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McLaren chief Eric Boullier says that despite what some people think, Fernando Alonso is not difficult to manage. Alonso has been left deeply unhappy at McLaren-Honda as his racing package has been uncompetitive and frustrating for the last three years.
Alonso moved to the team in 2015 and has vowed to take up a competitive seat in 2018. However, Ferrari and Mercedes have both declared that they are not interested in signing the Spaniard, with many thinking a key factor is how he acted in his first stint with McLaren and the way he left Ferrari.
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Mercedes are still feeling the repercussions of the Spygate scandal in 2007 when Alonso was first with McLaren, who was in partnership with Mercedes. Alonso left Ferrari on poor terms (admittedly not as severe) at the end of 2014 after five seasons with the team.
Speaking to F1i about Alonso, Boullier said: "What makes Fernando stand out compared to the others is the vital need he has to be competitive. All he cares about is winning, winning, winning, in everything he tries his hand at. You may be racing him at your local go-kart track or play tennis against him, he will give 200% to come out on top. He will be just as committed as for a Grand Prix weekend.
"Fernando’s entire life is centred around that need to perform and win. I would not say he is a monk but he is only interested in competing. This is a great quality but it might have led to some misunderstanding about what his expectations are. Fernando has had a reputation for being quite a handful to manage when really he is not.
"Once you’ve understood his hunger for performance, it’s quite easy to deal with this character trait. Of course, you can imagine that he is quite chagrined in light of our recent results. Fernando might have his character, expectations, and conditions but he is not like the guy he is sometimes portrayed."
Fergal Walsh
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
C. Sainz jr
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Replies (4)
Login to replytalktohenry
Posts: 362
I actually agree, if LH, SV or MV had his car, he'd have thrown all his toys well out of the pram by now....
Barron
Posts: 625
That's perfectly true, but Fernando is not as young - he simply hasn't got the same options or appeal that he had. I think he's driving better than ever this year because he knows time is running out, so, bring on Mr. Nice Guy. I think he's been a proper a** in his time and it's time to wind the neck in, retract the elbows and convince everyone that he's really a team player. I'm impressed with him this year and if he'd shown half the team spirit he has exhibited in 2016/2017 with Ferrari, he may have achieved another 2 WDC by now. I like him as a driver, but I don't believe you'd want to have a beer with him anytime son..
talktohenry
Posts: 362
..............Are you for real - ''I like him as a driver, but I don't believe you'd want to have a beer with him anytime son'' He's not exactly Al Capone!
talktohenry
Posts: 362
Whole series is over sold, because the ''tree huggers'' like it, but tree huggers are not motorsport fans, they suits on the board and people who believe the junk about the ozone layer......