Fernando Alonso attacked a paparazzi in Spain back in 2013 and broke his expensive camera for clicking photos of his then-girlfriend.
Alonso was driving for Ferrari back in 2013. The two-time World Champion was on holiday in Costa Brava, Spain when this incident occurred and it resulted in widespread criticism towards Alonso.
The name of the photographer was Jordi Martín, and he was in front of the hotel (along with many fans) where Alonso was staying at. When Alonso emerged, everyone was shocked to see what unfolded. The then-Ferrari driver approached Martín and asked him not to take photos of his girlfriend.
#requested Dasha Kapustina, ex-girlfriend of Fernando Alonso pic.twitter.com/BoEF5571C8
— F1 Ladies (@f1ladys) February 9, 2016
Alonso was dating Russian model Dasha Kapustina at the time. Martín spoke to Vanity Fair about the incident and described how shocked the Spaniard’s partner was at the moment.
“He came straight up to me and told me not to dare take photos of his girlfriend,” Martín revealed. “He pushed me and my camera hit the wall. Then the Ferrari physiotherapist grabbed me by the neck. Dasha couldn’t believe her eyes.”
Paparazzi was stalking Fernando Alonso and his girlfriend as they drove around Barcelona
Alonso lost his cool with Martín and it angered the F1 community a lot. The Barcelona-based photographer also went to court to file a lawsuit against the legendary driver because he damaged his $6000 photography equipment.
However, Alonso’s agent later explained why he got so angry. That particular journalist was tailing his client and Kapustina for a long time, and even stalked them as they drove around the city of Barcelona in Alonso’s Ferrari.
“Paparazzi: press photographers who take pictures of celebrities without their permission,” Alonso’s agent Luis García Abad explained on Twitter. This was also retweeted by Alonso himself.
Martín, however, was not pleased with how the legendary F1 driver treated him and pressed charges. “Alonso’s fans turned against him,” he explained. “They called him an animal. I didn’t provoke him and now I’m receiving all kinds of threats on Twitter.”
Over the years, Alonso has been involved in a lot of incidents which have led to fans questioning his temperament, and this was one of them.