Villeneuve backs Alonso's 'retaliation': 'He had no other choice'
The infamous Fernando Alonso–Lewis Hamilton feud of 2007 still sparks debate nearly two decades later. But Jacques Villeneuve believes the Spaniard never stood a fair chance at McLaren, blaming then-team boss Ron Dennis for “destroying” the team’s internal balance.
Appearing on the Red Flags Podcast, the 1997 World Champion leapt to the defence of his former Renault teammate, arguing Alonso was forced into conflict after realising that Dennis had thrown full support behind rookie sensation Hamilton.
Put to him that Hamilton ultimately edged Alonso in the championship, Villeneuve rebuked that claim.
“You also have to take into account that McLaren signed him, or Ron Dennis signed him, as a double World Champion.
"He did it for the sponsors and all that. Then he announced Hamilton [and said]: ‘OK, Hamilton is our champion. We don’t like you, Fernando.’ Excuse me?”
'Ron Dennis unbalanced McLaren, Alonso had no other choice'
Villeneuve said the treatment Alonso received left the Spaniard no choice but to retaliate.
“When a team boss unbalances internally a team like that, you have to fight back and that’s what happened.
"Alonso was not in a fair field at that point and he had to fight his own battle alone in the team. That actually destroyed the team ultimately.”
The 2007 season has gone down as one of the most dramatic in F1 history.
With Alonso and Hamilton taking points off each other, Kimi Räikkönen swept in to snatch the title for Ferrari by a single point.
The fallout at McLaren proved severe as well: Alonso and the team parted ways after just one year, with the Spaniard returning to Renault for 2008.
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