Two fellow sporting champions have backed Fernando Alonso’s departure from McLaren after a single acrimonious season in 2007.
Tennis great and former world number one Boris Becker, a renowned grand prix racing fan, told Bild newspaper at the ‘Stars and Cars’ event in Stuttgart: “After all the problems and the suffering, both sides will be happy now that the line has been drawn.”
Multiple MotoGP title winner Valentino Rossi, meanwhile, accused the Woking based team of “abusing” fellow world champion Alonso this year.
The flamboyant Italian compared Alonso’s situation to his own unfriendly split with Honda a few years ago, “although I believe it was worse for him than it was for me”.
“My situation was better because (moving to another team) was a challenge that I wanted,” Rossi told the Spanish sports daily Marca.
“It was not an easy situation for Fernando and I can understand wanting to get out in order to breath some fresh air.
“It is not ideal to have to compete under those conditions.
“McLaren did not treat Fernando as they should have, and that has hurt him.
“You cannot treat someone who has been champion the same as someone who arrives freshly,” Rossi added, referring to Alonso’s rookie teammate in 2007, Lewis Hamilton.
He also said he does “not believe” speculation linking Alonso with a switch to Red Bull Racing in 2008.
