“Wrong message that the people perceived and the people spread about me”– Fernando Alonso claims rivalry with Lewis Hamilton in 2007 damaged his reputation

Tanish Chachra | 03/01/2022
"The new guy is in the pocket of Ron Dennis, as you with me! And I promise you, you have the fighting and the guy is protected by Ron Dennis" - Former Renault boss discusses Fernando Alonso's tenure in McLaren

Fernando Alonso claims that his rivalry with Lewis Hamilton in 2007 damaged his reputation in the sport; the Spaniard busts a few more myths.

Fernando Alonso had a lengthy spell in Formula 1 before leaving for other forms of Motorsports. However, it is perceived that annoyance with poor McLaren car powered by Honda engine forced him to leave the sport.

Though, in 2021, the Spaniard returned to F1 with Alpine, with massive excitement. When in a media interaction asked what led to this excitement, the Spaniard replied.

“I probably disagree with that because when I joined Ferrari, I had exactly the same questions from you guys. I remember perfectly answering questions, why do you feel so happy now? Is being in an Italian team and you are Spanish a better fit and you feel happy?”

“I said, yes, maybe it’s because of that and now we have the same sense of humour. We have the same Latin characters, so maybe that’s the reason why I’m happy.”

“Then I came back to McLaren in 2015, and it was the same comments, why are you so happy now because in Ferrari, you felt a little bit down the last two years and frustrated.

“And now you seem that even if you are not fighting for the championship and it was the bad seasons of Honda, et cetera, you’re still quite happy off track. So why that change from Fernando?”

“Then when I was in endurance or the car on Indy, why you are so much relaxed now in Formula 1, you seem frustrated, et cetera, and now, it’s the same comment.”

Also read: Former F1 driver thinks Fernando Alonso was too impatient with Honda

Rivalry with Lewis Hamilton tarnished the image of Fernando Alonso

Alonso further claims that his rivalry with Hamilton harmed him. He even states that it even led to people perceiving and spreading wrong messages about him.

“From 2007 and fighting with [Lewis] Hamilton in a British team, in a British environment, it was the wrong message that the people perceived and the people spread about me that from 2007, everyone is surprised how good I feel and how happy I am.

“I think I didn’t change much. I’m happy today, but I don’t think that I was not happy in the last seasons.”

Also read: Esteban Ocon debunks myths surrounding Fernando Alonso

Post Edited By: Tanish Chachra
Alpine Fernando Alonso Lewis Hamilton McLaren Mercedes

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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