F1 insider comments on Renault-Ferrari alliance

Well-known Ferrari insider Leo Turrini predicts that the Maranello team and Renault are about to align politically in F1.

Fiat Chrysler chairman John Elkann is reportedly behind a $37 billion proposal to merge the carmaker with Renault. The new alliance would make Fiat Chrysler Renault the third largest automotive player in the world, behind Toyota and Volkswagen.

But Turrini said the deal would not have a massive impact on Formula 1.

"First, Ferrari as a company and a racing team is not part of the FCA world. The spin off from the parent company averted the danger that Maranello would be swallowed by such a mega deal," he told his Quotidiano blog.

"But with an equal agreement with the French, it is logical to suppose that Renault would coordinate its political positions with Ferrari more than it already does in F1."

Turrini also thinks the Renault-Fiat alliance could spell trouble for the late Sergio Marchionne's plans with Alfa Romeo in F1.

"In his absence, and now with Simone Resta's return to Italy, the project seems to have jammed," he said.

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Leopold

Leopold Pleijsier founded F1-Fansite.com in 2001 and has followed Formula 1 since the early 1980s. He writes about daily F1 news, race weekends, drivers and the sport’s history.

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