Fernando Alonso thinks his Ferrari successor Sebastian Vettel will need “luck” in the years that lie ahead of him.
The Spaniard has called time on his five-year stint at Maranello, apparently seeing more promise in McLaren’s impending works tie-up with Honda. Vettel, meanwhile, is switching from Red Bull – where he won every drivers’ title between 2010 and 2013 – to replace Alonso at beleaguered Ferrari. Asked if he has spoken to Vettel about the move, Alonso was quoted by the Spanish daily AS: “I told him ‘good luck’.”
Asked if the German will need luck, he admitted: “That’s what I thought but I didn’t say it to him. “I cannot wish anything bad to Ferrari, because from 2009 to 2014 only good things have happened to me. “I’ve grown, I’ve learned things as a driver and a person, we have come close to the title several times, but I have to say that we have competed against teams that were better than us. “Against Red Bull and its overwhelming technical mastery, and this year against Mercedes,” said Alonso.
The 33-year-old is so far refusing to even mention McLaren, undoubtedly his next employer but one he clashed so spectacularly and infamously with in 2007. “Something can be signed for two or three months already but to announce it there is maybe a delay because there are other things to consider with the project,” said Alonso, undoubtedly referring to McLaren-Honda and its ongoing deliberations. “I’m calm. I told the fans a month ago that the best is yet to come, things will be done but at the moment we need a bit of patience. “It is all done, but let’s now put it all together and make it better,” he added.
Alonso denied he is leaving Ferrari with a feeling of anger, but admitted to “sadness” and “frustration” at having not put the lid on at least one more title. With his own performance, however, he is completely satisfied. “I do not like to compare with my peers,” Alonso insisted. “But when you have a champion on the other side of the garage that if not for technical problems you beat them almost 19 to zero, I’m so proud and I think it’s impossible to say it has been bad years.”
