Former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has revealed that Ferrari's competitive performance in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix left him "feeling bad" for Fernando Alonso.
Di Montezemolo's guilt is in regard to Alonso losing the 2010 drivers' title by just four points to four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel.
Alonso, who was racing for Ferrari at the time, spent the majority of the 2010 Abu Dhabi season finale stuck behind Renault's Vitaly Petrov, resulting in the Spaniard finishing in seventh.
To become a three-time world champion that year, the 43-year-old needed to finish in fourth, something which was on the cards based on him qualifying in third.
Unfortunately, Alonso failed to overtake Petrov, who defended magnificently.
What makes Di Montezemelo think of Alonso, is that Ferrari performed strongly in the recent race at the Yas Marina Circuit.
In his final race for Ferrari, Carlos Sainz secured second ahead of Charles Leclerc in third; however, McLaren still won the constructors' title.
"Formula 1 has truly become a competition that involves all the continents," said said Di Montezemolo, speaking on the 'La Politica nel Pallone' on Radio GR Parlamento.
"The 2024 championship was an unpredictable one and finally there is a positive element in seeing Ferrari that at the last GP showed up capable of winning: if I think of Alonso in 2010 I feel bad, a 4th place would have been enough.
"Ferrari this year had ups and downs, but it improved a lot, fighting until the end for the Constructors' World Championship.
"There are the premises for a good championship next year, let's hope it's the good one. Then in 2026 we'll start from scratch."
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