Former Formula 1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella has dismissed criticism that his former Renault team mate Fernando Alonso causes more trouble than he's worth.
Fisichella raced alongside Alonso for two seasons in 2005 and 2006 and said that things could not have gone better between them.
"We shared two very nice years together," Fisichella told the El Mundo Deportivo newspaper. "There was an atmosphere in the team that I had never encountered before.
"We were friends and we got along very well," he added. "Together we won everything. We had an optimal relationship and friendship."
The Italian said he wished Alonso nothing but the best for the future, whether that's in world endurance racing, IndyCar - or even an eventual return to F1.
"I would tell him to continue doing what he knows how to do best," Fisichella said. "He has achieved so much and I wish him luck."
Another former team mate of Alonso, Felipe Massa, had been among those quoted as suggesting that Alonso disrupted any team he was in.
"I have to admit, it was not easy to live by his side," the Brazilian said last week. "He can split a team. We saw that in many racing teams he drove for.
"Maybe he could have made more of his talent without this trait," Massa added.
And Red Bull boss Christian Horner had also come to a similar view, suggesting that Alonso had burned too many bridges over his time in the sport to find a new berth away from McLaren next year.
“I’ve got huge respect for Fernando, he’s a great, fantastic driver," Horner said. "[But] he’s tended to cause a bit of chaos wherever he’s gone."
However Alonso seems to be getting on well with the Toyota WEC squad. Along with team mates Sébastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima, he has won the first three races of the current superseason - although the most recent at Silverstone was disallowed due to technical infringement.
Now Alonso's focus is back on Formula 1 and a return to the Circuit Spa-Francorchamps for this weekend's Belgian Grand Prix, the first of his final nine races before stepping away from F1 at the end of the year.
"Even though Formula 1 has been on its summer shutdown, it feels like a lot has happened since Hungary!" he said this week.
"I’m pleased to finally confirm my decision for 2019, but that doesn’t in any way deter from what me or the team will be focusing on for the rest of the year.
“We still have a lot of work to do and I’m really looking forward to being back in the car.
"Although I’ve raced more recently that anyone else on the grid, at Silverstone in WEC last weekend, I still can’t wait to get behind the wheel at Spa. It’s one of the best circuits on the calendar and usually a lot of fun.
"Spa is the longest track we race on and a lot of it is at full throttle, so it will be a challenging weekend for us.
"But, I feel fresh, motivated and ready to attack the weekend and the second half of the season.”
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