Prost: « Alonso should have been the number 1 »

Four-time world champion Alain Prost believes that McLaren boss Ron Dennis made a mistake by not installing Fernando Alonso as the number one driver of his team this year.

And the former McLaren driver, who previously struggled with his equally famous teammate Ayrton Senna, believes that the problems within the British team this year were caused by Dennis wanting to create a situation of equality between the two drivers.

« I think that Ron Dennis is in a situation that is slipping away from him involuntarily, » said Prost for the Italian magazine Autosprint.

His problem is that he has always tended to sympathize more with one of his team’s drivers, who then benefits from his protective attitude. It was like that with Senna, Hakkinen (Mika), and now with Hamilton (Lewis).

« That’s his way of acting and we can’t change anything, but it doesn’t necessarily mean technically favoring his preferred driver. It’s simply his way of behaving, of communicating his sympathy towards a driver. » Prost continued

« I think the reason why Alonso’s mood has progressively deteriorated is that he is not handling well the favoritism shown by Ron Dennis towards the English driver, » he explained.

« Ron Dennis made a fundamental mistake by not establishing a hierarchy beforehand. He should have hired Alonso in the role of number one driver in a clear and indisputable manner. Hamilton should have been number 2. »

Prost even goes so far as to suggest that, if Alonso were number one, the Spaniard would have already secured the world title while Hamilton would have been well-prepared for the battle that is brewing for 2008.

« Probably, Alonso should have won the championship this year and, in 2008, Hamilton would have appreciated the situation from 2007, which would have allowed him to mature without any pressure. And all the problems they have now could have been avoided. On the other hand, everything is now much more complicated. »

« Today, I think the future of each F1 team is to clearly define hierarchies between the drivers. It’s sad for the competition, for the sport, and for the show, but that’s the direction events have taken, » suggested Prost.

Alonso may have slightly exaggerated with the criticisms and the way he approached them, but it all stems from Dennis’s desire to convince his drivers that, within his team, there is a situation of perfect technical equality.

There are other aspects: human and psychological elements, for example, that cannot lead to a situation of absolute equality. Alonso’s problems start from there, concluded the former driver.