F1 | Alonso on his farewell speech, his years at Ferrari the most intense and (sour) sweet memory

Abu Dhabi will be a bit of Fernando Alonso's weekend, and it is curious that the Spanish champion will perform his farewell step right on the cursed track that marked the beginning of the end of his dreams in red.

But from the world championships won at a very young age with Renault to the two unfortunate stints in McLaren, it is the five-year period with Ferrari that comes closest to telling us in a definitive way about Alonso as a man and driver, the best moment of his career in the very rewarding position for a driver , how terribly wrong.

Maranello's Alonso embodied all the characteristics of Ferrari's "tremendismo", the most genuine and overwhelming passion experienced in a constant hate and love, don't ask me why it goes like this but that's exactly how it goes and I suffer (and I enjoy it a little). Without bothering Catullus, the Spaniard was the leader in red dressed perhaps closer to the popular sentiment of the fans, capable with that claw all Latin to bring the most visceral transport of the fans into single-seaters, inflaming the hungry and insatiable red audience by throwing their hearts beyond the performance of cars that are often not up to par.

It is therefore not surprising if Fernando Alonso is still missed today by a substantial fringe of Prancing Horse enthusiasts. But behind the chivalrous deeds of the unyielding driver who twice came close to the title with Ferrari, lies the other side of the coin: that of the boy with a shady if not downright grumpy character, a polemical and intolerant character. The victories in Valencia in 2012 or GPs like those in Hungary in 2014 are small feats engraved in the annals, which however are counterbalanced by the arguments with the engineers over the lack of developments in 2012 or the rather unhappy exits in 2013, from the sadly infamous "scenes" of Monza to the "car in front" as a birthday present.

Because Fernando, after all, is this. Take or leave. He is a solitary captain, a generous and very fast risk taker, a fighter who has sublimated even Ferrari single-seaters that are much poorer than the current ones. A force of nature, to which, however, fate has always tended to trip up at the most beautiful moment. Whether it was a Russian carneade that acted as a stopper in the most important event of his career, or a completely flawed upgrade package that precluded him from the possibility of fighting as he deserved. All this led to tiredness, he ended up breaking relationships, leaving a somewhat negative and cumbersome memory of a champion who had given so much to the cause.

Fernando Alonso would have deserved to win at least one title with Ferrari. And the leitmotiv of the last days. Carried forward by the same managers who accompanied Fernando to the door, tired of his complaints. Because more or less it's always like this, after a while after the end of a love story only the good memories come back to mind. There were negative, unpleasant, annoying things between Alonso and Ferrari, but it was still true love. And for this reason we are certain that in the last laps of his career at Yas Marina the Spaniard's thoughts will return right there, to that missed overtaking against Petrov.

Antonino Rendina

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