Formula 1 News

Pedro De la Rosa: “Fernando Alonso should stay at McLaren” 

Pedro de la Rosa, McLaren’s test driver, doesn’t believe his friend Fernando Alonso should leave the team despite the difficulties he experienced there over the season. Alonso has been widely speculated to be on the way out of McLaren, after months of troubled relationship between the Spaniard and team boss Ron Dennis.

However de la Rosa believes the former World Champion will stay at McLaren because it remains his strongest option to continue winning races. “If you asked me what I would do in Alonso’s shoes, I’d obviously say I’d stay at McLaren, because they have demonstrated to be a competitive team and Fernando is a born winner,” de la Rosa was quoted as telling radio station Cadena Ser. “Obviously, he must be happy with what he does, but there’s nothing suggesting he’s leaving; everyone is working as if Alonso will stay on.”

De la Rosa also rebuffed claims that Alonso did not receive McLaren’s support this season. “It’s incredible that anyone would still be wasting time by talking about a boycott against Alonso,” he stated. “To say that is an insult towards the team and towards me. Alonso was not impeded. No team go against their own interests and those of their drivers.”

The Spaniard also paid tribute to teammate Lewis Hamilton, who assumed the role of a DJ in a team party in Brazil on Sunday night, just hours after losing the world championship to Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen. “I think Hamilton should be admired,” de la Rosa said. “He lost the championship, yet he wanted to cheer up the mechanics and the engineers with the microphone in his hand.”

source: autosport