“Many people cursed me, saying I had blocked Alonso,” revealed Petrov, according to Germany's Bild newspaper.
As you all know, the Renault driver played a decisive role in the 2010 Formula One title fight, keeping Alonso behind him for no less than 39 laps during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The Spaniard got trapped in traffic following his early pit stop and tried hopelessly to pass Petrov in the race, but eventually had to settle for a poor 7th place, behind the Russian.
Consequently, Alonso (championship leader at the moment) lost the chance to bag his 3rd world title in career and finished the 2010 campaign in the runner-up spot. While many put the Spaniard's failed race on Ferrari's bad strategy, Petrov is not a driver to dispute that.
“It's nonsense, I did nothing wrong. For 39 laps I was in front of him but no one told me on the radio that I was helping Sebastian be world champion,” said the 26-year old rookie. “Even if he had (passed), he also had to pass Rosberg. I drove my own race and Ferrari made a tactical error.”
After the race, Alonso was seen gesturing angrily at Petrov from his cockpit, during the slow-down lap. Even if he didn't take his frustrations further in front of the media, the Spaniard was criticized afterwards by the Russian driver for his “bad education.”
In a move that will probably make Fernando Alonso and Ferrari fans even more angry, Petrov praised the title efforts made by world champion Sebastian Vettel and insisted that what the German managed to do in Abu Dhabi was not the result of luck (or bad luck for his rivals), but hard work.
“He deserves it. The newspapers said it was a miracle, but it was his hard work,” concluded Petrov.
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