Alonso & Dennis have ‘unfinished business’ at McLaren

2015 F1 season

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Fernando Alonso and McLaren CEO Ron Dennis agree they have “unfinished business” together following Alonso’s return to the team.

Although the news was only confirmed today, Dennis revealed the contract with Alonso for 2015 had been signed several weeks earlier, but the announcement was delayed while the team decided who his team mate would be.

Alonso has returned to McLaren seven years after splitting from them on acrimonious terms. Speaking in a press conference at the McLaren Technology Centre today Alonso admitted having regrets over how their relationship had unravelled.

“It was not the best feeling, 2007,” said Alonso. “We arrived with good motivation and we fought for the championship until the end. At the end we split for different reasons.”

“But as I said before in all those years inside I have only one thing remaining in Formula One to do – I was happy, I’m happy with everything that I’ve done, apart from 2007. I didn’t achieve or deliver the best of myself.

“So now some years later, you are more mature, you learn things, you understand things that probably you didn’t at 25 years old, and now I arrive to finish this job that I started in 2007. This was the first and the main priority to come back.”

Dennis said he has “mellowed” since 2007, and that he didn’t handle the situation between Alonso and his team mate Lewis Hamilton as well as he could have done.

“By and large those challenges you have between drivers we’ve had in previous championships with Alain [Prost] and Ayrton [Senna] several times, I’ve always been able to manage to defuse. But this one got away from me.

“I look back on my contribution to that with exactly the same emotion that Fernando expressed which is that you regret the mistakes you made in your life but sometimes you can’t change what’s happened.

“Could I have engineered a way out of it? Well I could probably have done things better but the reality is you look back on your mistakes if you’re honest with yourself, and you accept it and you intend not to repeat them, you put yourself in the frame of mind and a position, so actually you over-compensate. So I don’t anticipate any issues between Fernando and I.”

However Dennis added Hamilton had also contributed to the breakdown in relations between Alonso and McLaren. “To go back to that period if you look at the chemistry we had Lewis, young guy, understandably perceived by many people as the chosen one,” he said. “But also someone who had immaturity.”

“Really, if you go along the ‘who struck the first blow’ route, you know actually I would say that Lewis had his role to play in starting this process which escalated.”

Dennis said both he and Alonso must rely on each other in order to deliver the success they and Honda desire.

“We both desperately want to win,” he said. “One of the things that I really respect in Fernando is the fact that he chose to change direction, leaving one of the most successful teams in Formula One and coming back to McLaren and really addressing what we both feel is unfinished business.”

“We both want to win – and of course all the drivers, Jenson [Button], Kevin [Magnussen] want to win – but this is a different type of winning. This is winning which has never been so underlined. What do I mean by that, well, we all have more to prove than ever before.”

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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88 comments on “Alonso & Dennis have ‘unfinished business’ at McLaren”

  1. Ron and Nando are equally insane to win, so they ought to get on well really.

    As I recall the first problem was in Monaco 2007 when they brought Lewis in early. That upset him, even though the missing laps weren’t going to be enough. Then the team said something that upset Nando, can’t remember what but just slightly open to the interpretation that they were favouring Lewis.

    So it was always going to end in tears, on that knife-edge of paranoia.

    I hope it works out this time, and I think it will.

    1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/legacy/andrewbenson/2010/05/alonso_overreaching_in_reargua.html
      “Fernando won in Monaco fair and square in 2007.

      “Lewis was generally quicker through the weekend, but in qualifying Fernando did it and Lewis didn’t. Lewis was quicker in the first run but then he made mistakes and Fernando got pole.

      “Fernando won the race because he pulled an 11-second gap in the first stint when Lewis had (tyre) graining and after that Fernando was just cruising because we had rear brake issues.

      “But after the race, Ron said to Fernando: ‘Be nice to Lewis because we had to (pit) stop him early.’ And Fernando said: ‘What do you mean? I was just cruising.’

      “He got very annoyed about that because it was like Ron saying we handed you the victory. Even after that, the relationship was unrecoverable.”

  2. Nice tactic, blame Lewis..

    1. Probably part of the contract that took the longest.

      1. #HamiltonsFault?

    2. LOL Interesting tactic for Dennis to throw Lewis under the bus to explain why he, himself, is a jerk and Alonso is a spoiled, petulant child at times. Yes, Lewis is also a prima donna but that’s not the point here. Ron and Fernando had an EPIC falling out including all kinds of intrigue, blackmail, “divorce”, etc. Bringing up the immaturity of Lewis doesn’t change what you boys did, Ronnie.

      1. @daved you can’t deny Hamilton had a role in this too. No one is innocent

        1. @fer-no65
          Oh yes, he had a role. I’m a HAM fan, but not gullible. HAM can be incredibly self centered and selfish. But in sports where the one individual is out front performing, that seems to be the only path to greatness quite often. Doesn’t mean he’s an all around nice person though. I can’t say how he is on that front…having never met the man.

          I admire the hell out of Alonso as a driver and think he still may be the most complete driver. Having said that: I will not tolerate a blackmailer in my friends or the people I work with. It’s the mark of truly poor character. I can’t admire Alonso the person for what he did or threatened to do there. Disgusting. If he was unhappy, then simply leave.

          1. It’s tricky. It’s not a normal war between drivers when such a serious thing was happening bahind closed doors.

            The cheating, everyone knowing about it… you’d assume Ron would have a much firmer hand at it, given how easily it could backfire in his own company.

            Alonso didn’t hand it well, but the whole thing smelled horrible already. I’d put Ron on the guilty chair, more than anyone else…

          2. Spygate only seemed serious after it was bigged up @fer-no65. Before then a team leaking a few snippets of information was normal in F1 and any other team would have taken the gift. De la Rosa said that and it was true.

            It wasn’t even spying, in fact, it got called spygate for political reasons. Then Max/Monte/Todt got McLaren blamed for the dossier when it was nothing to do with them at all.

          3. @lockup i doubt there’s a precedent. A huge dossier went directly from Ferrari to McLaren. Sure, spying another company is usual I suppose, but this way? really doubt it.

          4. @fer-no65 The dossier did not go to McLaren. It was for Stepney and Coughlan privately, to take to Honda. Stepney took three trivial items from it into McLaren – tyre gas, fast fill and quickshift.

            And as I said it was not spying. Stepney was a Ferrari employee, leaking.

            In reality far more information changed hands with every staff movement.

          5. @lockup Your facts are wrong regarding Spygate.

            It was not just a few things, They had practically all of the design sheets for the 2007 Ferrari & had gone down several development paths based off that Ferrari data.
            They went to the FIA to raise concerns about Ferrari’s floor flexing which it was later revealed was information they got from the Ferrari dossier.

            They did a lot of work on the simulator testing stuff they got from the documents & a number of E-mails later showed that there was a decent amount of discussion about the data.
            There was also 1.4 terabytes of Ferrari data found on McLaren’s central computer system at there factory, A computer system which all of the designers & engineer’s had full access to hence why all were interviewed.

            Additionally Mclarens 2008 car was found to have a few things which seemed to be direct copies of Ferrari technology (The quick change brake bias system for instance) & were forced to make changes to there 2008 car to remove those items.

            It is true that some data transfer does occur when people move from team to team, What was different in this case was that it was more than a designer just taking ideas that were in his head.
            What happened in 2007 unprecedented, Not just because of how much Ferrari data was in the dossier but also because it was shown & proven that senior people within a team was actively using that data to influence the designs of not only there current car but also there next car.

          6. That’s not correct @gt-racer. One of Nando’s emails was asking about the weight distribution, which they therefore did not have. Then the Mac sim couldn’t go that extreme so it was no use anyway. And at the final hearing in 2007 McLaren promised not to pursue quickshift and the other things. Nothing was found in 2008, and no terabytes were found, the forensic team struggled to find anything; where does that come from?

          7. The blackmailing incident came within the space of 2 hours in a row with Alonso losing his temper not surprisingly the way Ron had treated him after Monaco and now Hungary. It was Ron who called in Max and Alonso wanted to brush it under the carpet with an apology and refused to go to the court hearing.

        2. @fer-no65 Exactly, you could look at Monaco or Hungary and show that Lewis wasn’t exactly trying to not stoke the flames.

          1. Hamilton was completely right to be upset that McLaren gave Alonso the win in Monaco. Ridiculous to blame Hamilton for that. If anything McLaren were lucky to not get a “illegal team orders” penalty for what they did in Monaco.

            It was absolutely disgusting and Alonso must have been in on that too. Why otherwise would they have held Hamilton back like that? Alonso must have asked for that win and Dennis gave it to him.

            Hungary maybe, but at best you could blame Hamilton for going out first when Alonso was supposed to go first. Big deal. What happened next was an epic fail on Alonso’s part.

            But then I don’t see the article as “throwing Hamilton under the bus”. It’s just them saying Hamilton did his bit to fan the flames when the fire was there. Of course he did. Especially since he (rightly) felt he was treated unfairly.

          2. Lewis actually ran to ITV and threatened to leave a team that Coulthard and Hakkinen had no problem with team orders. Lewis knew McLaren’s policy so why did he sign?

            http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/legacy/andrewbenson/2010/05/alonso_overreaching_in_reargua.html

            “Fernando won in Monaco fair and square in 2007.

            “Lewis was generally quicker through the weekend, but in qualifying Fernando did it and Lewis didn’t. Lewis was quicker in the first run but then he made mistakes and Fernando got pole.

            “Fernando won the race because he pulled an 11-second gap in the first stint when Lewis had (tyre) graining and after that Fernando was just cruising because we had rear brake issues.

            “But after the race, Ron said to Fernando: ‘Be nice to Lewis because we had to (pit) stop him early.’ And Fernando said: ‘What do you mean? I was just cruising.’

            “He got very annoyed about that because it was like Ron saying we handed you the victory. Even after that, the relationship was unrecoverable.”

          3. Yeah and then the stewards came along and the investigation revealed that Hamilton had in fact much more fuel onboard during his qualifying lap, so when corrected for fuel load he was actually a lot faster than Alonso.

            So this “insider” was probably from Alonso’s side of the garage, because what he is saying is factually untrue and he apparently doesn’t know it.

            Coutlhard didn’t have a problem with team orders when they wer discussed upfront and in those cases he lucked into the lead because the team failed on Hakkinen’s pit stops.

            Monaco was a completely different scneario. They gifted Alonso the win by consistently over fueling Hamilton’s car and then no let him use any of that extra fuel.

        3. Precisely. Everyone is grown up now and it’s water under the bridge.

      2. Lewis played a part but he was very young immature and just a rookie. They were grown men who knew their own minds…no excuse.

        1. anyone over legal age is an adult. do you think Hamilton is anymore mature now then in 2007? he wasn’t in 2011 if you go by driving. all Dennis has said is admit that he, Alonso and Hamilton made mistakes. maturity is a debatable issue, look at the comments Lauda, Ecclestone and Marko make to the media, they are old as hell and still not mature in their oppinions. at least Alonso and Dennis are mature enough to accept past mistakes.

          1. Anyone over legal limit is just that. People still grow up in the 20s. Young guys (both men and women) are still very inexperienced and immature at that age. Just like lewis was and just like alonso was. I’d say lewis still is with the “he is not german” type of comments he kept making in 2014.

            I don’t know how old you are (and I’m not going to comment or guess) but when people are in their teens people generally think they are pretty smart and see younger versions of themselves being childish and foolish. Then when they get to 20s they think the same about younger themselves. The same with 30s, 40s and so forth. People who are in their 20s and are both mature and adult is really rare. If some drivers in F1 in their 20s come off as being mature and adult is probably a lot more about how good the pr people behind them are than the drivers themselves being “mature and adult”.

      3. Ron Dennis didn’t blame Hamilton, he said just said he played a part too, and he said Alonso did and himself Ron Dennis did. you being a Hamilton fan are taking is as “blaming” Hamilton. it was a very honest interview

      4. How does he throw lewis under the bus?? Just because he admits everyone involved made some mistakes doesn’t make it lewis’ fault.

    3. They might have signed Alonso a couple weeks ago but Ron must have been waiting for Lewis on his decision to re-sign for Mercedes, which is going to steal the headlines tomorrow.

  3. its nice to see them both admitting errors, it seems like this will work. ofcourse they would have had to come to the table and confess and talk before joining together again. its more likely to work now. what will buttons performance be versus Alonso?

    1. Exactly, it seems as though things have gotten off to a good start, and the hatchet is well and truly buried. 2007 was an aberration where a complex set of circumstances all transpired at the one time, no reason to believe that would ever happen again. I for one am over the moon to see Alonso back at McLaren.

  4. “This is winning which has never been so underlined.” Ronspeak at its best there lol.

    1. Hahaha, exactly what I thought!

  5. Maybe its too early in the morning but I don’t see anywhere how long Alonso signed for. Is it a multi-year deal? Thank you, love the site and the comments section is tops!

    1. Alonso and Button both on solid 2 year deals, don’t know about options on any extension, but I guess if McLaren are steadily improving to the point of challenging for world championships but the end of 2016, then Alonso will extend.

  6. Hamilton was immature?

    It’s wrong for Dennis to suddenly decide that this was Hamilton’s fault. Even if he did play a role, surely a man of Dennis’ experience and a reigning two-time Formula One champion would have acted in a far more sensible manner about the whole thing.

    Remember that Hamilton was 22 at the time. What else would you have expected from somebody that young who was surprising his team mate like that?

    1. Alonso wasn’t much older either. There’s less than 4 years between them, so by the time you hit 20s, four years isn’t enough to call one adult and the other teenager.

      1. That’s okay Biggsy, it was indeed Hamilton’s fault.

    2. Hamilton indeed started the thing by objecting the teams treatment like only Alonso had a chance to achieve anything. That was the mentality of the team at the start of 2007. You just have to see the first few races to realize that easily. Of course it was logical. The team never thought a rookie could be able to challenge for the championship in place of a double world champion and the rookie himself didn’t think it was possible ether at first until he saw that the other guy wasn’t really that faster than him.
      But when he realized he was just as good he saw no reason why he should play second role and leave Alonso cruise to the championship. So he started the thing by complaining about his role. You can say that starting the thing means he shares blame but in the end that was the only choice a driver that wants to be a champion has. If he just accepted a second status then he wouldn’t be a double champion right now but just another has been.
      Dennis can say Hamilton had a role but i doubt there was anything other than that Hamilton could do. I bet even now he would do the same thing again. Because ether you put your foot down and show the team you ain’t gonna play a support role when you know you aren’t lacking to the other guy or you let yourself become the punchbag. Hamilton wasn’t willing to be a Massa to Alonso and that was the only choice he had if he wanted to have a great career.

  7. I would have liked such a statement 7 1/2 years ago. British press sided with Hamilton and denigrated Alonso, German press sided with Mercedes, thus with McLaren, thus denigrating Alonso as some sort of Anti-Christ. Since then, things have changed gradually, at best. Leaving very few people (like me) who didn’t think Alonso is to be blamed for anything much. Apart from his relatively poor and inconsistent performances. His first year at McLaren has left a dent in his reputation, because he was definitely not showing his true potential.

    1. You are kiding right? Alonso is to blame for the vast majority of what went wrong. Worse yet, Alonso wasn’t just doing it because he was immature, but he was supposed to be mature and yet he acted like he was more immature than Hamilton.

      I’m a fan of Alonso as a driver, but that McLaren ridiculousnous of his was embarassing. Black mailing Dennis so he could get preferential treatment over Hamilton again? Pffft.

      1. I don’t know about you, but if someone blackmails me, and cost my team a 100 million dollar fine, there’s not way in hell i’m hiring them. Maybe he’s doing it again, could have photo’s of Ron in a compromising position lol.

        1. Alonso’s blackmailing comment came in a 2 hour argument which he later apologised and retracted. It wasn’t a calculated moment! It was brought up in court, a hearing Alonso refused to go to but McLaren forced him to go to give evidence against them. Ron is very complex, and that’s being kind.

          1. A little while later, Alonso’s adviser came back and apologised, explaining the Spaniard had been upset and wanted to take back the threat.
            But rather than wait for Alonso to calm down and talk it over again, Dennis had panicked and phoned FIA president Max Mosley to tell him of the existence of the emails, while assuring him there was “no information, nothing to come out”.
            It was a miscalculation, albeit an understandable one in the context of the febrile, paranoid atmosphere at the time and Dennis’s antagonistic personal relationship with Mosley.

            http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/30291496

    2. I agree, Alonso was absolutely crucified by the British press for what happened whereas all the others involved were relugated to bit part status. I don’t defend his actions at the time, they were certainly reprehensible – a point which he seems to agree with now as well I might add – but he was only one part of what happened. Ron has confirmed as much by hiring him again, don’t you think?

      1. Lauda-Prost, Prost-Senna…this team under Ron’s management did have precedents to 2007…so surely putting the blame squarely on Alonso’s shoulders wouldn’t be right…

        But that’s not to say Alonso wasn’t immature, but let’s not think he was holding the McLaren team high up like Hercules held the sky so any catastrophe could be blamed on him.

  8. We both feel is unfinished business

    Last time I heard something similar was in a film….
    KILL BILL!!!!

    1. Just about to say this, such a gaudy, tacky quote could easily be the tagline from some bad Steven Seagal movie..

    2. I love KILL BILL!

      I doubt McHonda will be as excited next season though.

      By 2016 Alonso’s true colours will re-surface.

  9. Really, if you go along the ‘who struck the first blow’ route, you know actually I would say that Lewis had his role to play in starting this process which escalated.

    What I suspected below the other article. Kudos to Ron for admitting it.

    1. Yeah, the first whining came from Lewis at Monaco 2007 though he may have had a genuine reason for it. But such public whining wasn’t right…

      1. Yes it was. He didn’t want to be number 2. He had every right to fight for equal status. No one can blame a driver for wanting equal status when he has the speed.
        Alonso wanted more than equal status. That is what is unfair. Demanding preferential treatment is unfair. So you can say Hamilton started it all you like but Hamilton was right to start it. He had no choice than start it. Otherwise he would be playing Massa and have his spirit crashed and never become anything.

  10. Reading all these articles today, I’ve got a bad feeling about this.. Now Ron has got Lewis’s back up too. I’ve always thought that Lewis will come back to McLaren in the future, after winning his third WDC. Four championships to pick up the keys to the nice orange McLaren road car. But Lewis will be miffed by that remark today.

    1. I would probably take that as a remark to make Alonso happy and comfortable. Doesn’t seem to me though that Ron actually thinks that way…but I could be wrong…

  11. Let’s not forget Bernie and Max too. They had a role in stirring it all up. In Monaco all Lewis said was “There’s number 2 on my car” and somehow that became an FIA investigation into team orders with Bernie talking about bans and points deductions.

    Then in Hungary it was Max reportedly who told the stewards to get involved in what was really an intra-team issue.

    In Monaco McLaren clearly set Lewis up to finish second by fuelling him for 5 extra laps to keep him off pole then not letting him run them in the race (even then he might have nicked pole if Webber hadn’t got in the way). If they were going to do that Ron should have explained it all to him at the start of the season. Of course Lewis was annoyed. I don’t see any immaturity in Hamilton, it’s one of those snide denigrations people think they’ll get away with.

    1. They kept giving Hamilton 3 laps extra fuel every stint during the race and in the qualification. That held him back by half a second per lap or more. Yet they refused to actually let him use those extra laps of fuel.

      It’s was perfectly justified that that got investigated. I’d say it was daft that the stewards accepted McLaren’s explanation, because if indeed they didn’t want to let Hamilton drive those extra laps for “fear of safety car” reasons, then why keep giving him those 3 extra laps of fuel to begin with?

    2. @lockup

      in Hungary it was Max reportedly who told the stewards to get involved

      According to who?

      in what was really an intra-team issue

      No it wasn’t. The Sporting Regulations do not say the rule which forbids drivers from impeding during qualifying does not apply if the two drivers are in the same team.

      1. @keithcollantine The definition of impeding is debatable. You could argue that Alonso was where he was supposed to be in that time of the quali, and that Hamilton, being part of the team and of the agreement, knew that too. Yet he decided to go against an agreement for selfish reasons, and then, when he found himself wrong-footed he cried foul. He had only himself to blame. At least that would have been a conclusion any impartial and informed governing body would come to. To deny Mosley’s taste for revenge and Ferrari’s intense lobbying to overcome McLaren by any means possible, is way too naive.

        1. There was nothing debatable about it. He stood there for half a minute for no good reason.

          Hamilton went out first and in doing so annoyed Alonso in doing so. Big deal. They swapped back around and things should have been fine. Instead Alonso freaked out and cost himself pole, the race and 5 precious points that could have ultimately won him the WDC.

          One might argue that Hamilton was “immature” in annoying Alonso like that with a harmless little stunt, but in reality Alonso let himself get played and Hamilton won.

          It’s stupid things like that that ruined Alonso’s own chances of becoming the WDC.

      2. Hmm… I always though that that the regulation forbid drivers impeding an other, who is on a hot/timed lap during qualifying, but not while the other is on a in/out lap or even in the pit lane/box. I could be wrong then. But anyway, I saw drivers got punished for impeding, but their teams normally do not get stripped off the points for the race. So there was certainly something abnormal back then.

        1. 31.7 Any driver taking part in any practice session who, in the opinion of the stewards, stops unnecessarily on the circuit or unnecessarily impedes another driver shall be subject to the penalties referred to in Article 31.6.

          Doesn’t even have to be during qualifying.

      3. @keithcollantine Well obviously what the stewards did was within the rules, but that’s not the same as saying they decided independently to get involved, in an incident that wasn’t even on the track. I can’t find my original reference now but for example “who instigated the investigation is unclear” at http://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/date-set-for-mclaren-hungary-appeal/ is a clue that it wasn’t the race director.

      4. McLaren’s mechanics were not exactly trying to encourage Alonso to move though were they.
        They managed to hold him with the lolly pop until Lewis arrived then watch the video the guy with the goggles actually turns around and sheepishly smiles as they’re holding Alonso. Almost pre-planed looking, they lift the lolly pop and everyone still looks sheepish/guilty. All it needed was a wave from a senior engineer or a shout in the radio.

  12. One thing I’d like to say, mates.

    If you come to know northern spaniards (as Alonso is) you will realize that our character has more in common with yours, brits, than the latino cliche. Alonso has nothing inside of the macho latino. We share some things in common in our cultures, like the celtic links and the music of pipes. I’d bet Alonso feels more comfortably living in England than in Italy,

    So, for me, there is no surprise in Alonso going back to McLaren. Let’s wait and see what this convenience marriage brings to the table. On the other hand, kudos for Dennis and Alonso for putting into a box the 2007 apocalypse.

    1. Do you all drive as fast as him?
      ;)

  13. Much better if Ron had said “I had two very talented drivers one a young rookie who wears his emotions on his sleeve, and a young double world champion full of passion also, they make mistakes as we are all entitled to do especially while still young. I on the other hand with all my experience got it badly wrong as I made the decisions.”

    Instead we get spin, that is more about headline sound bites and highlighting the positives in this new arrangement while casting shadows on others as they now as a team shine so bright.

    1. He’s not that much of a man. Cheap blow to LH and more kissin for FA—depending on which way is the wind blowing today syndrome. I appreciate his achievements but question his managing in these later years. If not part of the f1 $-stream cartel, how would he be rated as a CEO? Chased away or lost FA, LH, Newey, then, oh, wait a minute, I want them back, even after one gave him his most expensive ouch. Yada yada re “two best drivers” but clearly he did not want JB. Joe Saward’s blog has noted RD was angling for more control (and Danish money to support his choice of KM). Personally glad he is not more in control. Going to look a bit of a fool if FA does not leave JB far behind.

      1. Peppermint-Lemon (@)
        11th December 2014, 22:53

        Yeah agreed. Ron is not a nice guy and he definitely makes questionable decisions with his high-up role, and heavily favours certain drivers far too much. David Coulthard was on the receiving end @ McLaren years ago. This is what DC had to say in 2007 about Dennis:

        ‘The first sign that there might be specific favouritism towards Mika came in Melbourne 1996 [Coulthard’s first race for McLaren]. I was with my race engineer and Mika was chatting to his.

        ‘The door opened and Ron [Dennis] walked in. I stood up to shake his hand and Ron ignored me. Instead he strode over to sit next to Mika and said, “What’s the plan, guys?” We all listened to Mika’s plans [for the race] and then Ron said, “OK, what are they doing?” Here was my team principal talking about me as if I was a rival team. “They” is not a word you use in a team situation, surely? At that exact moment, I think the naivety, the innocence of my youth, shattered around me.’

        The less control Dennis has the better IMO.

        1. Like a true man Coulthard didn’t threaten to leave publicly causing bad blood in the team. He had more right to, it’s not as if he’d milked McLaren for an outrageous Karting budget to get where he did.

  14. Picture of the year.
    All that’s missing is a wedding cake – and both of them holding knives, behind the other’s back.

    1. I was thinking the exact same thing! Nice to see the happy couple smile for the camera. I wonder when the divorce will be….

  15. mclaren have lost a fan anyone want around ten shirts and every years minichamps/pauls modal art in 1/43 if not i will be burning the lot. i hate alonso with a passion!

    1. Ha, and Alonso is losing plenty of fans who abhor Macca and RD.

    2. Maybe you should re-visit the events in question useing your own passion as a yardstick.

      1. my passion is fair sport ,aprt from redbulls trickery,teflonso has been involved in all recent scandels starting with spygate,then crashgate and he runs every team into the ground (that could be a gravitaional problem from his eyebrows ) and gets off scot free ,i support jenson button not mclaren they are sell outs and i hope button put’s him over the barrel.

        1. “Fernando came to me. He had come in third. He apologised for the outburst and I put it down to the heat of the moment, in which he was angry. That is how I took it. Other than following up with Martin, the matter ended there, until 26 days later, when the drivers received a letter.

          Dennis also revealed McLaren had asked Alonso to attend the Paris hearing, but the Spaniard had refused to go.

          “He does not speak to anyone much. He is a remarkable recluse for a driver. He is not here by choice.

          “Moreover, he said he had other things to do by previous arrangement. I cannot force him to come. We asked him to come.”

          http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/legacy/andrewbenson/2010/05/alonso_overreaching_in_reargua.html
          “I understand that, even after just six races, they already feel that as a whole package – being a team player, technical feedback, his ability to read a race weekend and speed – Alonso is even better than Schumacher,…..
          Yes, you read that right. Ferrari have the feeling that Alonso is faster than Schumacher was at his best.”

    3. I would burn any fan in the same pile who believes the rubbish and lies said about Alonso.

      Crashgate – Alonso proved to have nothing to do with, won the race after a 2nd safety car with Hamilton being bunched up behind him Yet Schumacher (also guided by Briatore and Symmonds) gets more adoration for first hand ramming opponents off the track half a dozen times.

      Blackmailer – something said in a heated argument over 2 hours for which he retracted and wanted nothing further to do with.

      Hard to work with – Yet always an open door for him to come back. Described as a ‘complete package’ by Ross Brawn. Better than Schumacher by Rob Smedley

      Childish – Lewis threatening to leave McLaren after Monaco 2007 was rock bottom childish and started the bad feeling in the team.

      Demands (or needs) N01 status – Has never been offered a contract needing a number 2 driver. Button on record said he wont re-sign for McLaren as a N02. The second time Alonso has had a world champion as a team-mate.

      1. What a saint weaving down indy straight as Ham was ahead. Fact is Hamwas as quick from day one. He had Alo on edge from Aus Q

  16. That picture looks so ridiculously awkward. They try to look cozy, but what’s with the hands?

  17. Peppermint-Lemon (@)
    11th December 2014, 22:36

    Is that Fernando going in for a nipple tweak on their photo lol?

    1. More like between clenched teeth Alonso says “Let go off my hand, i’m going to do something many F1 fans have wanted to see for years”

  18. Please please please make this the next caption competition pic @keithcollantine : )

    1. Michael (@freelittlebirds)
      12th December 2014, 2:11

      +1 :) Winner of the competition

  19. The image of Dennis and Alonso looks so wrong…… not surprised at all about blaming 2007 on Hamilton, Alonso is a McLaren driver again don’t be surprised to see them defend him, using Hamilton is an easy scape goat when answering questions about 2007.

  20. I am so thrilled, I am no McLaren fan or Alonso fan but this is good for F1.
    Even better than the Housewives of Orange County…!

  21. Those are some impressively awkward looking photos of Alonso and Ron. Particularly the one of Alonso with his hand on Ron’s lapel, which just screams “I’m going to strangle him”!

    1. I would have said creepy rather than awkward.

      1. Well I said “awkward” too, but now that you mention it, it does look “creepy” also. Alonso’s cramped facial expression makes one wonder where Dennis’ right hand went …

  22. Jajajajaja unfinished business, yes the world championship 2007. Congratulation Ron

  23. Laughable. Ron Dennis forgets to mention anything about Spygate at all, and the massive role Fernando Alonso played in McLaren’s $100 million fine for handling stolen Ferrari documents. The question is, would Alonso have gone to the FIA if Dennis had made him the clear number one driver at McLaren? I know which answer I believe!
    I know many of these drivers are not exactly saints. They are all in it for themselves. However, Fernando has always seemed to be wearing Teflon when it comes down to a good old fashioned conspiracy. A year after Spygate we had Crashgate, both Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds were thrown to the wolves. Alonso, the man who benefitted the most from the saga, walked! Surprise, surprise.
    All things said and done, the best chance Alonso ever had of winning a third championship was with McLaren in 2007. Joining Ferrari, the dream team, never quite worked out. There were moments, but the best car he had since the glory days at Renault was the McLaren and I suspect that with the benefit of hindsight Fernando realizes that.

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