“He was never a team destroyer” : Eric Boullier backs Fernando Alonso in recent transfer drama
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Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso, who will make his eighth career move in Formula One next season when he exits Alpine for Aston Martin, has an unfair reputation as a “team destroyer” according to Eric Boullier. Alonso is among the most successful Formula 1 drivers of all time, having won two World Championships and 32 races.
He’s also one of the more contentious drivers, owing to the controversy that has surrounded him, most noticeably during his first season with McLaren, when he collided with Lewis Hamilton. On the 15th anniversary of their Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying tussle, his former team principal Boullier says Alonso has an undeserved poor reputation.
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“He has a real team spirit” : Eric Boullier
“I don’t know why this reputation [as a disrupter] has grown. He was never a team destroyer. He has a real team spirit, but not always with the driver on the other side of the garage. He works well in an environment where he is number 1 and has a number 2 who can help him, and they can work together. When he was with Jenson Button, they were smart enough to understand and respect each other,” said Boullier.
The ex-Renault boss continued: “With Stoffel, he could use Stoffel’s feedback to his advantage, and that’s why the relationship worked. If he can’t use a driver for his benefit that person becomes an enemy. I saw him as the best team builder of all time: he is a great competitor, he is focused on himself but he wants to include everyone around him to win.”
The Frenchman also lauded the Spaniard for his expertise on the field, particularly when it comes to studying tyre deterioration of the cars of his rival teams right from the start of a race weekend. Alonso also has an in-depth knowledge of the technical aspects of a car despite not being an engineer.
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Rishika Saha
(445 Articles Published)