Fernando Alonso calm after Valencia incident
After the safety car incurred the wrath of Fernando Alonso at the Formula One European Grand Prix on Sunday, the Spaniard now seems to have calmed down about the incident.
Alonso was in third behind Lewis Hamilton, and after Mark Webber had a spectacular crash, the safety car emerged. Hamilton hesitated and overtook the safety car, breaking the rules, while Alonso waited behind. Hamilton was able to pit and rejoin the race in second, while Alonso lost out and fell down the pecking order.
Hamilton was given a drive-through penalty for his illegal overtake, but it didn’t affect his race position, as he finished in second. Alonso crossed the line a lowly eighth position, but was left fuming after the race events. The double world champion felt the race had been “manipulated” and Hamilton disrespected the rules. Alonso also questioned the lengthy time it took the sport’s governing body, the FIA, to give Hamilton the penalty.
Now, the 28-year-old has admitted he overreacted to the situation. “Obviously, in the clear light of day, I am much calmer than I was in the moments immediately following the race. At the time, I reacted emotionally and in that situation, it is all too easy to adopt a tone and say things that can be interpreted wrongly, giving rise to suspicions, something which I had no intention of doing.
“Sure, I understand that the stewards have a difficult job to do and they have to take decisions that are not easy. What I meant was that those drivers who, like us, respected the regulations, unfortunately, in this situation, suffered much more than those who broke them, even though they were given a penalty. And I am not referring to any of the drivers in particular: it’s a general matter and I think we should talk about it together in a calm way, to ensure that things like this do not happen again,” said Alonso.
Alonso and Hamilton had a frosty relationship at McLaren in 2007, forcing the former to leave the team after one year. There is tension between the pair every time they meet, and this incident refuelled their bitter rivalry.
The FIA have acknowledged there are flaws with the safety car rules, and have called an extraordinary meeting of the Sporting Working Group to sort out matters, which Alonso has welcomed. “I was pleased to hear that the FIA has reacted promptly, calling an extraordinary meeting of the Sporting Working Group and I am confident, certain even, that all the points up for discussion will be cleared up in a comprehensive fashion.”
For consecutive races, Alonso has been in prime position to challenge for the race victories. On Sunday he lost a hatful of points, but he is remaining optimistic about his title credentials.
“Even if the Valencia result was not what we wanted, it has not done irreparable damage. It’s true that the gap to the leader has now jumped to 29 points, but we have not even reached the halfway point of the season. We trail by just over one win, so the situation is still very open.
“On Sunday evening I was very angry about everything that happened, but now that anger has been transformed into positive energy driving a desire to fight back. My mind was already focused on the next grand prix at Silverstone. There we will try and channel all that accumulated energy into the car to try and make up for what escaped us, for one reason or another, in Valencia,” said Alonso.
Alonso may be calm now, but let’s wait and see what happens if he crosses paths with Hamilton again at the next race.
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