Back in 2015, Sebastian Vettel had given Ferrari the incentive to replace Fernando Alonso after the latter threw several tantrums.
Fernando Alonso drove for Ferrari from 2010 to 2014. The Spaniard was replaced by 4-time world Champion Sebastian Vettel a year later.
But behind the scenes, there was much more drama than what was known at the time. The crux of the drama was between Alonso and Ferrari Team Principal at the time, Marco Mattiacci.
Alonso had a contract till the end of 2016, but Ferrari had poor performance at the start of the turbo hybrid era in 2014. The 2-time world champion wanted to jump ship, looking at the state of Ferrari at the time.
One issue for the Spaniard was that there were no available seats at teams such as Red Bull and Mercedes.
With few competitive options at the time, Alonso and his manager Flavio Briatore decided to have showdown talks with Mattiacci. A key element of the saga was that Alonso and Briatore were unaware of an informal agreement between Ferrari and the German Red Bull ace.
Vettel had offered to drive for Ferrari whenever he decided to leave Red Bull. Ferrari was unwilling to give into Alonso’s demands at the time and decided to replace him with Vettel for the upcoming season.
sebastian vettel and fernando alonso are still the best wheel to wheel racers on the f1 grid. pic.twitter.com/l2hdX25Jmr
— Crimson (@TheGermanLowe) July 19, 2022
Also Read: Fernando Alonso bribed McLaren mechanics with $1500 to avoid working on Lewis Hamilton’s car
Fernando Alonso made unacceptable demands to Ferrari
Before the Scuderia’s team principal approached Vettel, Mattiacci held talks with Alonso. The Spaniard had put up demands that were unacceptable to Mattiacci.
The demands included Alonso having a get-out clause in case Ferrari underperforms, a veto over the second driver in the team and an option to choose his technical staff at the team.
Mattiacci who was not one to give in to demands, declined Alonso’s requests. Vettel then signed a drive with Ferrari from 2015 onwards. And Alonso ended up back at McLaren.
Also Read: How Sebastian Vettel played a key role in 32 GP winner Fernando Alonso signing with Aston Martin
