Alonso does not respect Massa enough according to Eddie Jordan
By citing McLaren as his first allies in the race for the title, the Ferrari driver did not specifically mention his teammate, Felipe Massa, which Eddie Jordan regrets.
After his second place, and as he is the driver who scored the most points over the last three races – one win and two second places – Fernando Alonso assured that he could still hope to come back in the championship but that for this, he would have to rely on McLaren. « We have a small chance to catch up in the championship if we deliver such races, if we are on the podium and if [Vettel] is not. For this to happen, we need the best possible performances from our teammates and the best possible performances from McLaren to take points from Red Bull. »
For Eddie Jordan, interviewed by GPUpdate.net, Fernando Alonso forgot to mention his teammate, who is still in the best position to help him in the title race. It was rather strange to see Alonso say that he needed help from McLaren. He didn’t really talk about his teammate, who, in all likelihood, should have been the first thing he talked about. What he didn’t need on Sunday was for the mechanics to miss Felipe’s stop; it would have been a happy day for Ferrari and would have made a difference in the Constructors’ standings and, for him, mentally, to see Vettel finishing 5th. I would have liked Fernando to be a bit more respectful towards his teammate and, instead of just talking about McLaren, he should include him.
However, it must be noted that apart from the last German Grand Prix, Felipe Massa never really seemed capable of positioning himself between Fernando Alonso and his rivals in the championship, thus justifying the rumors that the likeable Brazilian driver might be on a more or less long-term ejector seat. Consequently, even though the Sao Paulo native has received support from Luca di Montezemolo, one might wonder if the intention of the Spanish driver, through his statements merely hinting at the performances of teammates, was to provoke Felipe Massa to raise his level out of pride and become the teammate he needs at the end of the season and with a view to 2012.
However, the former boss of the Jordan Grand Prix team, and now a consultant for the BBC, is not more surprised than that and assures that Alonso is not more selfish than anyone else. « It must be remembered that every driver is deeply selfish, it’s typical of racing drivers. They only think about themselves and I believe that is the case for any talented athlete. […] It’s just the nature of the beast, nothing bad should be seen in it: it’s part of life. »
