Alonso takes aim at F1 broadcast over “grumpy guy” portrayal

Fernando Alonso has taken goal at System One Administration [FOM] for portraying him as a “grumpy man” after a staff radio rant over the efficiency of his Aston Martin throughout Friday’s apply for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix was broadcast.

The 2-time System 1 world champion has an extended checklist of well-known staff radio messages the place he has voiced his displeasure, most notably when with McLaren throughout the ill-fated Honda years in 2015-17.

Frustration has been rising given Aston Martin’s struggles in breaking into the highest 10 this season, particularly after its robust begin to final 12 months’s marketing campaign, with Alonso telling his staff: “Worst automobile ever, and worst site visitors preparation ever. Subsequent time I’ll do the out-lap myself.”

Regardless of his lack of delight with the AMR24, the Spaniard took eighth on the grid with a strong qualifying efficiency at Yas Marina Circuit, giving Alonso and the Silverstone-based outfit the possibility to complete the 12 months on a excessive.

Requested how he pulled off his qualifying efficiency after his frustration in apply, Alonso replied: “However at present I stated that I had feeling. So yeah, we began on the incorrect foot, for certain, the automobile was very disconnected entrance and rear. They weren’t speaking to one another.

“We made some set-up adjustments in a single day. We did not achieve bettering the efficiency, as a result of FP3, we have been seventeenth and nineteenth. So nonetheless not there. So we made additional adjustments earlier than qualifying, and it appears that evidently we discovered the window the place the automobile is happier.

“So, these vehicles are so essential, the working window is so slender that it’s not straightforward to seek out it. It appears that evidently we did it earlier than quali. Glad to start out eighth, however it may be a troublesome race tomorrow.”

On whether or not the struggles in apply marked the bottom level of the season, Alonso levelled criticism at FOM for its broadcast selections.

“It was a nasty site visitors,” he stated. “It was a frustration constructing. However, as normal, some feedback are good, some feedback are dangerous, however FOM has this repair with me, with dangerous feedback – however I am pleased with that. It is their job.

“Yesterday I had some constructive issues [to say] as nicely however as I stated, FOM, they must promote that I am the grumpy man. They tried for a few years and they won’t succeed.

“I did not have time [in practice] however I feel all these conversations are very non-public together with your engineer. You are attempting generally various things. You talk about some out-lap preparations that possibly I do not agree with the engineers.

“They wish to attempt anyway, it does not work. So that you inform them, ‘Wow, you already know this – we knew it beforehand’, or one thing like that.

“However when you do not have all that context behind and also you simply put the radio message, it is simply incorrect. However it’s the means they do it.”