Alonso-Mclaren's divorce in the face of this season's competitive environment!

Every Formula One fan remembers how the relationship between Ron Dennis and Fernando Alonso literally fell apart last year. It then led to Alonso leaving the Woking-based outfit to rejoin former employer Renault.

Regardless of the ins and outs of the situation at the time, it now seems that both parties were content with their joint decision to have gone their separate ways.

McLaren filed no objections to Alonso's leaving. Wasting little time they picked Heikki Kovalainen to fill in the void. By the same token, they promoted Lewis Hamilton to No. 1 driver status. In the meantime, Fernando was back to his old team after just one year out of a three year deal.

Despite the circumstances (the spy gate, the stand up rows, the breakdowns in communications and finally the divorce between Alonso and McLaren), was this separation the right decision for both Fernando and the Woking-based outfit for 2008?

The competition

Arguable is McLaren's decision to promote young Lewis Hamilton as No. 1 driver. Lewis has only been racing in F1 for one season only, and promoting him to No.1 driver status at McLaren is putting unnecessary pressures on his small shoulders. Furthermore, bringing in Heikki Kovalainen as No. 2 to Lewis was questionable too.

The question remains whether such an inexperienced pair would be strong enough to mount a credible challenge for McLaren's expectations with regards to the manufacturer's crown. So far so good, that's until Ferrari unveiled its next generation of F1 potential in the shape of the ever awe-inspiring F2008, a car that inspires fear in the hearts of its competitors, so impressive, so fast yet so reliable as well, we could hardly imagine something closer to perfection.

Secondly, Ferrari were not alone in unveiling their venom. BMW-Sauber unleashed theirs in the shape of the vicking horned F1.08, a poison of its own, but also the fantastic consistency in terms of points scored by both BMW drivers makes this year's manufacturer's championship all the more interesting.

So much for Lewis and Heikki...

McLaren

In the face of a much tougher competitive environment, was McLaren's bid on Lewis over Fernando strategically correct? Lewis may have the seeds of greatness in him no doubt his record last season was just two points short of a WC crown, however silly rookie mistakes the likes we have seen in Bahrain and Montreal means his lack of experience at that level, plus his unease at dealing with real pressure are weaknesses that make Hamilton a questionable choice as No.1 driver over Alonso.

What is even more incredible is for Mclaren to have genuinely believed they could mount a credible manufacturer's title charge on the back of a succesful rookie as No. 1 driver and an unknown quantity in the shape of Heikki Kovalainen as No. 2; as if this pair could outdo the likes of Massa-Raikkonen and Heidfeld-Kubica - Very unlikely to say the least, an insult to their competitors is just as well what it was.

The rankings speak against this strategic thinking as Ferrari leads the charge with 73 points followed by BMW on 70 points with McLaren trailing in third on 53 points.

Same time last year McLaren was going into Magny Cours with 106 points in the bank whilst runner up Ferrari was left out in the distance with 71 points.

This year, the manufacturer's championship has taken a much different shape; blame it on last year's spy scandal if you will. I am adamant the pair of Kovalainen and Hamilton is just not experienced enough to put McLaren in a strong position to claim a manufacturer's title in 2008. Furthermore, there is just no way Heikki Kovalainen was expected to start challenging for GP victories just yet despite his outstanding pace in previous Grand Prix. Two reasons for this:

 a) Heikki's best was a second place in Japan last year,

b) Lewis is No.1 driver and Mclaren has invested so much into that extent they got rid of former double world champion Alonso for it, so Heikki's challenging for top notch at McLaren just seems next to impossible.

Alonso

Fernando Alonso's decision to split with McLaren is equally fraught with strategic miscalculations and emotions overbearing logic. His first blunder was to believe Ferrari would happily pair him with Raikkonen, thus getting rid of Felipe Massa in the process. The whole thing was doubly ludicrous, for Ferrari has spoken out against such a move, praising their pair of drivers as the best around the paddock and their lead in the manufacturer's championship is rock solid evidence of that.

Also pairing two drivers of WC caliber is a risky move, for it would have resulted in a driver feud. How ironic -- Alonso was trying to get onboard that ship when he is living proof that two great drivers just can't be teamed up!

Furthermore rejoining Renault on an early "return ticket" has not helped his chances in the driver's championship, nor has it boosted his reputation around the paddock. Alonso's behaviour at McLaren had been dubbed childish and all sorts of similar adjectives have been used to exemplify him in this light. Equally, McLaren's treatment of Alonso as a WC did raise eyebrows.

What would have been interesting is if (and that's no big if) McLaren could have foreseen that in 2008 the competitive environment would be much different with the F2008's potential as a car of choice, a dream package of a racing machine, so impressive its drivers could now challenge on tracks where competitors were once favourites but also the BMW's now battling for top notch - then Mclaren and Alonso would have been forced by external factors to stick together for the 2008 season.

Looking at Alonso now and where he is standing in the driver's championship, it is a shame for a racer of his league to be stranded ninth with nine points after seven races. So much for that "return ticket" to Renault. Compare this to same time last year when Alonso was in second place with 48 points in the bank -- the contrast is all the more telling.

Fernando may have had a point in stating that staying at McLaren was a guarantee of finishing third in the driver's championship, however if things stay the same, Renault will not be able to guarantee him any places near that.

Both McLaren and Alonso formed an amazing partnership last year. Alonso's input produced that extra 0.6th of a second of pace per lap needed to beat the Ferraris. Inadvertently, Fernando provided Lewis with extra motivation on track which translated in the most succesful maiden season ever; but most importantly banking in on all the manufacturer's points that could be grabbed on each Grand Prix, something Mclaren is clearly not doing this year!!

The lost opportunity

Clearly Mclaren and Alonso took the wrong path with one another; Ron Dennis is clearly to blame for all this shamble. For having favoured, believed and placed so much expectations on Lewis Hamilton was just too early and ignoring the evident truth that this year in 2008 Mclaren and Alonso would need to work together more than last year, why? because for the simple reason this year the competition got a lot tougher, meaner and badder! The Ferrari F2008 is a clear response to last year's McLaren strong lead in the manufacturer's championship in other words: revenge! BMW-Sauber's F1.08 has reached that next level of pace and right now McLaren is on the back footer, a spectator of the fight for no.1 manufacturer being played out by Ferrari and BMW.

Clearly failing to predict how the competition would fare in 2008 was a strategic blunder of gargantuan consequences. Having promoted Lewis Hamilton to first driver status in his second season only at McLaren may be another one of equal proportions, only time will tell; yet if last year's showdown in interlagos is any indications - too much pressure will admonish Lewis.

Worse bringing in an unknown quantity in the shape of potential talent Kovalainen and expecting the pair to bring in the manufacturer's points was just foolish! A gamble in essence, how does Ron Dennis expect Hamilton-Kovalainen to fare against the Ferraris and now the BMW's. Had Mclaren calculated they'd be in for a three-way fight for the manufacturer's crown they sure as hell would have tried every single trick in the book to retain Alonso! And had Alonso realised Ferrari just would have none of his services as long as Kimi "the Iceman" Raikkonen remains with the scuderia; then it is more than likely Alonso would have reconsidered his leaving McLaren!

Conclusion

Bottom line is the divorce between Alonso and McLaren came at the worse time for both parties.

If there are any lessons to be taken from this turbulent page of F1 history, always look forward to what the next season may offer, never take your opponents for granted, nor abuse the people who work for you.