AUGUST 5, 2003

An unhappy Alonso

Reports in the Spanish press suggest that Fernando Alonso was not happy with Renault's strategy in the German Grand Prix because he felt that an opportunity for a better result had been thrown away because the team did not allow him to overtake his team mate Jarno Trulli after the first pit stops. Alonso says that at that point he was quicker than the Italian and lost time which meant that later in the race he faded behind Michael Schumacher and David Coulthard. He spent 12 laps behind Trulli and reportedly asked to be allowed to pass on several occasions on the radio. In his frustration Alonso then made a mistake, ran wide and dropped behind Schumacher.

However, the Spanish press is speculating that the real reason may have been his argument with the team on the radio as telemetry showed that he was more than 1.5 seconds away of Trulli at the moment of his trip to the gravel.

At the end of the race there was a lengthy technical debrief during which the issue was discussed. According to the stories it is not the first time that Alonso has not been happy with the team's strategic decisions.