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Fernando Alonso’s manager, Luis García Abad, eloquently described the Asturian champion’s day-to-day life in Formula 1 years ago. “Fernando is a very exotic character in Formula 1. We are two Spaniards and therefore a minority. We have to get up early, not take a nap and go last. And not even so we have assured the tie ». In the polyglot, cosmopolitan and itinerant universe of this sport, which visits more than twenty countries, each year the ‘British’ spirit actually functions. British schedules and modes, engineers from the United Kingdom, multinational employees trained in English universities, teams based in the United Kingdom and, of course, the only and unbeatable universal language – English – as an element of communication. Faced with that world in evident numerical superiority, Alonso has been fighting all his life (19 years) and trying to impose a more Latin or Mediterranean mood, Ferrari style or the Italian colony with which he always felt more comfortable. In Austin (United States) the pilot returned to raise battle, always a warrior, regarding overtaking. He was fighting for the tenth position, a point against Raikkonen and Giovinazzi for someone who has won titles and 32 races, and so far he has already gotten the F1 referee (Michael Masi) to meet with the next grand prix (Mexico). the all pilots to explain the protocol.
British time
The rhythm of life in F1 was British thousand per thousand until the arrival of the North American group Liberty Media, which has softened it with its intention of turning it into a massive event rather than an exclusive event. Races in Europe at two in the afternoon, lunches at 12.30, dinners at seven, meetings for everything, extreme and non-negotiable punctuality, formality in appearance and, above all, vast majority of ‘British’ workers who travel the world every weekend.
Mercedes, a global giant of German origin based in Stuttgart, has its epicenter of work in F1 in two nearby factories to the Silverstone circuit, in Brackley and Northampton. The French manufacturer Renault operates as Alpine in F1 from its headquarters in Enstone, a few kilometers from Oxford. Red Bull, an Austrian emporium that expands its owner (Dietrich Mateschitz) into the universe of extreme sports, takes refuge in Milton Keynes. Aston Martin, the former Force India, has its base of operations within the Silverstone circuit.
Alonso felt that he had built a community in his prime. The presentation of the McLaren 2007, in Valencia. Another Spanish team in F1, Hispania (later HRT). Another great prize in Spain, Valencia, in addition to Montmeló. Sponsors, industry. And an entourage of journalists following him. When he signed for Ferrari, 2010, there were four Spanish television channels in each circuit and the majority presence of his compatriots in press conferences, despite the fact that the Italian team then considered that the Spanish envoys were “aggressive and disorderly.”
No Spanish presence
While the British media, and also the Italian colony, have been sitting in the F1 paddock for several decades, the Spanish have been diluted with the absence of Alonso victories and the financial crisis of the media. It seemed that this year could be the Hispanic rehabilitation with the return of the Asturian and Sainz in Ferrari, but it has not occurred in the presence of communicators.
At this juncture there was the press conference on Thursdays in Turkey. Alonso was asked about theoretically improper overtaking outside the track lines. And the Spaniard jumped: «In Turkey there was drama, because I was the protagonist, but no one else was asked.
At the Austin circuit, Alonso starred in a close fight with Alfa Romeo drivers Raikkonen and Giovinazzi. To the Spanish and the Italian, the race director Michael Masi forced to return the position after an overtaking out of bounds. Not so Raikkonen in a duel with Alonso. “Unfortunately we come to America to give them a good show to open Formula 1 in this country and I think we have done a bit of … nah, we have not given a good image,” said the Asturian.
And he insisted on his message: «Kimi passed me on the outside, I passed Giovinazzi on the outside and I had to return his position, of course. Giovinazzi passed me on the outside and had to give me back my position, of course. There were three equal incidents. Two were decided in one way and the other in another ».
And he came to his conclusion: «As it happened to me in Turkey, I hope that now in Mexico there are many questions to whoever did it this time». Alonso, hegemonic voice in an unfavorable ecosystem, has done it again. The FIA (Masi) will speak with the pilots in Mexico to clarify the overtaking protocol.
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