Formula One - Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso: Optimistic or arrogant over his F1 future?
Fernando Alonso, a man that was tipped by many as the ‘appropriate’ successor to Michael Schumacher in red threads has spoken out about his new found optimism after an eventful Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that saw him robbed of
the drivers’ championship title.
The Spaniard aimed to look on the bright side, starting with drawing up comparisons with his Ferrari teammate, Felipe Massa. The former Renault driver commented that he took great satisfaction from his performances relative
to his already established Brazilian teammate which was evidence enough that he was arguably in the best form of his Formula One career.
Alonso managed to qualify in front of Massa on 15 occasions over the course of the 19-Grands Prix season.
"It's probably the biggest gap that I have ever had to a team-mate and that makes me happy because of the results that I've had over the past years. My level of driving is better than ever and I hope I can keep it up next
year," said Alonso in an interview with Onda Cero radio.
Reflecting on the previous season, Alonso began to see the silver lining as he added that he had put the disappointment of Abu Dhabi behind him and was now fully focused for the future with the highlights of his debut season
with Ferrari as motivation to do better. The Spaniard did confess in the end, though, that the loss was rather hard to accept in the first few days. However, as part of the healing process, Alonso finally found closure with the thought that the balance of
his year at Ferrari was unbeatable.
"In 2009 I was on the podium once and Ferrari was only average with a car that was not too competitive. In 2010 we started pretty strongly in the first race, we won five grands prix and we scored a good amount of points.”
However, while the Spaniard could be commended for his positivity, his views also suggest an element of arrogance.
Firstly, starting with bashing his teammate and the 108-point gap he enjoyed over him, Alonso rather conveniently forgot the favor that Massa did for him in the Turkish Grand Prix. The Brazilian led the race and on alleged
team orders, slowed down to let Alonso through – the resultant race victory fetched Alonso 7 more points than he would earned behind Massa.
Alonso’s second comment relates to a rather average Ferrari in the 2009 season. It might be argued that the former McLaren Mercedes driver is suggesting that with an already ‘mediocre’ teammate, his addition to the scarlet
line-up was the telling injection that enabled the constructors to win 5 Grands Prix in the last season – Ferrari is a separate entity, the scarlet team’s history is littered with success to the extent that they form an integral part of modern day Formula
One. Alonso should, perhaps, bear in mind that no driver is bigger than the team before issuing such direct remarks. Knowing the might of Ferrari, it was perhaps safe to assume that they arguably had the services of the best drivers in the business at their
disposal. While the Italian giants could have done with a number of other possible candidates, Alonso needed them if he wanted to get his Formula One career on track and finally start winning races: remember, after severing ties with McLaren Mercedes and realizing
that the Renault could not come up with a car that justified his ambitions, Ferrari was the only ‘big player’ that remained.
However, all said and done, the stats greatly point in the Spaniard’s favor and perhaps it’s plausible to believe that Ferrari actually hired one of the best in the business in the end.
Alonso concluded his interview on a warmer team-view, however:
"Everything has gone better than expected in this great family that is Ferrari. It has been a wonderful year for me."
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