The unforgettable moments of the career of the asturian stop in the fight with the british, which he ended up giving in tray that title to Raikkonen
Suzuka 2005: The overtaking of vertigo Alonso to end the empire of Schumacher
That Saturday, August 4, at the Hungaroring, two pilots went to the track to compete for something more than the classification of the eleventh grand prix of the 2007 World. Until then, in the 10 races prior, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton had been tied in the positions of grill and on the goal-line (5-5). The pulse sports, fascinating, rivaled with the spiral of tension, suffocating. “I just saw something similar between Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. And I had the privilege of participating in all of this. In the end, as we understood later, it was two of the best drivers of history”. So begins his account of Pedro de la Rosa, a witness of exception of the one Hungarian Grand Prix.
“The first important issue that should be clarified is that that race was just the straw that broke the camel’s back,” recalls the barcelona, tester at McLaren during the now distant and turbulent 2007. What hurricane had been unleashed before in Woking? What happened in the previous months for everything to explode into a thousand pieces? Hamilton recently spoke about it with his strength of always. “My relationship with Fernando was toxic and intoxicó to all the team. Yes, it was something personal.” What was all about? How far he had to go back? Let’s say that up until 18 march 2007.
That Sunday, nothing else turn off the traffic light in Melbourne, the rookie who only had dedicated pat complacent during the winter, and put the car in the first corner, your partner box, which, by the way, was already world champion. “Everyone expected that the first year Lewis was one of adaptation. But from the beginning it showed some qualities that we could not even imagine”, values Of the Rose.
McLaren had then a very particular atmosphere. Ron Dennis, an expert in the struggle of egos, had to take the helm, manage talent and reduce tensions. Above all, I had to assign a number one and engender the respect around him. But everything was upside down. He promised many things that then could not meet and did not intervene in other where it should be used with firmness. Already in Monaco, when Alonso was leading with comfort after a devastating first over, was the first confusion. No one told Hamilton that any attempt to siege end was childish and superfluous
Sanction on the grill
“there were No clear criteria, but promises back and forth. In that context, everything explodes when the false truths end up coming to light,” recalls De la Rosa, when asked by the blessed sabbath of the Hungaroring. A qualifying round where, according to the agreement for revolving McLaren, Alonso had an extra lap to take the pole. Hamilton, beardless and rebellious, refuses with very bad grapes, until the replica of Alonso in the pits: a cap of 10 seconds that frustrated the last attempt of improvement to its maximum opponent. The image of Fernando in the press conference, chewing on an apple with a grimace impassive, speaks for itself. What no one expected, past already 23:00 hours, is the penalty of five places on the grid that it ruins your Sunday.
“Until Hungary, the tremendous tension I had a background of healthy competition, with both of them pushing on for glory. But that race changed everything for us,” adds De la Rosa. The consequences from that day are devastating. It eliminates any attempt of coexistence, and each one begins to take justice into their own hand. In addition, it jumps to scene the case of espionage at Ferrari, where De la Rosa had to assume an awkward role. “Added more fuel to the fire”, he admits, exempting from any responsibility to the wealthy. “It was a computer failure. And it was a information trivial, so that the fine was absolutely disproportionate”, detailing about 100 million euros. Behind them, according to an opinion issued by the paddock, was the bitterness of the president of the FIA, Max Mosley, to Dennis. In fact, a phrase apocryphal Bernie Ecclestone became very popular by then: “they Deserved a penalty of five million, but as Ron is a dumbass I got 100”.
With such a sea of background, three weeks later, McLaren was not even able to come forward Thursday with its pilots in Istanbul, where Alonso met the 100 runs. The weather was unbreathable and Spa became the apotheosis of that loop loss. “The three nights prior to the race, with all under the same roof and all the doors with the latch nicely cast, were terrible. In this climate of mistrust, how we were going to win a World cup?”.
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