Fernando Alonso may not like it, but former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has claimed that the Spaniard was not as close with the Scuderia team during his time at Maranello. Alonso suggested the Di Montezemolo had not said such things in a bizarre attack on F1's official Twitter account.
While promoting the latest episode of the 'Beyond the Grid' podcast, F1's account teased Di Montezemolo's saying of Alonso's time in red: "When he wins, he's happy. When he doesn't win, it's the problem of the team…"
Alonso replied, pouring scorn on the veracity of the quotes.
????????????????????????! It had to be a reason not to follow this account until now. Today you remind me again!! President never said that. Specially after scoring 80% of the points for our team. We race hard, together, with all our heart and we fought until last race for championships ✊️
However, with the episode having been released, Alonso might not want to listen.
Alonso twice missed out on adding a third world title to his collection with Ferrari in 2010 and 2012 and, while Di Montezemolo said the driver had been unlucky not to get the better of Sebastian Vettel, he said his attitude had also played a role.
Di Montezemolo said: "Number one, to be honest, he was unlucky to be in Ferrari when Red Bull was the same, or very close to being, as Ferrari at the beginning of the 2000s.
"For sure [they had] the best car, you see a driver like [Mark] Webber is good driver, not extra [special], was able to win races as well.
"The second, I don't like to but I have to say this, he was unlucky. He lost the championship in Brazil in 2012 when Sebastian in the first lap crashed with [Bruno] Senna.
"Or, when the team made a big mistake in 2010, when it was enough to [finish] fourth, and we lose the championship at the last race.
"Third, his character. The biggest difference between Michael [Schumacher], and also Niki [Lauda]... is he was Alonso – not Alonso [and] Ferrari.
"When he wins, he's happy. When he doesn't win, it's the problem of the team, he's unhappy. In other words, he's less close to the team than Michael and Niki.
"Particularly in the difficult moments. To be close to the team in the good moments is easy."
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