If he wants to apologize for his comments after his clash with Lewis Hamilton, Fernando Alonso regrets the proportions taken by the controversy.
Things got heated on Sunday between Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton at the Belgian Grand Prix. Blame it on a pilot error by the Mercedes driver which caused a collision between the two single-seaters. What provoke the anger of the Spaniard, who did not hesitate to launch on the radio that the Briton was a « idiot » and that he only knew “to start when he takes the lead”. Words that sparked a lively controversy.
Present in front of the media on Thursday, on the eve of the first free practice of the Dutch Grand Prix, the Alpine F1 driver obviously did not escape questions about this incident. “Yes, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean what I said. There wasn’t much to blame at the time, and looking back at the footage you can see we were all really close as it was the first round, he confided. In the heat of the moment and with adrenaline, and as we were finally fighting in the top 2 or top 3, I made some inappropriate comments. But at the same time, and as I said just after the race, it remains a racing incident in my eyes. » A racing incident which nevertheless sparked a serious controversy.
Nothing surprising in the eyes of the double world champion. « We made quite a story out of it, he lamented. First of all, Lewis is a champion, a legend of our times, but when you say something against a British driver, and I’m sorry to repeat myself on the subject, the media is always very involved. Things have been said to Sergio Perez, Carlos Sainz, me, etc. If you say something to a Latin pilot, it’s considered amusing. But if it’s Lewis, it gets a little more serious. »