Alonso hits back at critical Mattiacci

29 comments on “Alonso hits back at critical Mattiacci”

1. 

   Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
   23rd November 2014, 0:29

   Why “Bitter Alonso” ? Mattiaci’s comments really weren’t that good towards him… and FA’s totally right, he’s just arrived and he’s making comments about how they need a “motivated driver” ? their unmotivated guy is beating the guy that’s staying, you know… silence is your friend, sometimes, specially when you’re talking about a guy that’s about to leave and doesn’t have to talk clean and tidy anymore…
   1. 

      TMF (@)
      23rd November 2014, 5:20

      He never said that. He only highlighted some positives about Vettel when asked what he will bring to the team. Like ALO you reading too much into it.
   2. 

      Kimiwillbeback
      23rd November 2014, 11:50

      Bitter is probably the best word to describe Alonso. He was bitter in 2007 where he thought McLaren cost him the title and he was bitter i 2010 and 2012 where he thought Ferrari and other drivers cost him the title. He`s got a sense of entitlement that makes him lash out. The paradox is of course that just this character trait probably is the reason he doesn`t have his much wanted third title. If he had stayed with McLaren I`m sure he would have won the title in 2008, and if he had stayed with Ferrari I`m also sure he would get the third title within two or three years.

      You can understand why his mindset is this way at this point in time. He was touted as the next great and it hasn`t quite worked out. Younger drivers have come in and claimed the Championships by the bucketloads whereas he has soldiered on without reward. That will make you bitter, if you`re unable to accept that in life you make your own luck. It doesn`t help blaming everybody else all the time.

      A perfect example is Ferrari. Most people seem to forget that when Alonso joined Ferrari in 2010 Ferrari had the best car. It started of very well. But ever since then it has been a gradual decent from the top. The question that has to be asked is why did this happen? I think Alonso has to share part of the blame himself as I do not think Ferrari has been an easy team to belons to since his arrival. I remember the nineties when Schumacher joined Ferrari and lost several Championships by a small margin. Every time this happened Schumacher comforted his team and told them “we`ll get them next year, don`t you worry”. I didn`t see that when alonso lost Championships, I saw a man blaming others and highlighting that he didn`t have part in the defeat. Sure Alonso would say the right tings afterwards, but it didn`t come across as he really meant they would live and die together.

      I think an atmosphere within a team will be affected by these kind of things and after a while it will damage innovation. Ferrari allready had a strong, demanding and moody character in their ranks (diMontezemoleo) and didn`t need another (Alonso). To add insult to injury they had the kindest, most softspoken and inclusive teamboss in F1 (Domenicali). Domenicali was unable to be the boss sandwiched between diMontezemolo and Alonso. I got a feeling many members of the team was walking on eggshells afraid to upset the powers that were. That will hurt innovation big time and maight explain some of Ferraris fall from grace.

      Now Alonsos attention turns to the future and even there there is room for more bitterness. Imagine how Alonso will react if Vettel is able to do what he couldn`t do and win titles for Ferrari, and that starting from a worse starting point than Alonso did? That would be a real pain in the ass for Alonso, expect him to lash out at Ferrari if this happens.
      1. 

         Breno (@austus)
         23rd November 2014, 15:26

         The reason Alonso doesnt have a third title is because Ferrari couldnt build a top car in five years.
2. 

   Paul2013
   23rd November 2014, 1:01

   mattiaci critizing alonso? wow that’s funny! Ferrari should thank him.
   1. 

      David Not Coulthard (@davidnotcoulthard)
      23rd November 2014, 7:23

      Well, “Ferrari” and “Matiacci” are 2 different things….

      And did Marco actually criticise Fernando?
3. 

   toiago (@toiago)
   23rd November 2014, 1:09

   I seem to have missed Mattiaci’s comments on Alonso. Could someone please enlighten me?
   1. 

      Chris (@tophercheese21)
      23rd November 2014, 1:45

      You could just read the article? Lol
   2. 

      George (@george)
      23rd November 2014, 1:47

      If it’s what was quoted in the article:

      Mattiacci said Vettel will bring “a unique combination of youthfulness and experience and he brings with him that sense of team spirit which will prove invaluable”

      I think Alonso got the wrong end of the stick if that’s all he said. I also think Mattiacci could be disappointed if he expects Vettel to be less selfish than Alonso though. In isolation (assuming it’s not a dig at Alonso), the ‘unique combination of youthfulness and experience’ is a reasonable enough comment.

      Alonso is so politicized he tends to assume everything has a hidden meaning, but there’s no good reason for Mattiacci to criticise him at this point so I’d take his words at face value.
4. 

   matiascasali (@matiascasali)
   23rd November 2014, 1:39

   Completely off topic, but anyone saw Vijay Mallya follows on twitter? the foot fetish is just amazing :D
5. 

   Chris (@tophercheese21)
   23rd November 2014, 1:52

   Mattiaci seems like a real grump. Not that it matters, he’ll be gone in a few months.
6. 

   Theo Parkinson (@theo-hrp)
   23rd November 2014, 2:10

   In reply to COTD, I feel like Mclaren have made some big mistakes in their driver line ups recently. First there is the big one, losing Hamilton. Then picking up Perez over Hulkenberg. Perez is still good though, and to be honest, he and Hulkenberg are just making each other seem average by being so close to each other, and shouldn’t have been dropped after one year. This meant Magnussen would have gone to a smaller team or raced in GP2, where we would have gotten a fair comparison between him and Vandoorne. Finally, they’ve ruined their relationship by Jenson by following Alonso, who will jump ship to another team in 2 years max. Mclaren should have went 2013:Perez and Button; 2014:Perez and Button; 2015:Button and Vandoorne/Magnussen; 2016:Magnussen/Vandoorne and Bottas/Hamilton/Button
   1. 

      LexBlair (@lexblair)
      23rd November 2014, 2:33

      I agree;

      Sadly, that team seems to be a utter mess these days, Fernando’s arrival won’t change much on that front, I reckon.
      Ps. My comment was about Kevin vs Stoffel for 2016( it seems to be a done deal that they choose Magnussen over Button for 2015. There is no doubt in my mind that Button would have been the better choice, but alas in their minds; Kevin is rotten cheap and he will do fine enough(top 10) for this next year. They are counting on Stoffel for 2016 and obviously want to cut money where they can…
      1. 

         Kroon (@kroonracing)
         23rd November 2014, 10:35

         If Magnussen is not “getting faster” in his second season, nor “improve his racecraft” he is probably the first driver in history that peaks in his rookie season – actually in his very first race, the sensational 2nd place in Melbourne.
         1. 

            LexBlair (@lexblair)
            23rd November 2014, 13:26

            Obviously you choose not to reply to me in our original discussion. This comment above is obviously nipped. Context.
            1. 

               Kroon (@kroonracing)
               23rd November 2014, 16:58

               You know I did. And since it’s nipped it deserved a reply here, too.
   2. 

      PorscheF1 (@xtwl)
      23rd November 2014, 8:57

      @theo-hrp & @lexblair I don’t think it is that easy to choose Button over Magnussen. Magnussen can grow where Button has hit his peak long ago. They won’t be champions in 2015 so why hre a man who might retire next season over a rookie which they believe is fast/talented enough to have been there in the first place. Add to the the bonus they don’t have to pay him 20 million euro. I think choosing Button shows a lack of vision for the future because his experience hasn’t really brought them anywhere since 2012 in terms of developping the car. Perhaps it’s choosing a certainty (Button) over a probable but risky better outcome (Magnussen).

      For me it’s clear, I want Vandoorne!
7. 

   Victor. (@victor)
   23rd November 2014, 3:51

   I personally would love to see Vandoorne in F1, been a fan of his for a while. I don’t think Magnussen has shown enough to keep his seat over Button, so if it is talented youth McLaren are after, Vandoorne seems to be the guy. Having said that, we all know what happened when Ron Dennis put a talented rookie next to Alonso last time, and Vandoorne definitely seems more Hamilton-esque than most newcomers to F1 over the last 7 years.
8. 

   Castor (@castor)
   23rd November 2014, 4:30

   Maybe I am the only one that do not see a dig at Alonso from Mattiacci words. The way I see it is him saying: look, Alonso wanted out, so we needed to find another driver and we wanted this driver to have this qualities, not because Alonso didn’t have them but because that’s what we look for. It is only normal to say that the guy you just signed to your team brings in freshness and youth (both true) and everyone knows he is competitive…

   Maybe I am being naive or maybe, yes, Alonso is bitter, as it turns out, it doesn’t seem Alonso has all these options to choose from as he tried to make us believe when this whole thing started. It seems obvious that he wanted to be the first to make the announcement of him leaving to X team and then have the others inform of their movements, Horner didn’t get the memo(!), so they “outed” Vettels move to Ferrari and filled the vacant seat in one move. Mercedes have Nico confirmed and have made it clear that, barring any surprises, Lewis is in also. McLaren said that they will wait for December, so Ferrari got tired of waiting and decided to confirm Vettel’s in and Alonso’s out, so, not much options, competitively-speaking for Alonso.
9. 

   @HoHum (@hohum)
   23rd November 2014, 4:39

   @keithcollantine, BERNIES REPLACEMENT NAMED !
   I was just watching Speedweeks coverage of Sydney retro speedfest, when the driver of a lovely F5000 or similar sportscar said it was owned by man who also owned several classic F1 cars, Zac Brown , he went on ” Not many people have heard of him but they will soon because he is taking over from Bernie Ecclestone in F1″ Hmmm!
   1. 

      @HoHum (@hohum)
      23rd November 2014, 5:17

      OK had to watch the rest of the program but just did a search for Zac Brown; not a new name in the Bernie succession story but his history is very similar to Bernies albeit he is only 1/2 Bernies age. I wish the interviewer had been on the ball enough to ask about the “how and when”, could be old news or it could be the signal that CVC have decided it’s time to execute plan B.
      1. 

         @HoHum (@hohum)
         23rd November 2014, 5:27

         Back to sleep everybody, althoug the program “Speedweek” suggests it is a weekly motorsport magazine the race meeting in question and the interview took place in May 14 so it was likely based on the expectation that Bernie would be enjoying German Hospitality for a while.
         1. 

            @HoHum (@hohum)
            23rd November 2014, 5:46

            ZAK Brown, check him out, very prophetic comments about Nascar loseing TV audiences from a 2011 “Car & Driver” interview.
10. 

    Davew89
    23rd November 2014, 5:17

    Bernie’s comments about “beggars” got me wondering – and please forgive my ignorance, I’m still learning – does Marussia still get the extra money from having gained some points this year even though they aren’t currently fielding cars? Or is it all forfeited? They were the backmarker team I was cheering for.
    1. 

       Rooney (@rojov123)
       23rd November 2014, 12:00

       @Davew89 They will not get the money as they forfeited the amount by not being here. A team is allowed to miss 2 grandprix per year. Abu double is their third, so they are out.. I think it is okay to say that Bernie is grabbing money from inside the begging bowl..
11. 

    Oletros (@oletros)
    23rd November 2014, 7:38

    I’m starting to think that ALO listen too much to Spanish media and, as them, he believes that the world revolves around him.
12. 

    barkun (@barkun)
    23rd November 2014, 8:42

    “…even the last moment again we had a lot of phone calls and emails, which I still have on my computer”

    this made me smile… at least we know Fernando still keeps all his emails…. (take note Ron)
13. 

    ACx
    23rd November 2014, 10:24

    That reaction by Alonso unfortunately shows that he has not changed much since he was last at McLaren. If I were Ron and co, comments like this would be making me wonder if I would want such an attitude back at McLaren when they need all hands on deck. Alonso is fast and a great racer, but can McLaren afford him if he becomes difficult?

    Also, it makes the choice of team mate more critical. Do McLaren really want some one who could get under Alonso’s skin?
14. 

    Daniel (@collettdumbletonhall)
    23rd November 2014, 10:54

    I do feel for Jenson losing his Dad and now being ousted from his seat despite being the better driver. He’s such a nice guy and I’ll really miss him from F1 but it’ll probably be even more a reason for me to watch the WEC next year.

Comments are closed.