Fernando Alonso has rubbished reported claims by former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo about his dedication to the team during his five-year stint.
The double world champion endured what would be a fruitless period at Maranello which coincided with Sebastian Vettel claiming four straight titles with Red Bull and Mercedes beginning their domination in 2014.
Ahead of the latest Beyond the Grid podcast with Di Montezemolo, a tweet by the official F1 page quoted an apparent claim by the long-time Ferrari figurehead about Alonso.
“When he wins, he’s happy. When he doesn’t win, it’s the problem of the team…,” it read.
However, in response, Alonso claimed it only help to “remind him” why he does not follow the account.
“President never said that, especially after scoring 80% of the points for our team,” he added. “We race hard, together, with all our heart and we fought until last race for championships.”
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On the official F1 website, however, they published the full comments by Di Montezemolo on this matter.
“He was Alonso, not Alonso-Ferrari,” he reportedly said. “When he wins, he’s happy. When he doesn’t win, it’s the problem of the team, he’s unhappy.
“He’s less close to the team than Michael [Schumacher] and Niki [Lauda], particularly in the difficult moments. To be close to the team in the good moments is easy.”
That’s not to say the former president doubted Alonso’s ability.
“In terms of performance, Fernando was very good. For me, Alonso is with [Lewis] Hamilton and Vettel and in the race, he’s very close to Michael,” he continued.
“In the race, Alonso was and is a fantastic driver. He lost the championship [in 2010 and 2012] not for his mistakes.
“If he won one championship, today we are talking about something different. We are talking that Alonso, despite many years he didn’t have the best car, he was able to win the championship. Alonso is very strong.”