Alonso speaks on FIA ruling
2010-09-10 07:45
Monza - Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso has tried to consign F1's 'team orders' controversy to the past and says the title would be in no way diminished if he won it.
The Spaniard shrugged his shoulders when asked, ahead of his team's home Italian GP on Sunday, whether he felt any relief that the sport's governing body had decided to impose no further punishment on Ferrari. "It's something that is the past for us and we need to concentrate on Monza. It's something we have talked about too much already.
"I'm happy to see the FIA (International Automobile Federation) will go deep into the rules and try to clarify (them).
"There is no special feeling, nothing to say," Alonso added. "The decision was something we were waiting for and were ready to respect, whatever it was... we respect the decision, we keep everything as it was, points etc, so nothing changed for us."
Ferrari was fined $100 000 by stewards at Hockenheim in July for ordering Brazilian Felipe Massa to let team mate Alonso overtake and win the German GP in a 1-2 finish.
FIA council
The FIA's World Motor Sport Council decided during a hearing in Paris on Wednesday to impose no further sanctions on the team but to review the rule that bars the use of such orders. The decision kept Alonso's title hopes alive, although he is 41 points behind McLaren's overall leader Lewis Hamilton with six races, or 150 points, remaining.
Asked whether he would consider the title to be on par with his other two if he won it this season, Alonso did not hesitate: "Yes," he replied. "You win the title, you win the title."
Asked later for his definition of a worthy World champion and the ingredients that made one, Alonso smiled at the same old question served up in a different way.
"Whoever is first at the end, it is because he had more points than the others," he said. "It happens in all sports and this is the way it was in the history of Formula One and football, in Premier League, in tennis as well.
"I am sure you're talking about the decision of yesterday but you have to respect it, guys, and be calm. Respect everything as we do and don't worry."
