Alonso Denies Role in Fry Recruitment at Ferrari

Fernando Alonso has only great things to say about Ferrari's new recruitment for the 2011 Formula 1 season, namely former McLaren Chief Engineer of Race Development, Pat Fry. And his constant praising of the former McLaren employee has led to some believing that the 2-time world champion has had some saying in Ferrari's decision to sign Fry.

The Spaniard had previously worked with Fry back in his McLaren days, during the ill-fated campaign in 2007 (actually his first and only season with the British squad).

Signed by Ferrari midway through last season and named as official replacement of Chris Dyer – whom many accused of being responsible for Ferrari's failure bid for the drivers' title last year – for the chief engineering position at Maranello, Fry has apparently hit it off with Alonso. Talking about Ferrari's improvements for 2011, the latter insisted the former McLaren man has already made an impression within the Maranello squad.

“When he arrived, he (Fry) brought new ideas, another way of working, fresh air,” said Alonso in a recent interview with Spain's El Pais newspaper. Additionally, when remembering his time with Fry at McLaren, Alonso admitted that the man was hardly caught off guard about anything.

“When making a decision, there was nothing that caught him (Fry) by surprise. It's what we needed,” he insisted.

However, the 2-time world champion made it very clear that he had no saying in Ferrari's decision, although he does find the addition an obvious improvement for the season to come.

“No. I was told about it the day before it was announced,” said the 2-time world champion.