Motorsport - All Comments

re: One year on, Alonso still feels bitter

Brooklands — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:33:44 GMT

I suspect the negative comments on this thread are from non patriotic Brits supporting foreigners like Ferrari and putting down everything British. I've heard them all before, my brother is one of them.

re: One year on, Alonso still feels bitter

Beowolf — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 18:06:16 GMT

Cheers VB, and good points re: Alonso in Spain, Massa in Brazil etc. I'm sure I don't need to also add, as a big fan of F1, I also am a huge admirer of Massa, and Kubica too who's driven really well this year. Yet I've also been critical of Hamilton when he's made mistakes - the pitlane incident in Canada for instance. Last year Hamilton's results demonstrated he is perhaps going to be in the same league as Senna, Prost, Stewart, Hawthorne, and maybe even Moss and Fangio. I'll repeat, his results. Wasn't it an amazing (some say unprecedented) debut?

I genuinely adore F1 for being an international sport, thankfully far less partisan than say football or cricket. And with the Olympics starting today, I shall be watching as much of the Athletics, Gymnastics, Swimming, Diving, Rowing, practically everything I can bar the synchronised swimming. Given I live in London, I know the TV coverage is going to be biased towards the English/Brits (yes, in that order), and while deep down I want the best spectacle possible, with the best sprotsman/woman winning, I also hope Britain does better than ever before and I'll be rooting for every single member of the British team. Anything wrong with that?

re: One year on, Alonso still feels bitter

Viscount Biscuit — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 07:45:59 GMT

Thank you for a sensible approach Beowolf. Either some of the respondents here are not British or patriotic.

What is wrong with a nation supporting its sporting heros? I would imagine Hamiliton is second to Alonso within the Spanish media, whilst Massa tops the charts in Brazil and so on. Hamiliton has endorsed the UK as the home of motorsport and promoted this countries contribution in the same way as Coultard, Button, Hill, Mansell etc have.

re: One year on, Alonso still feels bitter

Beowolf — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:25:22 GMT

I can't believe some of the comments here. I'd just ignore the ridiculous ones. I can't ever remember a single person complaining about too much pro-Mansell coverage during Mansell's era. Or people complaining if Button was the centre of attention, or Damon Hill. So it makes me wonder why people are so anti-Hamilton. The British press make a big deal about the British personalities in the sport they are watching. It's been like this for decades. Same as the pre-Olympic focus on Paula Radcliffe on the News yesterday. Hamilton is without a doubt the fastest Brit in F1 at the moment. It's amazing he hasn't been given even greater press and news coverage, given the records he broke last year and how he's still battling for the championship this year.

re: One year on, Alonso still feels bitter

nublu2u — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:49:42 GMT

Paulalg,

Not only was Alonso matched by Hamilton, he was beaten by him. However, I would be dubious of anyone saying it was 'fair and square'.

Imagine, if you will, any organisation where the senior management decides you are out - you wouldn't stand an earthly - no investment in your abilities, no prospects, effectively on garden leave, thats what RD did to Alonso. As the double world champion, bringing sponsorship, the number 1 tag, improvements in car set-up (used by LH) it was hardly overstepping the mark to expect preferential treatment, Schumi, Senna, Prost et al demanded it as their earned right.

LH is a huge talent no question, though a bit of a tyre shredder, but his performance at the tail end of last season, and some parts of this season, show that he's still got a way to go.

re: One year on, Alonso still feels bitter

Pauldalg — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 14:00:03 GMT

Could it be that Fernando's nose is still out of joint by being matched by a first season rookie last year?

re: One year on, Alonso still feels bitter

pjabyrne — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 12:26:45 GMT

Henry's closing comment is bordering on the hysterical:

'And if Alonso couldn't keep his trap shut then the McLaren boss most certainly could'

This sycophanic attitude towards his mate Ron Dennis and anybody who dared contradict the party line became extremelly evident last year and showed Henry up for the jingoistic, deluded old brown-noser he really is.

How are we to believe anything Ron Dennis says? I was one of those who swallowed his protestations of innocence last year over the spygate affair. He didn't exactly come out of that smelling of roses did he?

And Dennis' claim that only Alonso was the only unhappy ex-McLaren driver is absurd. Coulthard, Montoya, Kimi - all have left under a cloud of one sort or another. Coulthard claimed that favoritism was pretty much endemic in the McLaren set-up and the latter two had a total breakdown in relations with Dennis.

re: One year on, Alonso still feels bitter

The Colonel — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 10:31:40 GMT

"Alan. You are better than the other brown nosing hacks, don't let us down now."

To late Andy...don't you remember Mr Henry's piece following Hamilton's Canada prang?

re: One year on, Alonso still feels bitter

andymartin75 — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 06:52:38 GMT

Monte and nublu2u are bang on!

If I was Alonso I'd still be irritated by the whole thing too. Autocar has now joined the ranks of the BBC podcasts and ITV F1 coverage which have morphed into 'The Lewis Hamilton'. Even my missus was complaining that all they talk about is Hamilton now.

Come on, Alan. You are better than the other brown nosing hacks, don't let us down now.

re: One year on, Alonso still feels bitter

montgomery — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 19:08:50 GMT

sorry, try again:

www.timesonline.co.uk/.../article2617378.ece

re: One year on, Alonso still feels bitter

montgomery — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 19:07:25 GMT

Exactly nublu2.

Dennis admitted in the second half of last season that McLaren were backing Hamilton:

www.timesonline.co.uk/.../article2617378.ece

Taking this into account I can't really see the problem with Alonso's comments last weekend.

re: One year on, Alonso still feels bitter

nublu2u — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 18:45:45 GMT

"We weren't racing Kimi, we were racing Alonso !!" RD's finest quote when FA was in the fold. Says it all really, and you wonder why Alonso's bitter.

re: One year on, Alonso still feels bitter

montgomery — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 18:38:57 GMT

British motorsport journalists and television presenters really make me cringe with their anti-Alonso/Ferrari, pro-Hamilton/McLaren stance. I can understand a bit of national pride but please get off your high horse and stop lauding Dennis and Co. He and his team cheated last year, blatantly denied it, were found red-handed and punished accordingly. Hardly dignified or sportsmanlike behaviour....

Alonso is a double world-champion that beat Schumacher fair and square. He would have won his 3rd championship last year had McLaren given him the appropriate support as reigning world-champion. As it was they gambled on Hamilton and in the end his inexperience lost it for them.

re: One year on, Alonso still feels bitter

Beowolf — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 18:26:46 GMT

Do you think Kovalainen is being purposefully held back?

Dennis seemed to emphasise so long as the two didn't take each other off, there were no team orders other than to win.

Shame about the puncture for Hamilton, but after his terrific overtake at the start, Massa was the star for me this weekend, until his engine gave up. Gut-wrenching.

re: Heikki faces up to Hamilton’s genius

KarlosTM — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:30:07 GMT

@ Soda: If it was team orders that let Hamilton past Kovalainen (which radio transcripts do not support), then what was it that let Hamilton past Massa and Piquet just as easily? Does Massa work for McLaren now? Or is it that Hamilton was faster, and Kovalainen knew only too well that there was no point in holding up his team mate?

Sour grapes from someone who isn't British and Hamilton being the "Great British Enemy" - you fail to mention this. How sad is that? And you call that an opinion.