Now Alonso's having at go at Fisichella...
Discussion
First it was the FIA (justifiably), then Schumacher, then the Renault team, now his team mate...
Who's next, I wonder???
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Alonso angered by team-mate's tactics
World champion Fernando Alonso has voiced his dissatisfaction with Renault team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella, questioning the Italian's actions during his defeat to Michael Schumacher at last weekend's Chinese Grand Prix.
Alonso was leading the way in the early stages of the race before a tyre problem saw both Fisichella and championship rival Schumacher sweep past the 26-year-old as his pace slowed markedly. Schumacher went on to win for the fifth time in seven races and draw level on 116 points with Alonso in the standings, although the Spaniard recovered to finish second.
"What I felt was that maybe I had a problem with the car for nine or 10 laps and I felt alone, for sure," said Alonso. "I was first and my team-mate was second and they came to me, they overtook me and they were gone. When I recovered the pace they were gone."
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Who's next, I wonder???
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Alonso angered by team-mate's tactics
World champion Fernando Alonso has voiced his dissatisfaction with Renault team-mate Giancarlo Fisichella, questioning the Italian's actions during his defeat to Michael Schumacher at last weekend's Chinese Grand Prix.
Alonso was leading the way in the early stages of the race before a tyre problem saw both Fisichella and championship rival Schumacher sweep past the 26-year-old as his pace slowed markedly. Schumacher went on to win for the fifth time in seven races and draw level on 116 points with Alonso in the standings, although the Spaniard recovered to finish second.
"What I felt was that maybe I had a problem with the car for nine or 10 laps and I felt alone, for sure," said Alonso. "I was first and my team-mate was second and they came to me, they overtook me and they were gone. When I recovered the pace they were gone."
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Fisi did well not to just overtake him instantly. He stayed behind him for a LONG time, and of course Fisi wasn't to know whether Alonso's pace was going to recover or not so he was right to go for it. ALonso was so extremely slow compared to the other two (it's not like it was 0.1secs a lap!).
I am really surprised by these comments, I thought Alonso was much, much better than this.
I am really surprised by these comments, I thought Alonso was much, much better than this.
Alonso said:
"What I felt was that maybe I had a problem with the car for nine or 10 laps and I felt alone, for sure," said Alonso. "I was first and my team-mate was second and they came to me, they overtook me and they were gone. When I recovered the pace they were gone."
I've read that a few times and I can't work out how they think he's having a go at Fisichella. It's known that Flav gave the order to tell Fisichella to pass after trying to hold up Schumacher, but when it was clear that Alonso's problem would last a while they had to let him go to try to stay in front of Schumacher and control the race. As it was if it had worked he could have slowed Schumacher up later and allow Alonso to catch back up.
FourWheelDrift said:
Alonso said:
"What I felt was that maybe I had a problem with the car for nine or 10 laps and I felt alone, for sure," said Alonso. "I was first and my team-mate was second and they came to me, they overtook me and they were gone. When I recovered the pace they were gone."
I've read that a few times and I can't work out how they think he's having a go at Fisichella.
Exactly what I was thinking. I suppose an interpretation of his "I felt alone" comment could be that he didn't think Fisi was helping enough, but the general tone of his quote sounds like he's just talking about how the race developed.
I think I must be reading behind the lines a bit too much.
1) When Alonso says "I felt a bit alone really", that, to me, is a dig at Fisi for not playing the team game, further exacerbated when he said...
2) "They just disappeared", which to me suggests that as soon as they saw Alonso in trouble both Fisi and Schumacher put the hammer down as they could both smell a victory. If Fisi had got to the front and stayed there, and MS was in P2 Renault would not have asked Fisi to concede ground to let Alonso get into P2 and let MS win, as it would have meant less constructors points (14 vs 16).
However, this is all just conjecture. The REAL reason Alonso is pissed-off is because Fisichella made such an arse of his first lap on the slicks, letting MS by at the first corner after his pitstop. I assume the Renault strategy was to get Fisi out ahead of MS, then get Fisi to hold MS up whilst Alonso made ground in the final stages so that Alonso would take P2 from MS and then be gifted P1 by Fisi. That would have meant Alonso pulling out another 4 points on MS, as opposed to the current all-square situation.
1) When Alonso says "I felt a bit alone really", that, to me, is a dig at Fisi for not playing the team game, further exacerbated when he said...
2) "They just disappeared", which to me suggests that as soon as they saw Alonso in trouble both Fisi and Schumacher put the hammer down as they could both smell a victory. If Fisi had got to the front and stayed there, and MS was in P2 Renault would not have asked Fisi to concede ground to let Alonso get into P2 and let MS win, as it would have meant less constructors points (14 vs 16).
However, this is all just conjecture. The REAL reason Alonso is pissed-off is because Fisichella made such an arse of his first lap on the slicks, letting MS by at the first corner after his pitstop. I assume the Renault strategy was to get Fisi out ahead of MS, then get Fisi to hold MS up whilst Alonso made ground in the final stages so that Alonso would take P2 from MS and then be gifted P1 by Fisi. That would have meant Alonso pulling out another 4 points on MS, as opposed to the current all-square situation.
I believe that this excerpt is from a Spanish interview...in Spanish.
In addition to our trying to construe the precise sense of the words that we are presented with in English, there is the matter of how accurate the translation is.
In any case, one has to feel at least a bit sympathetic to Alonso's position.
He was dominating the Championship until Max and Co. decided that the device on his car that had for a year already been accepted by the FIA suddenly was illegal.
Then there was the absolute gift of a point to MS at Hungary, the Ferrari front wing whose flexibility was permitted, the Ferrari rear wheel covers whose illegality was ignored, and the absurd penalty handed out to Alonso for "blocking" Massa.
Alonso's only 25. Considering the forces arrayed against him, I'd say that he's holding up admirably.
In addition to our trying to construe the precise sense of the words that we are presented with in English, there is the matter of how accurate the translation is.
In any case, one has to feel at least a bit sympathetic to Alonso's position.
He was dominating the Championship until Max and Co. decided that the device on his car that had for a year already been accepted by the FIA suddenly was illegal.
Then there was the absolute gift of a point to MS at Hungary, the Ferrari front wing whose flexibility was permitted, the Ferrari rear wheel covers whose illegality was ignored, and the absurd penalty handed out to Alonso for "blocking" Massa.
Alonso's only 25. Considering the forces arrayed against him, I'd say that he's holding up admirably.
flemke said:
Alonso's only 25. Considering the forces arrayed against him, I'd say that he's holding up admirably.
I would agree with this. Alonso very much strikes me as his own man, something I find generally admirable in the context of modern sport. I look forward to seeing him develop and mature.
flemke said:
Alonso's only 25. Considering the forces arrayed against him, I'd say that he's holding up admirably.
And equally exciting about that is that it looks like we really do have the next 'big thing'. Many have won championships because they've been with the best team in that year and it all came together, but to consistently do it is another matter all together. I think Alonso will be there for many years to come and I look forward to it.
flemke said:
Alonso's only 25. Considering the forces arrayed against him, I'd say that he's holding up admirably.
Whether he's holding up well enough remains to be seen though. The strain is definitely showing on him. Schumacher has always competed psychologically as well as being a good driver, and he's definitely winning the head game at the moment.I was hugely impressed by him making a point of shaking Schumacher's hand in the corridor after China. His friend was trying to shield him from the cameras; it looked as though he might be having a little cry.
The lad's in a world of pain right now. I do feel for him, and I've had my fill of these ridiculous politics that have come close to ruining the whole shebang. I don't blame Ferrari or Schumacher. The fault lies in its entirety with the sport's governing body.
The lad's in a world of pain right now. I do feel for him, and I've had my fill of these ridiculous politics that have come close to ruining the whole shebang. I don't blame Ferrari or Schumacher. The fault lies in its entirety with the sport's governing body.
D-Angle said:
flemke said:
Alonso's only 25. Considering the forces arrayed against him, I'd say that he's holding up admirably.
Whether he's holding up well enough remains to be seen though. The strain is definitely showing on him. Schumacher has always competed psychologically as well as being a good driver, and he's definitely winning the head game at the moment.For sure Alonso has a greater force working against him than Schumacher does.
flemke said:
Perhaps, although according to people like Stewart and Brundle, as well as what we fans have witnessed, Schumacher has a history of making mistakes when he's under pressure - on the race track.
That's an important point. MS has been under no pressure up until now, because he's been the hunter which, as many agree, is where he's at his best - the Championship has been seen as Alonso's to lose. Now though, on equal points, there's definite pressure on MS and there's every chance he could crack like he has in similar situations in the past - such as Adelaide '94 and Suzuka '98.
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