Try as he might he could never get the number one badge to stick at McLaren. So off Mr Alonso went to Renault whilst patiently waiting for that available seat at Ferrari (a seat which appeared a year before the red teams existing driver contracts expired no less). Mind you during the Renault days he did almost manage to wreck the French car constructor’s global image when, suprise suprise, he was involved in the “crash to let him win” scenario which reared it’s ugly head when Nelson Piquet decided he didn’t really want to drive in a team which clearly favoured Alonso and involved risking his life to get the Spaniard a win…
So 2010 arrived and Mr Alonso was proudly unveiled at Ferrari and after a lot of barging and charging, cutting and weaving team mate Felipe Massa of the track, almost from the start of the season, the Spaniard finally managed to do it - bend a top team round to his way of thinking, to make the team his own, and worst of all return Ferrari back to those dreadful team order days when Michael Schumacher ruled the roost.
We truly feel for Felipe – he’s been nothing but 100% loyal to Ferrari for all his years at the team and indeed could have won the championship for them in 2008 had it not been for poor reliability at the start of that season. He doesn’t deserve to be treated like some F2 newbie who’s just recently arrived into the Formula One arena.
So how did Alonso do it? Blackmail like he tried at McLaren? Secret meetings behind Felipes back? Securing a contract which gives him number one status at Ferrari? Who knows and quite frankly – who cares. We think Alonso is a spolit brat who spits the dummy whenever he doesn’t get his own way – like in Valencia and Silverstone when he clearly thought his view on things was correct and the race stewards and FIA were completely wrong – to the extent he confidently announced to the media that the FIA were fixing the championship!!!! This behaviour clearly shows that he’s living in a dream world where everything and everyone revolve around him - and the worst thing is Ferrari are being dragged into these crazy and extreme ways by siding with Alonso’s petty whims and backing his comments in the media!!!
Mark our words – Alonso will stoop to any depth to get his own way and Ferrari’s reputation and legendary relationship with the FIA are being severely strained by a driver who couldn’t spell “team” let alone be part of one. Let’s not forget this is the same driver who tried to destroy McLaren with his disgusting antics and “kiss and tell” stories to the FIA, when he realised he wasn’t going to be allowed number one status, and of course the “Crashgate” episode at Renault which we mentioned earlier. The question has to be asked – What will he do to Ferrari if they don’t play along? Get them a $100000 fine? Get them dragged up in front of the World Motor Sport Council? Or what about frequent race penalties for unfair driving (why should I give a place back to another driver after I overtake him by cutting a corner? ). Oh no wait a minute – these are all things he’s got Ferrai involved in already. And trust us it’s just the tip of the iceberg – He’s trouble boys and you’ve placed all your eggs in a very unstable basket….
You know what the worst part is? Us, the fans, are being deprived of real wheel to wheel racing action again - instead we’re stuck with robotic drivers who don’t actually race anymore - they simply obey every whim from the pitlane and the team managers decide who can and can’t win the race depending on crucial factors like “do we like him more than the other one?”.
Endless discussions have taken place, there’s been FOTA forums and masses of polls and question surveys asking the vital question.
What do Formula One fans want and how can we improve “the show”?
Simple really – let racing drivers race – unimpeded and without fear of that dreaded radio message that asks them to stop being a racing driver. If not then F1 really is just a “show” and, like Big Brother, becomes so unbelievable and blatantly fixed that your fan base feel their intelligence is being insulted and lose interest.
If Grand Prix race results are to be engineered then it’s not real racing anymore and the championship simply can’t be taken seriously as the pinnacle of motorsport… More like that really bad acting you get in WWF wrestling…and that’s something none of us want!