Despite Nasty Relationship With Lewis Hamilton & Esteban Ocon, Fernando Alonso Accuses FIA of Tainting His Helpful Image

During the Azerbaijan GP, Fernando Alonso did something that caught fans and experts by surprise. On Lap 19, while cruising ahead, he told his race engineer on the team radio to tell Lance Stroll his brake balance. While the Canadian driver went wide shortly after that, the intention to help was clear. The Spaniard has now hit back at critics telling that he’s always been helpful to his teammates. Given his history with Lewis Hamilton and a recent falling out with Esteban Ocon before moving to Aston Martin, some eyebrows are bound to raise.

Stroll was under immense pressure from Hamilton. The Briton was tailing him and gaining ground behind him. As the race progressed to Lap 16, Lance even clipped the wall, taking some minor damage to his front wing. That was when Alonso’s advice to change the brake balance came in.

Fernando Alonso believes he’s always been helpful to his teammates

Alonso was coming at the back of a back-to-back championship win when he joined McLaren in 2007. Hamilton, too, joined the team that same year as a rookie. The relationship turned out to be a sour one when the duo often took jibes at each other during press conferences and raced against each other when on the track. During his final days with Alpine as well, he had a major falling out with Ocon. Neither driver held back when criticizing the other.

As the Spaniard’s recent nice deed caught attention, he insists he’s always been this way. ESPN’s Nate Saunders reported, “Fernando Alonso said he has always tried to help teammates throughout his career but Formula One is only now being kind to him with what radio messages they choose to broadcast.”

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Surely he didn’t mean all teammates. Because Hamilton and Ocon will definitely beg to differ with his self-assessment.

Is Alonso grooming Lance to take over Aston Martin’s reins?

Ever since joining Aston Martin, Alonso has turned out to be a changed man. Not only is he getting along well with Lance, he even called him a future world champion. Seems like before retiring, the Asturian is doing everything in his capacity to make that a reality.

The Race recently quoted him as saying, “If we feel something in the car during the race that we didn’t speak about and there’s something new that can help the other car, normally we communicate to the team.”

“Yeah, it has been like this. I know that I will be in the sport for a few more years but not many, and he will lead the team for the next 10 or 15 years, so I hope I can help Lance in the next few years.”

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Given how he’s delivered 3 podiums and a P4 finish in 4 races until now, Fernando has proven his worth for the team. But it is nice to see that he is willing to go the extra mile before hanging up his helmet for good.