso has expressed his intention to Extend his Ferrari contract.

1. Fernando Alonso first started racing go karts when he was three years old. The early start which
is typical for many Formula 1 drivers is what you could say began his career as a driver, all the
way to Ferrari.! ! Though Ferrari has had a rough year,
Alonso has expressed interest in
continuing his contract with Ferrari
beyond the intended date of 2016.!
Alonso began his Formula 1 career with
Minardi, and moved on to race with
Renault. For the more recent years,
Alonso has switched back and forth
between Renault and McLaren, before
joining Ferrari.! !
McLaren is interested in having Alonso
return to the team, however the driver
says that talk of leaving Ferrari for
another team has been the talk of
others and has not ever come from him.
The issue now, and perhaps where the
talk has been coming from is that
Ferrari has had difficulty building a car
for Alonso which will allow him to be
competitive with his rivals, the two from
Mercedes who are currently well ahead
for this season.! !
Regardless, Alonso explains that it is
his wish to stay with Ferrari, and not to
move on. He has confidence in the
automaker’s ability to produce a
competitive car, and is making his plans
to stay with team red.! ! The fight to get onto the podium has
been the goal of Ferrari this year.
Alonso remarks that in previous years,
the last five that he drove for Ferrari,
this goal had had more of a fighting
chance. This year, he admits, that the
goal seems less certain.! ! In the eleven races that have passed this year, Ferrari has landed on the podium twice. The
upcoming race this Sunday is in Ferrari’s home country of Italy, and the automaker still has its
fingers crossed that they’ll be able to fight for podium standing.! !
Regardless of the team’s performance this year, Alonso’s dedication to his team and to his
brand is inspiring, and shows that any talk of his bailing out is not fair to the work he’s putting in.