IRVINE ELOGIA A FERNANDO Opciones

[Fernando Jiméne...]

Hombre! parece que por fin ha dicho algo coherente
Y no podia faltar los elogios a un piloto britanico, aunque esta vez me da que tiene razon.

[alext]

Pues eso, que en su columna del diario "The Sun", Irvine dice que no tiene ninguna duda que Fernando es el nuevo Schumacher, y defiende que en lugar de quedarse en Renault que intente moverse a Ferrari o Mclaren en cuanto pueda.

El artículo es este:

By EDDIE IRVINE

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER should enjoy his success while he can because soon he will be staring up at ... sweet FA.

The FA I'm talking about is Renault driver Fernando Alonso, the instant star of the season.

It's not often I rave about a young driver but the Spaniard appears to have it all as his results reflect - three podiums and two other points finishes in five races.

The guy is mega and there's no doubt he is the new Schumacher. He is the driver who is going to take the world crown away from the Ferrari star.

Although there is little fear of it happening this season because the Ferrari is so much quicker than Alonso's Renault, I wouldn't bet against it for next year.

Everything Alonso has achieved confirms my initial thoughts when I saw him do his qualifying run in the opening race in Australia. He was oozing with confidence and managed to out-pace team-mate Jarno Trulli.

Trulli has always been rated as a fast driver over one lap but Alonso is making him look very ordinary.

Everyone has been praising McLaren's Kimi Raikkonen for what he has achieved.

Sure he's quick but look at the mistake he made qualifying in Spain. It put him to the back of the grid and then out of the race when he rammed into the back of Antonio Pizzonia's stalled Jaguar.

But Alonso, under extreme pressure to please his home crowd, took everything in his stride to qualify third and then drove faultlessly to follow Schumacher across the finish line.

Alonso is being offered a deal which could tie him to Renault until 2007 - but if he has any sense he should avoid any long-term commitments because the time will come when Ferrari or McLaren will be knocking on his door.

The two biggest names in the sport are bound to come in for him at some stage because the sort of natural talent Alonso is blessed with doesn't emerge too often. He is the only one not to have messed up in qualifying.

You only have to look at the in-camera shots of Alonso to see he has a special feel for his car.

Schumacher will be seeking his third successive win in tomorrow's Austrian Grand Prix but my money is on team-mate Rubens Barrichello.



HE'S ALON-SO GOOD ... Fernando has been a revelation

If you remember, Barrichello had to move to one side and hand
Schumacher second place at the A1 Ring two years ago and then last season all hell broke lose when he gifted the Ferrari No1 victory as they approached the chequered flag.

There are not many circuits where Barrichello is able to get the better of the five-times world champion but this is one of them and he should make the most of it.

With team orders now outlawed - and the whole world looking to see if Ferrari are stupid enough to repeat the shabby performances of the past - Barrichello should be free to go for it.

One of Schumacher's strengths is his amazing speed entering a corner but that counts for little here.

Ferrari will be giving their new car its second outing but I have to say it didn't look that impressive in Spain or as quick as we had been led to believe it would be.

But it was good enough for Schumacher to win and I am sure the team told him to dictate the pace and not let rip just in case any teething problems developed.

The one piece of news which has astounded me is that Jaguar Racing have decided to keep Pizzonia until the end of the season.

If they felt he wasn't good enough after four races, why stick with him for the rest? It's obvious he hasn't got what it takes and by keeping him they will set the team back for next season because you need two drivers to make progress up the grid.



SCHU BEAUTY ... Michael won last year's Austria GP

The driver they should have gone for is Justin Wilson. The way he is
driving that Minardi is just remarkable, especially his starts.

Once again he rocketed up the grid from 18th to ninth on the opening lap, startling quite a few drivers along the way.

It was good to see him finish his first race and hopefully he will soon land a point but just think what he would be capable of in a competitive machine.

Alonso has shocked the Formula One world in the opening five races but who says that Wilson wouldn't raise even more eyebrows...given the chance?"

HONDA POWER