Montezemolo: “Alonso Was No Schumacher”

Luca di Montezemolo criticizes Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard reacted and is “not amused.”

With this statement above former Ferrari president, Luca di Montezemolo didn’t make friends – certainly not with Fernando Alonso. In one of the recent episode of the Formula 1 podcast “Beyond the grid” the Italian discusses the question why Ferrari and Fernando Alonso never became world champion: “He was Alonso, not Alonso-Ferrari. If he wins, he is happy. But if he loses, the team is the problem and he is unhappy.” 

We can interpret it in this way: Alonso wasn’t as close to the team as Michael Schumacher or Niki Lauda especially in the difficult moments. Clear words from Luca di Montezemolo, which, however, Alonso questions openly. In response to this tweet on the official F1 twitter account, the double world champion writes: “There must have been a reason why not to follow this account, today you have reminded me of it.

“The President (Montezemolo) never said that. Especially after I got 80 percent of the points for Ferrari. We fought together, with all of our hearts, until the very last race.”

Fernando Alonso nach dem Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi 2010. Credit: ABMS

Yet, Alonso is actually wrong. ABMS and F1 Insider listened to the podcast, and indeed, Montezemolo said these exact words just as the Formula 1 website quotes him. And nothing is out of context – on the contrary.

The 71-year-old Italian aristocrat adds: “It’s not difficult to be close to the team when things are going well.” Nevertheless, he also praises Alonso: “When it comes to performance, Fernando was very good. For me, he belongs in the same category as Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. And in races, he is very close to Michael because in races he is a fantastic driver. The fact that he lost the title fight in 2010 and 2012 was not due to his mistakes.”