Alonso's mental state after Spain if...

amier · 19 Apr 2007, 20:17 (Ref:1895775)

Lewis beats him?

I read in autosport today that when he was beaten by fisichella at renault he would throw his toys out of the pram, i wonder what he will do if he gets beaten again by lewis?

what happens if he cant adapt to the car in time and finishes behind lewis on points? will he walk away from it?

seems to be a very interesting season ahead, just shame there arnt more races!

Knowlesy · 19 Apr 2007, 20:19 (Ref:1895780)

Alonso does get a bit ragged when he is beaten by teammates but he does also bounce back eventually.

If he was beaten in Spain by Lewis (who knows?) it would be pretty crushing stuff! But then, he could always get revenge at Silverstone.

And walk away from it? Not a chance.

**Born Racer** · 19 Apr 2007, 20:20 (Ref:1895781)

I recall him levelling a criticism towards Fisichella last year saying something along the lines of how it would be nice to have a much quicker team-mate to push the team forward overall.

Be careful what you wish for and all that!

amier · 19 Apr 2007, 20:21 (Ref:1895782)

seems like he turns into a raging bull, i remember last year at one of teh races he was held up and he was banging fists, shaking his hand etc..

would be funny to see him crack lol

maximus · 19 Apr 2007, 20:30 (Ref:1895786)

Shame for you he doesn't when under extreme pressure from rivals behind him......

neilap · 19 Apr 2007, 20:58 (Ref:1895814)

Alonso is world champion twice of a reason, he handles pressure! I am sure that much of his anger is towards himself. True champions HATE losing, meaning anything but 1st is a failure. Look at how MS would look after placing 3rd. Barrichello is the only driver I see happy to play also-ran.
Lewis has had a great run so far but he has not had to deal with anything close to what Alonso did winning his two titles. Both of Alonso's titles came with inferior packages by years end. He knew that he could only run his race because the Mac, and Ferrari were much quicker than him. Alonso did not crack then so I doubt he will crack from Lewis.
Lewis knows his role; its to learn as much as possible. I know he wants to win the title this year too and set history again but I know he understands that the bubble could pop and any time. Alonso has had all this happen to him and he is still two times champ. Pressure only makes him stronger; even if it makes him a less tolerable person in the end he has wound up destroying his partner and winning titles. I am not even close to counting him out... the press is jumping the gun on this one.

Frank_White · 19 Apr 2007, 21:16 (Ref:1895820)

If Lewis wins in Spain and outclasses Alonso again, Alonso will take it very very hard and almost certainly he will cast blame at the team. Thereafter it will go down hill quickly. Of course this is only my opinion based upon his behaviour late last year at Renault.

As talented as Alonso undoubtedly is his talent does not appear to extend to the ability to hold his feelings bottled up inside.

**touringlegend** · 19 Apr 2007, 21:48 (Ref:1895838)

Alonso didn't like getting beat by Fisichella as Fisi simply isn't on the same level as Alonso is. However Lewis Hamilton is up there talent wise with FA..

Inigo Montoya · 19 Apr 2007, 22:03 (Ref:1895851)

Are you sure touringlegend? Same level as Alonso? I still think its early to make such judgements.

amier · 19 Apr 2007, 22:08 (Ref:1895858)

Lewis is better than sliced bread, the new holy grail hahaha maybe it should be holy hamilton!!

**touringlegend** · 19 Apr 2007, 22:10 (Ref:1895859)

Time will tell !

Oh and by the way my comment wasn't meant to turn this into a worship thread for LH...

SALEEN S7R · 19 Apr 2007, 23:18 (Ref:1895901)

Personally I would say that Hamilton is better than Alonso. Sure Alonso has won 2WDC's we know that, but how long will it be until Hamilton wins WDC #1? Not long if he continues to progress at the rate he is. Like Alonso Hamilton handles pressure very well, unlike Alonso however he can keep his emotions bottled up. The fact that Alonso doesent seem to be able to is what is going to get the press on his back and make life uncomfortable for him this year. IMO.

deejay · 19 Apr 2007, 23:25 (Ref:1895904)

Quote:

Originally Posted by neilap

Alonso is world champion twice of a reason, he handles pressure! I am sure that much of his anger is towards himself. True champions HATE losing, meaning anything but 1st is a failure. Look at how MS would look after placing 3rd. Barrichello is the only driver I see happy to play also-ran.
Lewis has had a great run so far but he has not had to deal with anything close to what Alonso did winning his two titles. Both of Alonso's titles came with inferior packages by years end. He knew that he could only run his race because the Mac, and Ferrari were much quicker than him. Alonso did not crack then so I doubt he will crack from Lewis.
Lewis knows his role; its to learn as much as possible. I know he wants to win the title this year too and set history again but I know he understands that the bubble could pop and any time. Alonso has had all this happen to him and he is still two times champ. Pressure only makes him stronger; even if it makes him a less tolerable person in the end he has wound up destroying his partner and winning titles. I am not even close to counting him out... the press is jumping the gun on this one.

Good post.

deejay · 19 Apr 2007, 23:29 (Ref:1895905)

Additional point: Alonso and Lewis seem to get along well. So I don't think there is an innate ill-feeling there that might fuel tension. Unlike say, Filepe and Kimi. I think Kimi is the one in more danger of cracking from teammate pressure than Alonso. Alonso will just become more determined.

**garcon** · 19 Apr 2007, 23:43 (Ref:1895909)

I think Alonso the Double WDC has to be a more mature and rounded competitor than the raw talented youngster of a few years ago.

He will try to score as many points as he can in Spain, and I shouldn't think he'll let whatever Hamilton does concern him.

Sure he can see that Hamilton is a huge talent - but he'll see that as a challenge, not a threat.

ralf fan · 20 Apr 2007, 00:21 (Ref:1895913)

Surely the ultimate test of Alonso's bottle was last year when he saw his championship lead being cut down to size by Schumacher at Monza and China. He could have easily binned it at Japan or Brazil in frustration. He didn't, kept going and won.
Whatever he says off track he has shown that he can keep his bottle on track and that's the most important thing and i expect him to do the same again.

rcarr · 20 Apr 2007, 00:44 (Ref:1895918)

Garcon, I think you are slightly wrong about LH not being a threat, McLaren have said he could win the title and we all saw how Alonso reacted after the Bahrain GP when he was asked by ITV about Lewis coming 2nd, he seemed a bit riled by it.

I just hope that team orders won't come into play like they did in Austrailia, if Lewis is leading Alonso in Spain, Ron shouldn't tell Lewis to move over to let Alonso win, the same goes for Silverstone, I wouldn't expect Ron to tell Alonso to move over for Lewis. Maybe not move over but, intentionally mess his pitstop up like in Aus.

neilap · 20 Apr 2007, 03:28 (Ref:1895949)

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcarr

intentionally mess his pitstop up like in Aus.

Do you really believe that? I dont think Maclaren are in a position to play favorite right now. Ferrari could do such things because MS consistently handed RB his arse. The only way team orders will/should be used is if one of the drivers is out of the title chase.

Greenback · 20 Apr 2007, 04:26 (Ref:1895964)

I wonder what will happen if LH finish on podium again and Alonso DNF. will this mean that LH will be the leading driver at Mclaren? I dont think that is impossible.

**garcon** · 20 Apr 2007, 11:55 (Ref:1896212)

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcarr

Garcon, I think you are slightly wrong about LH not being a threat, McLaren have said he could win the title and we all saw how Alonso reacted after the Bahrain GP when he was asked by ITV about Lewis coming 2nd, he seemed a bit riled by it.

Objectively speaking, Hamilton is a threat - potentially at least.

What I meant was, Alonso will take it on and see it as a challenge to overcome, rather than throw his toys out and end up losing.

Hesketh · 20 Apr 2007, 11:59 (Ref:1896219)

C'mon, Alonso is a genius. Mental strenght, quick lap, overall pace, tactict, communication skills, cool as ice but passionate.

Lewis is great too, he's pure joy for the fans, smart with a fantastic allure, maybe even a bit quicker on flying lap, race but hey...

My prediction: Alonso on top @ Montmelò.

rcarr · 20 Apr 2007, 12:24 (Ref:1896252)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hesketh

C'mon, Alonso is a genius. Mental strenght, quick lap, overall pace, tactict, communication skills, cool as ice but passionate.

Hmmm, cool as ice? He did throw his toys out of the pram last year.

No one on the F1 grid that has the potential of winning is "cool as ice."

Personally I wouldn't call Alonso a genius, he is a good racing driver but he has his flaws and can be beaten, unlike Jim Clark who more often than not won the race when his car was 100%, or he would nurse the car home if it was dying or it would break down.

Alonso went into a strop after Sunday's race.

Hesketh · 20 Apr 2007, 13:24 (Ref:1896296)

"No one on the F1 grid that has the potential of winning is "cool as ice."

I agree, in fact I never said that. I wrote that he's cool 'cause he can handle the pressure and at the same time he's extremely passionate, shows feelings and emotions.

And again, unfortunately for us all, your comparison to the great Jim Clark (or i would say Ronnie winning in a March in Monza, 1976) is totally out of focus. Those were the days when you can "invent" races, surprise your adversaries. Calculation capacity doesn't allow that today and by the end of the day, if there are no mistakes or technical failures (and here's where the human factor still counts), your car will finish the race exactly in the position that your engineer laptop predicted.

Anyways: in a Formula 1 made of numbers, numbers are on Fernando's side.
No major mistakes on his personal record

Ciao

FPV GTHO · 20 Apr 2007, 13:45 (Ref:1896306)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greenback

I wonder what will happen if LH finish on podium again and Alonso DNF. will this mean that LH will be the leading driver at Mclaren? I dont think that is impossible.

I always thought McLaren never had a clear #1/#2 policy. I recall in 2005, Montoya around the middle of the year declared he wouldnt commit to supporting Kimi's title hopes until his year was over, after missing 2 GP's earlier in the year. It was something to that effect...

Knowlesy · 20 Apr 2007, 14:17 (Ref:1896338)

It's hard to really fault Alonso's mental attitude. Yes, he is emotional.

But when has this ever translated into disastrous results? He can wave his hands about occasionally, but he is still getting results in the end.

And these emotional incidents are overplayed. He pulled a move on a Toro Rosso in Hungarian practice last year but he also put in the race of his life on the Sunday...

He is strong in the head, after all he took on not just a resurgent Schuey and Ferrari last season but also the FIA stewards from time to time...

Hamilton is equally tough of course, but I don't by any means think he can put Alonso out to pasture for some time! But he is looking dangerously close to approaching that level.

It'll be interesting to see what happens.

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