- 14 Sep 07, 00:13#13737
Yeah... he's a great driver, but such primadonna. He's making, like, 10x more than LH. Don't get me wrong, LH has ego bigger than my old chemistry teacher's... back, I think he's new Schumaker in making (not going to happen in McLaren, though)... but FA is new Schumi-wannabe in, like, existing! I guess he'd be happy only if he could have same privileges MS had in Ferrari (RB and Austrian GP a few years ago, anyone?).
From autosport.com:
By Pablo Elizalde Friday, August 24th 2007, 17:29 GMT
Fernando Alonso in TurkeyWorld champion Fernando Alonso believes McLaren are not paying him back for his help in moving the team forward this year.
The Spanish driver joined McLaren from Renault, with whom he won two consecutive titles, but the relationship with the British squad has been strained and doubts have been cast over the two-time champion's future in the team, despite his contract running for two more seasons.
The situation took a turn for the worse in Hungary, when Alonso was penalised for impeding teammate Lewis Hamilton in qualifying after the Briton disobeyed team orders.
Although Alonso and the team cleared the air ahead of the Turkish Grand Prix, the Spaniard has admitted he is still not entirely happy with how he is treated.
"That is always very clear in any team, you know, to have equal opportunities to everybody and to have an equal car to your teammate," Alonso said on BBC Radio. "What I think sometimes, and what I asked the team, is that I gave the team a lot.
"When I arrived in December, I remember the car I drove; I remember the results they had in 2006. And now, you know, I brought to the team half a second, six tenths, whatever, and I don't see anything giving me back.
"So that's the only thing."
In 2006, McLaren endured their first win-less season in a decade. This year, the team are leading both championships, with Alonso seven points behind Hamilton.
Alonso himself told reporters during a karting event in Turkey on Thursday that he didn't know if he would be at the team next season.
However, following his meetings with the McLaren bosses yesterday, Alonso today told reporters he will not be thinking about his future at the moment.
"I have a long-term contract with them and at the moment I am in no hurry to move or to do anything, especially now with the championship as it is, you know, seven points behind the leader. So to think about the future is not the right time now," he said.
What does Alonso expect the team to give him? He has a team of designers, mechanics, test drivers etc. spending millions to give him a car capable of winning races and championships - despite him not being the fastest or most mentally capable driver around, not to mention staying up to the small hours. Furthermore, it's the duty of every driver to test with the team and provide feedback to the engineers. Does Alonso think he is doing McLaren a favour, that this kind of thing is not in his £20,000,000/$39,000,000 a year contract? (Besides, if Raikkonen couldn't sort out McLaren, there is no way he did) Were McLaren giving him nothing when he received the best pit-stop strategy for Monaco and preference to win the Spanish Grand Prix? Let's also not forget McLaren and Mercedes as organisations themselves; McLaren-Mercedes clearly don't have experience of winning races and championships, nor the personal of finance to produce a quality car. Everything good that has happened to the Anglo-German outfit in the last year has all been because of Alonso.
This guy is the biggest gurn I can ever remember in all my years watching Formula One, and as a matter of fact, sport in general! It's a pity he has a three year deal for who needs Alonso? Kubica, Sutil, Rosberg, Webber, Button, Raikkonen, Heidfeld and Vettel are all just as good, if not better, than Alonso, and would relish the chance to jump in a McLaren (well, except Raikkonen, for whom I'm sorry McLaren couldn't give a more reliable car) and be seriously less hassle. What has Alonso given McLaren? A load of gurning and s***-stirring and the opportunity the FIA wanted to help Ferrari.
It's time to put up or shut up Alonso. Stop the mouth-music and start doing the talking on the track.
Yeah... he's a great driver, but such primadonna. He's making, like, 10x more than LH. Don't get me wrong, LH has ego bigger than my old chemistry teacher's... back, I think he's new Schumaker in making (not going to happen in McLaren, though)... but FA is new Schumi-wannabe in, like, existing! I guess he'd be happy only if he could have same privileges MS had in Ferrari (RB and Austrian GP a few years ago, anyone?).
