Alonso denies blame for Hamilton crash

Fernando Alonso on Sunday refused to accept the blame for a collision with his former McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

The incident, which had some British TV pundits wondering whether the Spaniard had deliberately slowed down or even `brake tested` Hamilton, resulted in the former championship leader having to pit for a new nose following a dire start to the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The rear wing on Alonso`s Renault was damaged, but he did not accept the blame for the accident.

“The McLaren was just a lot faster than my car and he crashed into me,” the 26-year-old, who finished the race tenth, told the Spanish broadcaster Telecinco.

After the race, Renault technical boss Pat Symonds was keen to rubbish the brake test rumours by showing pundits a print-out of Alonso`s telemetry data.

McLaren team boss Ron Dennis, meanwhile, refused to point the finger at his former charge when he was asked about the incident immediately after the chequered flag.

Hamilton finished the race 13th, meaning that both Kimi Raikkonen and BMW`s Nick Heidfeld overtake him in the drivers` classification.

McLaren also lost the lead of the constructors` championship, but Hamilton was not among those who openly wondered about Alonso`s driving.

“I have no idea. I was behind him, I went to move to the right and he went to move to the right as well and I ended up on the back somehow. It`s racing,” he said.

Hamilton said he blamed himself for his poor finishing position, triggered by his loss of seven places with a mistake at the start.

“It was a very poor performance and I sort of let the team down today,” the Briton added.

Source: GMM

6.4.2008   ▪ Formula One    ▪ en.f1-live.com

Alonso denies blame for Hamilton crash

Fernando Alonso on Sunday refused to accept the blame for a collision with his former McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton.

The incident, which had some British TV pundits wondering whether the Spaniard had deliberately slowed down or even `brake tested` Hamilton, resulted in the former championship leader having to pit for a new nose following a dire start to the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The rear wing on Alonso`s Renault was damaged, but he did not accept the blame for the accident.

“The McLaren was just a lot faster than my car and he crashed into me,” the 26-year-old, who finished the race tenth, told the Spanish broadcaster Telecinco.

After the race, Renault technical boss Pat Symonds was keen to rubbish the brake test rumours by showing pundits a print-out of Alonso`s telemetry data.

McLaren team boss Ron Dennis, meanwhile, refused to point the finger at his former charge when he was asked about the incident immediately after the chequered flag.

Hamilton finished the race 13th, meaning that both Kimi Raikkonen and BMW`s Nick Heidfeld overtake him in the drivers` classification.

McLaren also lost the lead of the constructors` championship, but Hamilton was not among those who openly wondered about Alonso`s driving.

“I have no idea. I was behind him, I went to move to the right and he went to move to the right as well and I ended up on the back somehow. It`s racing,” he said.

Hamilton said he blamed himself for his poor finishing position, triggered by his loss of seven places with a mistake at the start.

“It was a very poor performance and I sort of let the team down today,” the Briton added.

Source: GMM

6.4.2008   ▪ Formula One    ▪ Alonso, Hamilton    ▪ en.f1-live.com