F1 News
Alonso does not regret 'wrong' decisions
- GPblog.com
Fernando Alonso returns to Formula 1 this year where he will race for Renault, the team with which he won his two championships. In his career, the Spaniard has won a lot, he has seen many teams and competed in various racing classes. Yet his career has also been characterised by some bad decisions, but Alonso sees that differently.
Absolutely convinced
The best example, of course, is when Alonso left McLaren, a year before the team became world champions with Lewis Hamilton. He received offers to drive at Red Bull Racing, before they became champions, but he turned them down. He was also offered the chance to drive at Brawn, which later became the all-powerful Mercedes. Time and again, Alonso took a different route, but he does not regret it.
Of course, there is a lot more to his decisions than meets the eye, but in a 'what if' situation, Alonso might have won more championships. The driver discusses this with El Mundo in an interview, where he says: "After a while you will always want to change things, but at the moment I decided, I was 100 per cent convinced. Not 50/50 and thinking, no. It was clear to me, I thought that was the best thing."
Other destinations
A certain course of life can be regrettable, but at the same time it can also bring new opportunities. That's what Alonso also mentions later in the interview, but not before explaining the McLaren situation in 2007 a little more. "If I had continued there in 2008, the year would have been enormously difficult with a terrible quality of work."
So that hadn't worked either, and his move to Renault prompted talks with Ferrari. "So, if I hadn't left McLaren then, I might never have driven for Ferrari, which I consider a crucial experience for any driver." He later left there again to go to McLaren, but that was not a success.
Alonso: "When I left Ferrari in 2014, I had a bad season at McLaren with the Honda engine. It was hard to stop climbing the podium, but then I did drive the 500 miles (Indy) because McLaren had that plan. And McLaren also let me race in the WEC and thanks to that I became a two-time world endurance champion and the winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans."
"Many of the decisions didn't have an immediate positive outcome, but in the long run they gave me other opportunities as a driver. Experiences that I have very good memories of," concludes Alonso, who looks back with satisfaction on the choices in his career.