- 12 Oct 07, 10:21#17503
A mind opening Interview with the Spainish Press from Alonso
What's the mood like in the team?
Fernando Alonso: Like always in the last few weeks. Some of them aren't talking to me any more. Some have taken one side or another and then they blab whatever they like to the papers.
So are you disappointed with McLaren?
Fernando Alonso: I had high expectations of the team. No doubt about that. We were all looking forward to the season. From the outside, everyone gets a very different impression of the team - serious, professional. I arrived here as back-to-back World Champion and played my part in improving the car. Last year, the team had difficulty making the cut for Q3. This year, they're world championship material. To be frank, I haven't been well treated in the circumstances.
Did you as a double world champion expect to be treated like that?
Fernando Alonso: Not as a double champion but as a human being. No, I hadn't expected that.
Yesterday, Ron said he wasn't pleased that you had kept silent at the press conference instead of confirming that both drivers were getting equal treatment in the team... Fernando Alonso: Sometimes it's better to say nothing than to tell untruths. That's one thing he should do more often. It would be good for his team. Because a lot of the things that happened this year, the scandals we've been involved in on and off the track, are in no small measure down to what he has done... I think everyone has his own philosophy of life and that's only fair. I've spoken to Coulthard, Montoya and Kimi. And they were all happier after they'd left the team.
What promises did Ron Dennis make to you and which of them has he not kept?
Fernando Alonso: He promised me nothing at all. The only thing I ever hear is all this talk about equal treatment. But this is how it is: the more people boast about something, the less substance there is to it. Equal treatment within a Formula One team is impossible. There's always going to be a better engine, a better lap for the pit stop and so on. I'm not saying that there isn't a certain degree of equality. Sometimes they give one driver the advantage and sometimes the other. But at the beginning, they were doing it more for me and now perhaps less so. But he talks about equal opportunities and they simply aren't there.
When will we find out who you'll be driving for in 2008?
Fernando Alonso: I hope I can start preparing for next season soon. I don't know where I'll be.
The impression is that you can't carry on here...
Fernando Alonso: I'm trying to do my job as well as I can, to improve the car, to find good setups, to drive as well as I can in the races and that's all there is to it. And then you see what he [Ron Dennis] does and listen to his comments and statements... It doesn't matter if they aren't keen to carry on. They've got one driver who is really important to the team. Okay, no problem. There are ten other teams interested in me.
Furthermore, if the best thing he can say against the team is that perfect equality is impossible in Formula One, then McLaren have done nothing wrong. Everybody knows that and, as far as is possible, McLaren is the best place to be as far as driver equality goes. Even Lauda had to come out and admit that.
