Fernando Alonso rebuked by Ferrari chief Di Montezemelo

[wisepie]

All this discussion over a few remarks made by LdM and Fernando after a frustrating and title-damaging Hungarian performance, each comment being interpreted in a different manner.....this is all PR stuff in my opinion but does speak volumes about how LdM and Fernando truly feel after so many promises of delivering a WDC/WCC. Both made comments that were truthful and in Fernando's case, quite understandable, any Merc/RB/Lotus would be preferable to the F138 the way things stand. God help us if we don't improve for Spa, the press will have a field day if Luca has another wobbler in public and Fernando tells him to stick it!

[Nero Horse]

if Luca has another wobbler in public and Fernando tells him to stick it!

Then that will be the last thing Alonso will do at Ferrari too, that's for sure. And what wobbler by Luca? He had every right to reprimand Alonso after what he said. If signore Enzo would still be alive and he would've heard his driver saying that he would "wish someone else's car for birthday", then any words that Luca said to Alonso would seem like beautiful compliments in comparison.

[flam147]

He does this very often though and the team is making changes to remedy their problems. Ferrari has never been one to like drivers saying it is not capable of building a capable car, this is nothing new.... you have to remember that F1 is a tool they use to market their cars, it hurts their image when a driver talks out of line.

Enzo built the Road cars to go Racing , Racing will probably always come first , road cars second IMO

[REDARMYSOJA]

I believe we are not seeing the real story here because of the salacious headlines. There must be something much bigger going on here for Luca to make these statements in public. I think there were more than Alonso that it was aimed at.

F1 teams have for a very long time now used the ploy of talking to a driver from a rival team, with no thought of signing them but to use it to gain information about the rival team. Much can be learned just from speaking with a driver's agent about what is going on inside a rival's garage.

So I'd say Luca must think or even know the meeting between Abad and Horner wasn't just about Sainz. It was a fishing expedition by Horner to feel out Ferrari.

I think there is more to it than that however. Horner has long now been accused of being Bernie's spy. He was forced by other team managers once to leave a meeting because they felt he was only there to report to Bernie. So this could go much deeper than just being upset at some things Alonso has said or the meeting itself.

There is something at the tail end of the story on the Ferrari site where Luca "rebuked" Alonso, and I think it is a clue to what is really going on and has been missed because of the fuss.

Montezemolo also attended the technical analysis, which went into every detail, leaving no stone unturned, including the subject of the introduction of the new tyres over the course of the last two races, a variable that definitely did not suit the Ferrari. Pirelli’s choice contributed to artificially altering the hierarchy in the field, something that has not pleased the President or the men of the Scuderia. This topic will be the subject of further debate in the near future.

There might be a power play going on behind the scenes in F1. We have this issue of Bernie being indicted to throw in the mix as well. This statement by Ferrari could be Luca's announcement that he is not happy with how many things are going, and is ready to step up and kick some butt, anyone's butt who crosses him and restore order as he sees it.

It's no secret that Ferrari has always wielded a lot of power in F1. This might be the start of Luca re-establishing that and letting those who think they can render Ferrari powerless that it isn't going to happen.

[Suzie]

Then that will be the last thing Alonso will do at Ferrari too, that's for sure. And what wobbler by Luca? He had every right to reprimand Alonso after what he said.

But he could do it in private, easily. What Fernando said wasn't even that bad! If Fernando was overtly courting a Red Bull drive or ranting about the car to journalists and slagging off the team, then I could totally understand Luca reacting so publicly but he isn't.

The other teams must be laughing their heads off at Ferrari - I mean this is a Ferrari site and it's created a poo-storm, so is it any wonder that the F1 media is running with this story and blowing it up.

[Greig]

Then that will be the last thing Alonso will do at Ferrari too, that's for sure. And what wobbler by Luca? He had every right to reprimand Alonso after what he said. If signore Enzo would still be alive and he would've heard his driver saying that he would "wish someone else's car for birthday", then any words that Luca said to Alonso would seem like beautiful compliments in comparison.

Luca's comments on our website have done more damage than anything Alonso has said, Enzo would boot Luca just as easily as he would boot a driver.

[Tifoso]

Luca's comments on our website have done more damage than anything Alonso has said, Enzo would boot Luca just as easily as he would boot a driver.

You see, this is why I like you so much.

Exactly right. In an Alonso-LDM fight, I pick Alonso every time. I will never forget what LDM did to Schumi (or Juve, for that matter).

[Mrs Alonso]

Autosport are now reporting that a Ferrari source is saying there is no crisis in the relationship with Alonso. They said Luca understands the frustration from Alonso after the worst race of the year. He is the first to support Alonso to improve the competitiveness of the car and that his words yesterday were to motivate the whole team towards a common goal.

If anyone is an Autosport subscriber they may be able to add more.

[REDARMYSOJA]

Here's the word from Autosport, Ferrari seems to be backing off those words a bit...

The president's comments calling for unity prompted speculation that Ferrari was facing an internal crisis.

But a team spokesman said on Tuesday that despite the flashpoint, di Montezemolo and Alonso were unified in their desire to push Ferrari on to a stronger second half to the campaign.

"Di Montezemolo is the first to support our driver's call to improve the car's competitiveness as quickly as possible," said the spokesman.

"He fully understands Fernando's frustrations after what has been the most challenging race of the year. He is his chief supporter and has full trust in him.

"His words must be viewed as a positive injection. They were a boost in motivation to inspire the team and to be united toward our common objective."

Ferrari: no crisis in Fernando Alonso relationship

[Hermann]

If this was supposed to be a 'positive injection' Monte seriously needs to work on his motivating skills.

[Tony]

"Claudio Lombardi is team director of Ferrari and, in theory at least, the man who makes decisions in the Ferrari racing team. We asked him why Alain Prost was not racing in Adelaide. This is what he had to say:

Why is Alain Prost not racing?

"Ferrari took this decision to stop with Alain Prost both for the last Grand Prix and for next season. The relationship between a top driver and a top team involves the performance of the driver and then the behaviour of the driver. For the first point we are very happy with the performance of Alain Prost. I personally worked with Alain for the last four months and I think he is really a very good driver and a fantastic test driver. The second point is behaviour. The behaviour of Alain Prost during this season has not been at the level that Ferrari would like from a top driver. His behaviour inside and outside the team meant that Ferrari had to stop the relationship."

Could you give an example of the behaviour which upset Ferrari?

"There are now legal problems between Ferrari and Alain Prost so I cannot really give you examples of such behaviour. Probably you know what I mean."

Why did the split occur before Adelaide and not after the season had ended?

"In the last week the behaviour of Alain Prost was really worse and worse and Ferrari took this decision."

Who took the decision?

"Ferrari took the decision."

Did Gianni Agnelli of Fiat take the decision?

"Ferrari took the decision."

Was the decision related to rumours that Prost had a deal to join Ligier in 1992?

"I cannot answer that question. You must understand that there are legal problems now between us and Alain Prost."

Why was Gianni Morbidelli chosen to replace Alain Prost?

"The choice of Morbidelli shows the emergency. Gianni is now the only driver with experience who is able to drive our car with the automatic gearbox. He is our test driver."

Have you chosen a replacement for Alain Prost for 1992?

"You will know the name of our driver in a short time. A week or two." "

This happened not too long before Montezemolo became President at Ferrari, Ferrari does not take it well when it is criticized in public by its drivers.... if a driver has a problem with the car, he should address his team and not tarnish the brand... I also think there's more to this story however...

[Katu]

This happened not too long before Montezemolo became President at Ferrari, Ferrari does not take it well when it is criticized in public by its drivers.... if a driver has a problem with the car, he should address his team and not tarnish the brand... I also think there's more to this story however...

maybe driver has adressed his team and the team has not responded. sometimes a man has to find another way to get noticed

[Tony]

maybe driver has adressed his team and the team has not responded. sometimes a man has to find another way to get noticed

Considering that Ferrari pays a driver's salary, the driver should not embarrass the brand in public IMHO. I have a clause in my contract (as does every employee at the company that I currently work for and have ever worked for really) that if I say anything detrimental to the image of my employer that would represent grounds for immediate dismissal... for me it's pretty simple, if your employer pays your salary, you should show them that respect.

It's not like no one sees that the Ferrari is struggling and making comments like this simply destabilizes the team chemistry... Frankly I agree 100% with what Montezemolo did...

[Nero Horse]

Considering that Ferrari pays a driver's salary, the driver should not embarrass the brand in public IMHO. I have a clause in my contract (as does every employee at the company that I currently work for and have ever worked for really) that if I say anything detrimental to the image of my employer that would represent grounds for immediate dismissal... for me it's pretty simple, if your employer pays your salary, you should show them that respect.

It's not like no one sees that the Ferrari is struggling and making comments like this simply destabilizes the team chemistry... Frankly I agree 100% with what Montezemolo did...

Well said! And I agree with you completely.

[Nero Horse]

You see, this is why I like you so much.

Exactly right. In an Alonso-LDM fight, I pick Alonso every time. I will never forget what LDM did to Schumi (or Juve, for that matter).

I had no idea that you had such resentment towards Luca...sad really.

And what about everything Luca has done for Ferrari through all these years? Doesn't that count for anything??? I think Enzo would be very proud of Luca and his work at Ferrari.

[Poltergeistes]

The problem with Luca is that he always needs to have the FIRST and also the LAST words in anything they engage, i shouldn't really call that a problem, since the man basically is Ferrari, after Enzo, he is the guy that holds the brand, which is no simple thing, because as we all know Ferrari needs to have that first and last word.

It's a cultural thing, you put an italian, a spanish and a brazilian driver, and this is what happens, it really is endless, when it's not just with felipe it's with Fernando, sometimes they are both fighting back, to me this was something to be expected always.

But I must say i was really let down last sunday when you watch lewis, vettel and then even romain going and gaining gap on fernando, cause it's a real bad sign, when you watch lap after lap Fernando losing that gap to 3 different cars that are in front of him.

This is why I question why not keep Felipe? he can't do magic, give him a good car and he will be good, and that is true for everyone there, the only exception to me is fernando, and if even fernando is having a dog's day with the car, then it's not a matter of changing drivers. I understand the need for a scape goat, but i really doubt that simply firing felipe will make fernando's car go any faster. this is all down to ferrari in season development. we need to turn this around somehow. it's not the first time we begin the season competitive and end up with the car going south.

[aroutis]

Considering that Ferrari pays a driver's salary, the driver should not embarrass the brand in public IMHO. I have a clause in my contract (as does every employee at the company that I currently work for and have ever worked for really) that if I say anything detrimental to the image of my employer that would represent grounds for immediate dismissal... for me it's pretty simple, if your employer pays your salary, you should show them that respect.

It's not like no one sees that the Ferrari is struggling and making comments like this simply destabilizes the team chemistry... Frankly I agree 100% with what Montezemolo did...

Exactly.

While I understand the admiration and fondness towards Alonso, there is the team, then the driver, that's how it goes.

There is no question about the performance of the car at this point. However, even if he said this as a joke, that does not mean that the opponents of the team, the press and what not, will not use it to tarnish the firm's name.

You do not do that. It's disrespectful, it's stupid and Luca did what had to be done.

[Alonsomaniac]

I don't think that Montezemolo was angry at Fernando . He was angry at whole team for their results and he mentioned Fernando too, not in ' one more time and you are fired ' way , but in ' it wasn't funny to me,we got to stick together out of this situation ' way ! I am sure that Fernando and Luca smoothed everything when Luca called him for birthday! But person who wrote this article and published it must be fired! To describe things this way is worst PR managment since Ferrari 2010 affair from German GP !

I think you are one of the few who looks at things in a sensible way.

[Suzie]

But person who wrote this article and published it must be fired! To describe things this way is worst PR managment since Ferrari 2010 affair from German GP !

You really don't think the publication of that was approved by Luca, or indeed, perhaps written by him...?

[Alonsomaniac]

You really don't think the publication of that was approved by Luca, or indeed, perhaps written by him...?

Could very well be the case. Luca and Fernando are two very strong characters and they both tend to say what they want.
They both want the same obviously, the championship and they need eachother to get it.
If then one of them says something - in public - that can easily be interpreted in a wrong way, the other will not be amused and he will react to it.
I think this is what happened and no more than that.
Fernando said something, Luca was not amused and told him that - also in public - to make clear once and for all that he does not accept this kind of talk.
Fernando will understand, his way of thinking is the same.
End of story, back to work.

[Alonsomaniac]

There is no question about the performance of the car at this point. However, even if he said this as a joke, that does not mean that the opponents of the team, the press and what not, will not use it to tarnish the firm's name.

You do not do that. It's disrespectful, it's stupid and Luca did what had to be done.

As an Alonsofan and a Ferrarifan I say: you are right. But as I said in my previous post, I have no doubt Fernando will understand -and respect - what Luca meant to say with this reaction.

[radosav]

You really don't think the publication of that was approved by Luca, or indeed, perhaps written by him...?

If it was him than he should fired himself , out of position of Ferrari PR manager of course , not the Ferrari president! I am not questioning if he should put Fernando in his place, i am questioning the way to do it! It was not on the level of team principle! It made more damage to team , but it could and it should be resolved in better way! Luca realised it later and that is why they made that other statement!

[killer]

Couple of days into this and I'm thinking what if everyone just called it a reminder and not a rebuke.

[FrankAlfa]

In this modern age of Racing, drivers are now much more Outspoken and Brazen! I do not like that at all! The drivers are paid to drive the car, NOT to talk about it! Yes, any negative words spoken about the team have a very bad impact on the Ferrari brand and that is exactly something Luca Di Montezemolo will NOT TOLERATE! No Driver is Bigger than the Ferrari Team! The Team comes first and foremost! Everything else is secondary!

[Nero Horse]

Some of the better comments that I found on James Allen's page. (judging by the comments there even most brits seem to be siding with Luca and Ferrari on this matter)

Alonso is acting like a spoiled child and it’s about time LDM put him in his place. He is the highest paid driver on the grid, of course Ferrari are having problems atm but his comments help nothing except make things worse.

No driver is or will ever be bigger than Ferrari that’s something he has to get through his head or leave.

The first of many storms in a teacup over the next 4 weeks. How I hate this time in the season!

I can’t think of any driver in any team, who hasn’t at some point in time, criticized the car and/or team to a point where management acknowledge publically that they’ve rebuked that driver.

Schumacher, somewhat ironically, may come the closest to angelic status in this regard.

Good for Luca!!! Showing the world who the boss is!!!!

No driver should bash his car/team in public. It is ok to say something like “there is room for improvement” but not much more than that. Drivers should be politically correct when talking to the media. And in the case of Alonso he should be more mature. And he should know better. He has been there for almost 4 years.

I said this same thing about Button when he was complaning too much about his car early in the season. The debates and complaints should take place behind closed doors.

I never thought much of Massa’s intelligence until now. But the way he has safeguarded his job at a top team despite poor performance year after year, and the way he continues to remain non-controversial shows he has a sound head on his shoulders.

Look at the situation Alonso has put himself in : 1. He fought at Mclaren and was shown the door, so that option is out. 2. He criticized Renault saying they favor Fisi, and was later involved in the infamous crashgate, so that option is gone too. 3. Vettel will likely veto any move of Alonso joining RBR. After all, who wants a political co-worker ? 4. He put Ferrari under bus when they are down. Knowing Alonso’s impatience, this was expected. 5. Mercedes have 2 sound drivers and wont need Alonso’s services.

This leaves Alonso as “damaged goods” on the grid. His only options are 1. Williams 2. Sauber 3. ForceIndia 4.Caterham. Driving for any of those 4 teams will seal his fate for good.

Lesson for the rest of us : never make the mistake of criticizing your employer while you are still working for them.

The way I see it, is that Alonso was hoping to "motivate" the team by testing the patience and resolve of Ferrari/LDM with his comments and now it has all blown up in his face. I can understand his frustration, I'm not happy with Ferrari's current form either, but such comments and hints (towards a possible move to a rival team if he doesn't get what he wants) is just poor behavior and he was just asking for trouble. And now he got more than he bargained for, hope he learns from it, and if not then perhaps he should indeed pack up his things and leave. Ferrari will be just fine without him, I have no doubt about it.
I really hope that this hullabaloo will blow over soon and everything will be alright again, but I'm afraid that things could get only worse from here on, cause now not only is Ferrari struggling with the competitiveness and development of the F138 but now there's also a huge internal turmoil and friction in the team and this will all play nicely into the hands of RB/Merc/Lotus.
Unfortunately it's a "no win" situation for everyone at Ferrari. I doubt that Alonso is happy with this difficult situation that he has put himself and the team and in hindsight he could even be regretting it, but it might be a little too late for regrets now. I'm still hoping for a happy ending, but it's starting to look more and more unlikely to come now. Hoping for the best, fearing the worst.

[Tifoso]

OTOH, Alonso has basically bullied the car into much better results than another driver (yes, even Vettel) could have done. In that way he has helped the brand, no?

Look, I am a WCC guy, as you all know. It is just a complete waste of resources (ie, Alonso's talent) to have him here and give him shoddy cars. No one gains by that. If something doesn't begin looking up by the end of the season, heads needs to roll. Including Luca We Are Going To Win It All Prezzemolo.

[Nero Horse]

OTOH, Alonso has basically bullied the car into much better results than another driver (yes, even Vettel) could have done. In that way he has helped the brand, no?

Look, I am a WCC guy, as you all know. It is just a complete waste of resources (ie, Alonso's talent) to have him here and give him shoddy cars. No one gains by that. If something doesn't begin looking up by the end of the season, heads needs to roll. Including Luca We Are Going To Win It All Prezzemolo.

I suppose you would mock Enzo that way as well if it would've been him saying those things to Alonso? Luca's great work with Ferrari since the day he became President is undeniable. He's a very big part of what Ferrari is and has achieved. So your jibe at Luca is not cool man, not cool at all.

[shamim179]

Of course it's damaging to the Ferrari image and brand for a driver to say such things but would we have known about this if Ferrari didn't publish that article? I found that totally unnecessary. So many drivers have said worse things than that but don't get publically told off like that is very humiliating. And this won't go well with Alonso the proud man that he is. There was no need to go public like that especially by the president. It just seems a show of authority. Alonso has done close to the maximum in most races and even won when the team thought it was unthinkable. If any fingers need to pointed it is the technical team. Ferrari have often talked about upgrades but few of them seem to work musnt this get tiring and how do you stay motivated when you know it's just talk and no action. How on earth does Massa get away with this when he talks in such an upbeat fashion only to deliver a poor result? Maybe Luca knows Alonso is leaving which is why he issued that statement and if he isn't leaving then it's a poor call. We need to stand united during these times not be attacking our lead drivers publically like this. This in itself is extremely bad for the Ferrari image.

[Bubbles]

I suppose you would mock Enzo that way as well if it would've been him saying those things to Alonso? Luca's great work with Ferrari since the day he became President is undeniable. He's a very big part of what Ferrari is and has achieved. So your jibe at Luca is not cool man, not cool at all.

Would you still feel that way if another five seasons passed and nothing happened?

[Nero Horse]

Would you still feel that way if another five seasons passed and nothing happened?

YES! Luca is not the problem.