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Journalist
Hungry for sport, he grew up to the sound of Formula 1 engines and the exploits of Ronaldinho. Today, with a Master's degree in sports journalism, he no longer misses an F1 Grand Prix or a PSG match, his two passions and specialties.
During his career, Fernando Alonso was often singled out for his poor career choices. Between his signing at McLaren when Lewis Hamilton arrived, his return to Renault and his second adventure at McLaren, the Spaniard regularly found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. And while he reveals having failed Red Bull twice, this reputation risks sticking to his skin for some time to come.
Although his talent is unanimous, one reputation sticks to Fernando Alonso, that of a driver who makes a series of bad career choices. This was the case after his two world champion titles (2005 and 2006) when he opted for McLaren the same year when Lewis Hamilton makes its big debut. A short season, and the Spaniard returns to Renault in 2008 for two seasons without brilliance. He then joins Ferraria choice that we can hardly blame him for, but his return to McLaren in 2015 where he will experience an ordeal. But all this could have been avoided if he had agreed to join Red Bullfirst in 2007 then in 2008. But Fernando Alonso reveals having twice rejected the offers from the Austrian team and gives his explanations.
Alonso fails Red Bull twice
« I didn't think too much about it. Never. Not in those years, not even today,” Alonso said. “I never regret anything. I know that certain decisions in your Formula 1 career can change a lot of things in what you achieve or not. But I think when you make a decision, you fully commit to it and you think it's the best decision. No one has a crystal ball to know what will happen in the future. In 2008 I had a few moments where I was able to join Red Bull. One of them was my departure from McLaren at the end of 2007. After that season I found different possibilities. I met Adrian and Christian at Heathrow Airport. And then 2008 was the closest year. I remember it perfectly, we were in the parking lot of Spa airport, the small airport at the top of the hill. We were in this parking lot, sitting in the back seats, both at night, and we were talking about this possibility. I was very close to Ferrari. If it wasn't in 2009, it sure would be in 2010. We went that route and they took Sebastian », Reveals the Spanish pilot in comments reported by Nextgen-auto.com before continuing.
“Red Bull was an energy drink company”
« It's easy to say today, but in 2008, Red Bull only had one podium, David's [Coulthard] in Monaco, and Red Bull was an energy drink company. It was a great team, with great members, but I think predicting that they would win seven or eight championships over the next decade was not completely guaranteed. When Lewis moved from McLaren to Mercedes, the first year in 2013, there was a lot of criticism, 'why did you change McLaren for a Mercedes that only had one or two podiums until then?'. And now he is a seven-time world champion. It's the same with Ferrari. It's unclear what Lewis will achieve next year. If Ferrari does well and wins the championship, that's a good thing. If Mercedes does well and wins the championship, it's a bad decision. How can you predict this? », added Fernando Alonso.
