Alonso Uses Anniversary to Reopen Mclaren Wounds

Fernando Alonso's lingering hostility towards the McLaren-Mercedes team spilled over yesterday when he said that he would not be allowed to win if he were still with the team because their whole approach is slanted towards supporting Lewis Hamilton's efforts.

Alonso, who won the world championship in 2005 and 2006, was speaking on the first anniversary of his acrimonious split with McLaren here in Budapest, a breach which ended with him rowing with the chairman, Ron Dennis, and his right-hand man, Martin Whitmarsh.

McLaren sources have since revealed that the Spanish driver was almost fired on the spot after deliberately blocking Hamilton during qualifying for the 2007 Hungarian grand prix, earning himself a five-place grid penalty.

"If I was driving for them this year, it wouldn't make any difference because I would be in just the same situation as [Heikki] Kovalainen and not allowed to win," he said. "But I am much happier this year [at Renault] for sure. So at least I am happy to be with Renault with the full support of the team and knowing that everybody is working night and day to give me the best car possible. One day we will be seventh, one day we will be fifth and hopefully one day we will be on the podium and everybody on the podium will be there with some excitement."

This could be seen as a deliberately provocative remark intended to offend Dennis, who has specifically denied there were any team orders obliging the Finn to defer to Hamilton in either the British grand prix at Silverstone or the subsequent German race at Hockenheim. It was also viewed as a manifestation of his frustration that, despite him joining McLaren as a double world champion at the start of 2007, the team did not grant him the contractual droit du seigneur over the new boy Hamilton which might have enabled him to round off a hat-trick of titles.

Alonso's return to Renault has turned out to be something of a consolation prize intended to keep him in play in case a better opportunity comes along. His name has been frequently linked with Ferrari but the contractual reality is that the earliest he could join the famous Italian scuderia would be 2010 - and then only in the event that Kimi Raikkonen's contract is not renewed. Until then Alonso may have to continue to exist in limbo without a car capable of showing off his considerable talent. Speculation that he shook on a deal to join Ferrari some time in the future - at a secret meeting in Rome - with the Ferrari president, Luca di Montezemolo, as long ago as August last year was met with no response from the Alonso camp.

"I have a contract with Renault for the long term," he said ambiguously. "But of course at the end of every season you need to look at what the possibilities are. It is not the time now, but in September and October I will have a think and we will decide."

Asked if he felt he had now made his peace with Hamilton, Alonso dodged the question. "After last year here in my opinion there [is] nothing to say," he replied. "It was planned before qualifying that it was my turn to do the extra [qualifying] lap but I got penalized and all the mess started."

There is no doubt that Alonso must be ranked as one of the great drivers of his generation, a natural talent who has the potential to race wheel-to-wheel with any other driver on the starting grid.

Yet out of the cockpit he is capable of displaying a willfully capricious streak which often sees him marching to his own beat against what might seem to be his own interests. As another team principal remarked wistfully: "He's got great talent but, if he can screw over Ron Dennis, then he can do it to anybody."

The Renault team was reeling in the face of the news that one of their senior research and development engineers had been found dead on Wednesday in the grounds of the team's headquarters at Enstone in Oxfordshire.

William Millar, 53, who had been with the team for 27 years, had been seen walking down a bridleway on the Renault site. Shortly afterwards other employees working there heard a gunshot and Millar's body was found with a bullet in the head. Police have indicated that the incident is not being regarded as suspicious and a file has been passed to the local coroner.

How 2007 unfolded

After Hungary, Alonso went on to finish third in Turkey with Hamilton only managing fifth. The team's performance improved at Monza where Hamilton followed Alonso home for a McLaren 1-2. Relations worsened at Spa when Hamilton, who finished fourth, accused his team-mate of driving him off the road. But Hamilton profited from Alonso's crash at Fuji, winning the race and moving to within a win of the drivers' title. Hamilton spun off at Shanghai after McLaren ignored advice from their tyre manufactures. Alonso finished second behind Kimi Raikkonen. The FIA announced that they would monitor the McLaren team at Sao Paulo to ensure the drivers were treated equally. Taking a four-point championship lead into the final race, Hamilton surrendered the title to Raikkonen. Alonso, who came third, finished the season level on points with his team-mate.