“Unfortunately, these days, we no longer see this sort of fight because
there are more difficulties to deal with.
“The cars are now dominated by aerodynamics and those sorts of passing
moves are no longer possible.
“On top of that, there was definitely more respect then than there is
now between us drivers, partly because they knew that, in those cars, they
were risking their lives.
“I don’t want to say that today things are done incorrectly, but I
believe there is not that mutual respect, at least not from everyone, that
there was back then.
“It’s a problem that goes back a long way, to the junior categories, and
I think the time has come to try and get it back.”
Just 17 days ago after the Bahrain Grand Prix, Alonso was left angered by a
sharp manoeuvre from Nico Rosberg in his Mercedes that forced him to take
evasive action on to a wide run-off area.
As Alonso noted after the race, if there had been a wall to his right rather
than an open swathe of asphalt, he would not have been around to discuss the
issue.
Remarkably, the stewards took no action against Rosberg, which prompted Alonso
to remark on his Twitter account: “I think you are going to have fun in
future races! You can defend position as you want and you can overtake
outside the track! Enjoy!”
Alonso’s words could be tested when, following a short break that included a
test in Mugello last week, F1 resumes again in the 30-year-old’s homeland of
Spain this weekend.
Alonso has so far endured a mixed bag of results in a relatively uncompetitive
Ferrari that still managed to win in problematic conditions in Malaysia.
With a number of revisions made to the car throughout the test in Mugello, the
hope now is Ferrari and Alonso can rediscover the winning habit over the
remainder of the campaign.
Alonso, who trails championship leader Sebastian Vettel by 10 points, said: “In
Montmelo we will be counting on making a step forward.
“But we won’t know until Saturday if we have and, if so, how big a step
it is.
“We have updates on the car, some of which we tested in Mugello last
week and others we will try out on Friday in free practice.
“Clearly, having limited the damage in the first four races this year,
we must turn things around.
“Having said that, it’s not the case that if we are not on pole in
Barcelona then it’s the end of the world.
“The important thing is to make progress, reducing the gap as much as
possible, first this weekend, then again in Monaco and after that, in
Montreal, Valencia, Silverstone …
“We must continue to work day and night, and with the same spirit of
wanting to win and being prepared to fight with all one’s strength to
achieve that, which is the spirit that has driven me ever since I was a kid
racing karts.”