Lauda: « I’m sure the idea comes from Alonso »

Niki Lauda believes it was Fernando Alonso who came up with the idea of having an observer sent by the FIA to keep an eye on the actions of his McLaren Mercedes team for the Brazilian Grand Prix.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that the FIA would send a special observer to ensure that the season ends in pure and perfect fairness between the drivers. This is particularly the case at McLaren between drivers Alonso and Hamilton.

The FIA made the decision following a request from the head of the Spanish motorsport federation, Carlos Gracia, who will also be present during the race.

However, Lauda, former F1 champion, believes that the initial idea came from the increased surveillance and mistrust of Alonso.

« I think Fernando Alonso might have had this idea in his head, » he declared to the newspaper Bild.

In the meantime, the Austrian warned that we should expect to see Alonso causing trouble with McLaren, especially with Ron Dennis, the team boss, when the time comes to discuss his future with the team.

« Ron is not an easy man, but I always knew the limit, I couldn’t jeopardize my sponsors, that is to say the people involved in distributing my salary, » he told Reuters.

« It will be interesting to see what happens after Brazil, » concluded Niki Lauda.

Already, some newspapers report that Alonso is on the way to Renault next season, even though this has been refuted by the team which described these reports as pure speculation.