22/04/2008
NEWS STORY
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Ahead of this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix, Fernando Alonso has said that, despite what others might think, he has no problem with former teammate Lewis Hamilton.
If F1 can forget about the Mosley saga for just a couple of days (difficult), all eyes will be on Barcelona in case there is a repeat of the sort of behaviour witnessed during testing in February, when Hamilton was subjected to various forms of racial abuse, culminating in a group of fans blacking up in mockery of the youngster and his skin colour.
At the time, there was widespread feeling that Alonso might have done more to ease the situation, possibly by publicly condemning the behaviour, whereas he was to subsequently deny that there were any racial undertones to the incidents.
Nonetheless, following numerous incidents in 2007, culminating in McLaren and the Spaniard bringing their relationship to a premature close at the end of the season, Alonso's fans appear to blame Hamilton for much of what happened.
"I believe that among the thousand or so people at McLaren there are great workers and engineers," he told El Pais. "But it is true that there are some who did disappoint me and we could not work together.
"Hamilton was outside of all that," he continued. "He has talked about these things and that has created animosity, but he has never been a problem."
Referring to the incident in Hungary which saw the backroom feuding brought out into the open (and how), the Spaniard said: "There is talk of what happened in Hungary but, well, it was not his fault. It was the team who should have taken action, and if I had to go out first and make a lap to burn more gasoline, they should have ensured that happened."
Summing up the brief marriage with McLaren, the Spaniard said: "It seemed that they were not interested in me continuing there. The McLaren was a good car that gave me the opportunity to win, but I knew that I could never do it on that team."
Nonetheless, the two-time World Champion admits that as he heads to Barcelona, just as he heads to all races, there is but one thought running through his mind.
"I have a desire for revenge," he admits. "Ninety-nine per cent of my time I just think about winning again."
While nobody doubts him, it is unlikely that the Renault R28 is likely to allow him to get anywhere near the top step of the podium, certainly not in the short term.
Despite claims that the idea had been temporarily shelved, in response to February's events the FIA will be unveiling its 'Racing Against Racism' campaign this weekend.