Fernando Alonso says his critical radio comment about Lewis Hamilton on the opening lap of the Belgian Grand Prix only garnered “huge media interest” due to Hamilton’s nationality.
The pair, who formed a rivalry when they were team mates at McLaren in 2007, collided at Les Combes when Mercedes’ Hamilton attempted to overtake Alpine’s Alonso around the outside.
The incident sent Hamilton skyward and then down to the ground with a 45G impact, ultimately putting an end to his race before the first lap was complete. Alonso continued on and made several remarks over the radio about Hamilton that were broadcast on television.
“What an idiot,” Alonso remarked on his radio at the time. “Closed the door from the outside. I mean, we had a mega start but this guy only knows how to drive starting first.”
Alonso retracted his comments immediately after the race. On Thursday at the Dutch Grand Prix reiterated that his outburst did not reflect his true opinions of his rival, but said the media interest in them was due in part to Hamilton’s nationality.
“First of all, it’s Lewis, he’s the champion, he’s a legend of our time,” said Alonso. “And then when you say something, and I’m sorry to repeat this, against a British driver, there is a huge media involvement after that.
“They’ve been saying a lot of things to Checo [Perez], to Carlos [Sainz], to me, if you say something to a Latin driver, everything’s a little bit more fun. When you say something to others, it’s a little bit more serious.”
He stressed his comments were borne out of frustration at their collision while the pair disputed second place at the start.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
“Yes I apologised. I feel I’ve completely, I was not thinking what I said, I don’t think that there was much to blame in that moment, to be honest, looking at the replays and everything, because it’s a first-lap incident, we are all very close together.
“The heat of the moment and the adrenaline of the moment, fighting for finally the top two, top three, made me say those comments that I should not say. But, at the same time and I said also after the race, it was a racing incident in my opinion.”
Alonso has previously said he does not believe drivers’ radio conversations should be broadcast publicly, a view he reiterated.
“When you say something on the radio, in that moment you think that you are talking with your engineer. So you are preparing the strategy,…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at RaceFans…