Deposed world champion Fernando Alonso is to leave the McLaren team before the end of his current contract, a spokesman for the driver told the RNE radio station on Friday.
The spokesman, Luis Garcia-Abad, said that Alonso, who was under contract with the British team until 2008, would not have to pay a penalty for leaving and was free to join another team.
The 2005 and 2006 Formula One king has been involved in intense contract negotiations with the team in England over the last two days, but the two sides were unable to reach an agreement for next season.
The 26-year-old Spaniard has had a controversial year with McLaren which has seen him at loggerheads with team chief Ron Dennis and co-driver Lewis Hamilton for much of the season and it had been widely expected he would move on.
His former employers at Renault have expressed their interest in taking him back, but Marca said Alonso might prefer to sign up for a smaller team with a view to eventually finding an opening at Ferrari.
Alonso saw his hopes of winning a hat-trick of world titles vanish in the final Grand Prix of the season in Brazil last month with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen snatching the prize away from him and team-mate Hamilton.
Friday, November 02, 2007
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Alonso quits McLaren |
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Lewis Hamilton chooses Geneva |
Lewis Hamilton, the Formula One racing driver, is renting an apartment in Geneva with a view of Lake Geneva, Le Matin reports today. The newspaper cites a source indicating that Hamilton, 22, is set to finalize a rental agreement for the pad overlooking the Rade, the city’s harbor. It was reported earlier this week that the British driver, runnerup Formula One champion for 2007, was moving to Switzerland to avoid the glare of publicity in his home country.
Le Matin reports that Dominique Oberegger, a resident of Luins, near Gland in Vaud, met Hamilton’s father in Monza, Italy during the Grand Prix there in September. Oberegger had learned that the driver was looking for a place to live in Switzerland. He suggested a luxury three-room apartment in Luins with a view of Lake Geneva, which the Hamiltons, father and son, later visited. “They found it agreeable, then we went to eat at the Auberge Communale,” Oberegger told the newspaper. “Lewis loved the fact that nobody recognized him and that they would not come and disturb him during the meal.”
Hamilton, the most successful rookie Formula One driver ever, finds himself living a stealthy life in Britain, where paparazzi trail him everywhere he goes. In the end, Oberegger said the driver chose an apartment in Geneva, to be closer to the airport, although he may yet rent out the place in Luins for friends. Hamilton’s arrival would bring to seven the number of active Formula One drivers living in Switzerland, including 2007 world champion Kimi Raikkonen, who calls Zurich home. Fernando Alonso has a home in Mont-sur-Rolle. Other past champions such as Michael Schumacher (Gland) and Alain Prost (Nyon) live nearby.
Thursday, November 01, 2007
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Lewis has no regrets despite title loss |
Lewis Hamilton is adamant he doesn’t regret any aspect of his debut Formula 1 season and is instead taking the positives from finishing second in the world championship at the first attempt.
The McLaren driver agonisingly lost out on the title to Ferrari rival Kimi Raikkonen by a single point in the season finale in Brazil after leading the standings since the fourth round of the season.
He could have wrapped up the crown with a round to spare in China but slid into a gravel trap after McLaren kept him out too long on worn tyres.
But despite the near-miss, Hamilton insists he is only looking forward to next year.
“No," he replied when asked if he had any regrets in a video interview on McLaren’s official website.
"I think it's been a phenomenal year and I'm very, very privileged to have the opportunity, so I'm glad that I'm going to have another opportunity next year, and I'll work even harder.”
He added that he felt he has come a long way in his year as an F1 driver.
"Twelve months ago I was wondering whether I'll be a Formula 1 driver, and whether I would be able to make it, whether I would be able to do a good job,” he said.
"And obviously it's been such an extremely quick roller coaster and all of a sudden I'm here, at the end of my first season, you could say No. 2 in the world.
“So it's been a great year."
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Lewis Hamilton Video |
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