Fernando Alonso looks back on decision to leave Ferrari in 2014: “Demanding years”. Fernando Alonso looks back on decision to leave Ferrari.

This year, Scuderia Ferrari with the duo Charles Leclerc – F1-75 seems to finally have the chance to fight to bring back to Maranello that Formula One world title which has been missing from the now very distant 2007. The Monegasque driver has won two of the first five races of the season and, despite the constant progress of Red Bull, he currently leads the world championship with a 19-point margin over reigning champion Max Verstappen ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix this weekend.

In a crowded calendar of 22 rounds, the road to achieving the goal is still long, but the hope of Charles Leclerc is to be able to extend his dream until the last GP of the season. The last one who managed to race for a championship in a red suit in the final race of the season, albeit losing, was Fernando Alonso.

The Spanish driver, who raced for the Maranello team from 2010 to 2014, saw his world champion dream vanish twice, one step away from the finish line: in 2010 and 2012. Two bitter and bitter defeats, even if each time he got behind the wheel of a clearly less performing car than the Red Bull which eventually won the title with Sebastian Vettel.

Much has been said and written about the relationship between the Spaniard and Ferrari, with memorable feats and hard disagreements between the two parties. Interviewed by the BBC, Ferrari Alonso retraced those seasons, also explaining his decision to leave the team two years before the end of the contract. A choice that led him to embrace the very unfortunate adventure with McLaren, who had just switched to Honda engines.

“The years in Ferrari have been very demanding – acknowledged Fernando Alonso – we have come close a couple of times [to win the title] and the missed opportunities have been very difficult to accept for everyone. The atmosphere within the team wasn’t great at one point. [For this] I decided to terminate the relationship with Ferrari, even though I had another two years of contract. Because it was the best thing for both sides”. However, to those who accuse him of having given up the possibility of scoring better results in the drivers’ championship than those which were possible with the Woking team, the two-time Formula 1 world champion has the answer ready: “If you do something in a moment of your life, it is because you feel that is right. Thanks to that decision, other opportunities have arrived” – he explained.

Show your support for Scuderia Ferrari with official merchandise collection from Puma! Enter the online Puma Store and shop securely! And get your F1 tickets for every race with VIP hospitality and unparalleled insider access. Click here for the best offers to support Charles and Carlos from the track!

“If I had stayed longer in different teams, I don’t think I could have had a chance to win anyway – added Fernando Alonso – because the sport was clearly dominated by only one team”. The reference is clearly to the Mercedes silver arrows, with which Fernando Alonso revealed that he had never negotiated for a transfer: “I didn’t have the opportunity to go to that team. I’ve never talked to Mercedes. So apart from that, finishing second in a red or orange or blue car doesn’t change much. You are still second”. – the former Ferrari driver concluded.