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Fernando Alonso has been labeled many things during his lengthy career in Formula 1. Experts have called him the most complete driver on the grid, and the Spaniard has also gained a "warrior" status with multiple teams. However, the tag that has stuck to Fernando Alonso's career is his reputation of being difficult to work with.
It has stuck around since his time at McLaren in 2007. This is arguably also the reason Red Bull didn't sign the Spaniard in the off-season.
In a recent interview with AS, Fernando Alonso attempted to brush off his reputation. Alonso refuted claims of being "hard to work with" by saying:
"It’s the third time I’ve driven for Renault and I’ve been at McLaren twice, I’ve been in different teams and I’ve repeated, so they should be happy with me. If not, I don’t know why they called me."
Fernando Alonso suffered a road-accident earlier in the year. The Spaniard had surgery on his jaw, which left him unable to show up for his media duties on the day Alpine launched their 2021 challenger.
Speaking about his professional relationships on and off the paddock, Alonso said:
“I keep talking to [Giancarlo] Fisichella, [Jarno] Trulli lives in the same town as me and he called me after the accident to let me know that if I needed anything from the supermarket, he would help me."
“That’s why I laugh because all my team-mates have been good friends at that time and later on. In the Dakar the same thing happened to me, I had to lend a tire to [Nasser] Al Attiyah."
Fernando Alonso tried to see the positive side of having a notorious reputation as well.
“Sometimes having this reputation is good, because when they find out that I am normal, they are very surprised and happy.”
Ferrari is still not winning: Fernando Alonso
When questioned about regrets in his racing career, Fernando Alonso said:
“I never regret any of my decisions. With a crystal ball, you can make a different decision at some point, but at every moment I felt I did the right thing.”
Speaking about his decision to join Alpine after a two-year hiatus from the sport, Alonso said:
“With Alpine, it’s the same. I think this way I have the biggest challenges after two years out of the sport."
Fernando Alonso was also asked about his time as a Ferrari driver. The Spaniard didn't win any championships with the Scuderia, although he came close in 2010, but eventually lost out to Sebastian Vettel.
"Decisions are made and responsibilities are taken, but with Ferrari the timing was perfect."
“In 2014, there was a success for five years and we fought for titles until the last lap in three of the seasons. The atmosphere was incredible and so was the love between Ferrari and myself. But it was the right time. At one point the relationship gets damaged and we wanted to have just the love.”
It remains to be seen how this partnership between Fernando Alonso and Alpine evolves. However, as long as the Spaniard is in the sport, he will continue to dominate the headlines.
