Alonso hits out at testing limits

Former world champion Fernando Alonso hit out at Formula One legislators who have chosen to limit testing, claiming it would be like a footballer training without a ball.

In an attempt to reduce spending and shorten the gap between the top teams and less competitive ones, policy-makers in F1 have set stringent limits on the amount of testing drivers can do.

Instead they are expected to drive karts to keep themselves in form for F1 commitments. But that’s got the Spaniard all riled up.

“Motorcyclists with motocross, drivers with karting – these are the nearest things to what we drive but they’re still very different and it doesn’t help,” moaned Alonso at Ferrari’s joint publicity event in Madonna di Campiglio alongside Ducati.

“It would be like forcing (Lionel) Messi to train with a racket rather than a ball or Rafael Nadal with a table tennis bat.

“When they then went back to playing they would have the same problems that we have.

“I race karts because I can’t do nothing for four months, rather than to keep in training.”

The 30-year-old also blasted press speculation about his private life, notably his split from pop singer wife Raquel.

“I’ve never spoken about my private life and I won’t do it even this time,” he said. “People say that I spend a lot of time at (Ferrari’s training base) Maranello but over Christmas I was in Oviedo.

“Then it was written that I was in Oviedo when in fact I was in Los Angeles, in California.

“But maybe someone got confused with Los Angeles di San Rafael close to Segovia, which isn’t far from Madrid.

“Then they wrote I was in a night-club in Madrid but in that instant whoever did the cutting and pasting hadn’t noticed that I was in fact at the Japanese GP.”

Alonso wasn’t any more forthcoming when it came to racing matters, refusing to make any prediction on his chances next season.

“Winning isn’t an obligation, sport is about sacrifice, team commitment and passion,” he added.

“But then results depend on many other things and hence there is no obligation to win.”