- 14 Aug 07, 21:58#12407
Ayrton Senna: WDC 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
McLaren: WCC 1974, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2007
McLaren: WDC 1974, 1976, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2008
From autosport.com:
By Pablo Elizalde Monday, August 13th 2007, 13:04 GMT
Former McLaren coordinator Jo Ramirez believes Fernando Alonso needs to understand the British squad will not favour him over his teammate Lewis Hamilton.
Two-time world champion Alonso is embroiled in a tight battle with rookie Hamilton, who leads the championship from the Spaniard after 11 races.
Their fight has led to tension between them, and Alonso spent a day without talking to Hamilton following their incident during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Ramirez believes the rivalry is already starting to look like the one that led the relationship between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost to turn awry at the start of the 1990s.
"No doubt, more and more each race," said Ramirez when asked if the situation with Alonso and Hamilton reminded him of Senna and Prost at McLaren.
"What's most difficult for Fernando is to understand that McLaren is not a team like Ferrari, who gives preference to one driver," the Mexican told AS newspaper.
"Dennis has always wanted equality, there are no team orders and he [Alonso] must understand that. That's why I told him he was to get more involved with the team, win them over. Because when I go to the races I see him in a corner with his father, his friends and he doesn't mix with the rest.
"I can assure that no one in the team would allow a driver to get a preference over the other. It has always been like that in McLaren. It's against the rules and it will never happen with Ron Dennis."
An interesting set of remarks from Ramirez, a guy with a lot of knowledge about how McLaren has and does still work. It's very petty that Alonso doesn't mix with the rest of the team and will hurt him more than Dennis, Whitmarsh, Hamilton or his rivals.
Alonso's standing in the all-time greats is being affected by this. He's not fastest ever, however, is intelligent and fearless, but his mental state and gurny-gob nature are shameful for a champion.
By Pablo Elizalde Monday, August 13th 2007, 13:04 GMT
Former McLaren coordinator Jo Ramirez believes Fernando Alonso needs to understand the British squad will not favour him over his teammate Lewis Hamilton.
Two-time world champion Alonso is embroiled in a tight battle with rookie Hamilton, who leads the championship from the Spaniard after 11 races.
Their fight has led to tension between them, and Alonso spent a day without talking to Hamilton following their incident during qualifying for the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Ramirez believes the rivalry is already starting to look like the one that led the relationship between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost to turn awry at the start of the 1990s.
"No doubt, more and more each race," said Ramirez when asked if the situation with Alonso and Hamilton reminded him of Senna and Prost at McLaren.
"What's most difficult for Fernando is to understand that McLaren is not a team like Ferrari, who gives preference to one driver," the Mexican told AS newspaper.
"Dennis has always wanted equality, there are no team orders and he [Alonso] must understand that. That's why I told him he was to get more involved with the team, win them over. Because when I go to the races I see him in a corner with his father, his friends and he doesn't mix with the rest.
"I can assure that no one in the team would allow a driver to get a preference over the other. It has always been like that in McLaren. It's against the rules and it will never happen with Ron Dennis."
An interesting set of remarks from Ramirez, a guy with a lot of knowledge about how McLaren has and does still work. It's very petty that Alonso doesn't mix with the rest of the team and will hurt him more than Dennis, Whitmarsh, Hamilton or his rivals.
Alonso's standing in the all-time greats is being affected by this. He's not fastest ever, however, is intelligent and fearless, but his mental state and gurny-gob nature are shameful for a champion.
Ayrton Senna: WDC 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
McLaren: WCC 1974, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2007
McLaren: WDC 1974, 1976, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2008
