- Ferrari
Alonso: Ferrari doubts started in 2013
Fernando Alonso had doubts about a long-term future at Ferrari in 2013 and says the team knew he could walk if it failed to give him a competitive car this season.
On Thursday Ferrari confirmed that Alonso will not be driving for the Italian team next season, which has been widely known in the paddock for several weeks. Alonso still had two years left to run on his deal but came to a "common consent" to split in September after the Spaniard decided he no longer wanted to drive for the team.
Alonso says he entered the 2014 season and the new turbo era with caution but is grateful Ferrari honoured his wish to leave the team.
"There was not one special moment of the year that opened my eyes," Alonso said. "Last year I had some doubts about 2014. I knew there was a big change of regulations so I thought it was best to check how the new turbo era was going for Ferrari. I have a very close relationship with [former] president [Luca] Di Montezemolo; we talk every week and we more or less agreed that if this year we were not competitive again maybe I could think of other options.
"When I arrived in the summer break I thought maybe it was time to sit with the president and say, if it was OK with them, I would like to go. I need to thank Ferrari so much because they could have said no but they understood it was best for the two parties and this is a true sign of respect and love for this team, and they showed me respect on that. I stop as a Ferrari driver but from Monday I am a Ferrari supporter."
Alonso insists he did not have anything else lined up when he made his decision to leave.
"I need to love what I am doing and in September I felt that was not the case. After that I started to look for possibilities. I trust what I will have. It's a new chapter in my career; I felt it was time to find new projects and new motivations. It was not an easy decision to make."
His five seasons with Ferrari have not yielded a world championship, despite near misses in 2010 and 2012, but Alonso believes he has grown as a driver since arriving at Maranello.
"I don't know really, I enjoyed the experience," Alonso said when asked if he would change anything about his time at Ferrari. "I feel very privileged for what we achieved and that I lived these years. The group of people I worked with has been amazing, I learned so many things in those five years. I'm not the same driver as I was when I arrived in 2009, I think I more prepared now, I'm better in all the aspects of driving skill and think it was a very, very important step in my career. You need to feel the moment when it is right to move."
Alonso will wear a special helmet this weekend in Abu Dhabi to mark his final race with the team, with signatures of every Ferrari employee written on one side with the colours of the Italian flag.
I will race this weekend with the whole team with me in the car. Their work and their signature, thanks for so much!! pic.twitter.com/hYudoLJvYq
— Fernando Alonso (@alo_oficial) November 20, 2014© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
