- McLaren
'Mature' Alonso asked only for equality - Dennis
Ron Dennis says Fernando Alonso is a more mature person than he was in 2007 and only asked for equality alongside Jenson Button before returning to McLaren.
Alonso left McLaren in acrimonious circumstances in 2007 following a falling out with Dennis and a tense season alongside rookie team-mate Lewis Hamilton. He returned to the Woking outfit ahead of this season and McLaren CEO Dennis says both men have changed since their time together eight years ago.
"Everyone has moved on and certainly I am mellower," Dennis said. "I think Fernando is more mature."
Part of the problem in 2007 was Alonso's belief he would be afforded number one status alongside Hamilton, something which did not materialise as the pair fought for the title on equal footing. Dennis says Alonso made no such demands when he re-joined ahead of this year.
"I can promise you one thing with Fernando - he never even asked [for priority treatment]. In fact the opposite, total opposite. He said 'equality, I accept equality'. He has never asked for a single thing to be inserted in the contract."
Dennis thinks the rift of 2007 was blown out of proportion because it came at a time when McLaren was under scrutiny due to the Spygate scandal.
"The whole thing took on a momentum, and whatever was happening within the team, it was at a time when the environment was a very controversial environment for the sport as a whole and great emphasis was placed on many things that happened. We were perhaps the reciprocant of a climate that F1 had at the time; actually what took place was relatively trivial in reality, but heavily amplified, and everyone got pretty bruised by it."
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