Alonso pulls an "ALONSO"!!!

[ReyDelSol]

Reminds me of last year's Chinese Gp.

I forget about what happened. Anyone care to bring me up to speed, please?

[Venom]

Typical Alonso behaviour, he gets under pressure in the championship and he starts shouting the world is against him. Been there, done that, let's just move along...

+1....I almost started liking him, until now...im back to square one...remember the ruckus he created in Monza 2006 when the stewards charged him for blocking Massa....and the s#$%^* face of Flavio Briatore shaking like it was his death sentence or something....after Schumi 'parked' his car at La Rascasse.

Excuse me for interfering but what shoud Alonso have done after that incident at Monza where he got blamed for something he didn't do? Even Max Mosley admitted at later stage that he regrets that decision taken by stewards.

Formula 1 is extremely expensive and highly structured and oragnised sport and every team should be treated equally with well defined rules which FIA couldn't ever establish.

I belive this is the video at Monza.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GY-lKEt1QLM

Alonso's comment which states that he doesnt consider F1 as a sport any more weren't very welcomed but then again why should he consider it as a sport when even the governing body doesn't treat it as a sport?

[Militia Est Vita]

I consider myself a huge McLaren and Alonso fan, however those comments coming from both Hamilton and Alonso about the team favouring one or the other after the races outcome are starting to be a bit irritating. I don't blame Dennis for limiting the media access to his drivers. I would be interesting to see what happends if Alonso finishes Indy in a better position than Hamilton. I would not be surprised to hear Hamilton saying again that he is number 2 in the team

[emburmak]

Let's not get carried away too much, remeber you can't rely on such source of information especially from some probably local radio station...

I agree wholeheartedly with the above comments.

[Tp]

I'm not suprised to be honest.

I think there are a couple of reasons behind why he said, what he said.

Firstly to get where he's at, you have to have a lot of self-belief, it helps you remain focused and committed even though it might be a difficult task. So I think he has to convince himself that the reason why he's not competitive is not because of him.

But I think as well he might be applying a little psychological pressure onto Hamilton, he's basically saying 'Get as many points as you can now, because it won't be too long 'till I become the number 1 driver.'

[f1.redbaron]

..Hamilton being told to back off so that Alonso could win...

On this note. When are people going to get in their heads: HAMILTON WAS NEVER GOING TO GET PAST ALONSO AT MONACO!

I'd like to clarify...

I never said that Hamilton was denied victory (at least I didn't mean to make it sound like that), but Alonso's job was made a lot easier when his only competitor in that race was told to back-off.

You said that the only way that Hamilton was going to win was if Alonso crashed...so yeah, there was a chance. Put enough pressure on him, and he is could make a mistake (he made 4 identical mistakes during the last race). During the Turkish GP 2005, Alonso's determination to put pressure on Montoya paid off when Montoya ran wide right towards the end of the race. So, in Monaco, where the room for error is much smaller, such scenarios are not inconceivable.

But there is another possibility. What if Hamilton had managed to line up just right, and try to pass him at the start/finish line, similar to what Michael tried to do to Ralf in Monaco '05?

The point is that as soon as something goes wrong, Alonso is using media to vent some of the frustration. Up until now, we have seen him get angry when his competitor (Michael or Kimi) was closing the gap in points. But now, Alonso is the one who needs to catch up and I think that the interview we had seen, is only the sample of what is to come.

[Seas]

..Hamilton being told to back off so that Alonso could win...

On this note. When are people going to get in their heads: HAMILTON WAS NEVER GOING TO GET PAST ALONSO AT MONACO!

I'd like to clarify...

I never said that Hamilton was denied victory (at least I didn't mean to make it sound like that), but Alonso's job was made a lot easier when his only competitor in that race was told to back-off.

You said that the only way that Hamilton was going to win was if Alonso crashed...so yeah, there was a chance. Put enough pressure on him, and he is could make a mistake (he made 4 identical mistakes during the last race). During the Turkish GP 2005, Alonso's determination to put pressure on Montoya paid off when Montoya ran wide right towards the end of the race. So, in Monaco, where the room for error is much smaller, such scenarios are not inconceivable.

But there is another possibility. What if Hamilton had managed to line up just right, and try to pass him at the start/finish line, similar to what Michael tried to do to Ralf in Monaco '05?

The point is that as soon as something goes wrong, Alonso is using media to vent some of the frustration. Up until now, we have seen him get angry when his competitor (Michael or Kimi) was closing the gap in points. But now, Alonso is the one who needs to catch up and I think that the interview we had seen, is only the sample of what is to come.

We can think about this situation in Monaco in different way. Hamilton probably can’t pas Alonso in clean race, but think of this in different situation. What will happen if Ron did not changed Hamilton strategy and left him on one pit stop strategy? What will happen in this situation? Pit lane in Monaco is very slow, Alonso can lose maybe 30 seconds in second pitstop, and as we see on beginning of the race when Hamilton tank was full, their speed was not very different.
As for Alonso, I don’t like this guy. He was complaining in Renault, he complains now.

[flynfrog]

Alonso = the next JV

[ds.raikkonen]

Even Max Mosley admitted at later stage that he regrets that decision taken by stewards.

I dont MM's comments worthwhile anymore, hes a freak

[Rob W]

What will happen if Ron did not changed Hamilton strategy and left him on one pit stop strategy? What will happen in this situation?

Hamilton would have lost probably even more time stuck behind a train of two-stopping drivers when he pitted mid-race. Likewise he would have driven proportionally more on each of the tires giving him a 50/50 chance of having a larger percentage of the race on tires he didn't like.

RW

[allan]

What will happen if Ron did not changed Hamilton strategy and left him on one pit stop strategy? What will happen in this situation?

Hamilton would have lost probably even more time stuck behind a train of two-stopping drivers when he pitted mid-race. Likewise he would have driven proportionally more on each of the tires giving him a 50/50 chance of having a larger percentage of the race on tires he didn't like.

RW

i don't think so.
hamilton had only one stop. If he had stayed out, he could have led the race, especially that he was only a couple of seconds behind alonso. So if he had pitted in his time, he would have come out either in fornt, or right behind Fernando, with alonso having to stop once again.

[Spencifer_Murphy]

I wouldn't worry about them comment too much. I think Fernando's got a point in fact.

Fernando has arrived from renult where the team were pretty much built around him, this isnt the case anymore.

Furthermore we have to remember regardless of the advantages that FA got in the beginning (fuel strategy etc.) I think what Fernando is talking about is that the MECHANICS will be more behind Lewis, which - seeing as not only is he British but he's the next British Superstar - makes perfect sence.

Lastly I don't think Fernando means too much harm, he and Lewis still seem quirte friendly from what I can see (pics, vids etc @ the races), Fernando did say "I'm not going to complain about it" because he understands WHY its happening and does not see it as a "problem" and thirdly I've always seen Fernando as a bit like Jose Morinhno...He plays a phycological game.

Another point is that Fernando can be lured into that sort of comment by a reporter, say the reporter asked "Your performance hasn't been what we expected so far, are you still trying to get comfortable in the team?" Fernando's answer which was pretty much "Well tbh I haven't been 100% comfortable at Mclaren since I got here." and then when asked to give details ould (and did) basically say "Well, you have to understand its a british team with a british driver...but I wont complain about it, as its understandble that this attitude will develop towards a "home" driver, if you get what I mean."

It just depends on what you want to believe though.

[ketanpaul]

I wouldn't worry about them comment too much. I think Fernando's got a point in fact.

Fernando has arrived from renult where the team were pretty much built around him, this isnt the case anymore.

Furthermore we have to remember regardless of the advantages that FA got in the beginning (fuel strategy etc.) I think what Fernando is talking about is that the MECHANICS will be more behind Lewis, which - seeing as not only is he British but he's the next British Superstar - makes perfect sence.

Lastly I don't think Fernando means too much harm, he and Lewis still seem quirte friendly from what I can see (pics, vids etc @ the races), Fernando did say "I'm not going to complain about it" because he understands WHY its happening and does not see it as a "problem" and thirdly I've always seen Fernando as a bit like Jose Morinhno...He plays a phycological game.

Another point is that Fernando can be lured into that sort of comment by a reporter, say the reporter asked "Your performance hasn't been what we expected so far, are you still trying to get comfortable in the team?" Fernando's answer which was pretty much "Well tbh I haven't been 100% comfortable at Mclaren since I got here." and then when asked to give details ould (and did) basically say "Well, you have to understand its a british team with a british driver...but I wont complain about it, as its understandble that this attitude will develop towards a "home" driver, if you get what I mean."

It just depends on what you want to believe though.

I agree 100 % with you man, I dont think people should dig a lot into this remark, Fernando is just trying to find feet in a "british team and a british teammate" combination. Its just that at Renault, when he wanted something done, there were no questions asked but McLaren being a huge setup and also when you have a teammate who is adored by everyone in the team, you tend to be dwarfed by the situation and try to accept the reality. FA is not a kid any more who would kick a football between test sessions, he is getting mature, through driving for a thoroughly professional and committed team, so let the lad find his space and he will shine.............

[f1.redbaron]

I don't think that it was taken out of context (or, I should say, that much). He has a history of doing this, dating back to the beginning of 2005 season when Alonso started to pull away from Fisichella. He complained how he was not getting much help from Fisichella in WDC (i.e. taking points away from Kimi) and WCC.

Here are some interesting articles:

This one states that the quotes are sometimes taken out of context (well, yeah), but the fact that, in the next paragraph, McLaren are doing damage control, tells me that it wasn't taken out of context (that much)
http://www.mclaren.com/latestnews/mclaren.php

Reactions from Hamilton and John Watson
http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/59760

http://www.autosport.com/news/report.php/id/59725

btw, the same thing was reported by several respectable media outlets.

[ginsu]

Lewis said this today:

"Coming into the team ... he is a two-time champion, he has not really been challenged. He's had some challenges, but not someone as close as me and as good a friend off the track. So it is a very difficult situation."

It sounds to me like Lewis is really keeping his cool on this one, and Fernando is getting into a hissy fit....really strange, but I think Fernando knows his days of unrivaled competition within his team are gone...here now is Hamilton in the same car. I mean think about it, Fisi never worried Alonso. We all think about how difficult it is for Hamilton to deal with this situation, but he's never seen anything different. Alonso simply got accustomed to a certain level of status and domination within his own team, I don't think he knows how to handle the internal pressure and competition in a positive way, yet.

This is really interesting because of the easy comparisons with Senna and Prost when they were both at Mclaren. But, who's Prost and who's Senna? After hearing some of Hamilton's comments, I'm thinking he's the Senna, but time will tell.