Fernando Alonso has broken his silence on the racism storm that hit last month's test at Barcelona - and has echoed Bernie Ecclestone view that the launching of an anti-racism campaign is not needed.
McLaren was subjected to hostile taunts from sections of spectators venting their anger at the team following their hero Alonso's turbulent year at Woking, with the Spaniard's rival Lewis Hamilton on the receiving end of vile racist abuse.
F1's governing body the FIA reacted by demanding Spanish authorities put measures in place to ensure there is no repeat of the scenes in future, while also announcing the planned launch of the 'Racing against Racism' initiative
However Alonso has defended his country's image, insisting the Barcelona incident was a one-off and wasn't reflective of the vast majority of the record crowd that attended that test.
"I don't think this is a racist country, and the fans aren't either," he was quoted as saying by Spain's AS newspaper.
"Anyone who says that there is racism in Spain is talking about isolated cases.
"The less we talk about what happened a fortnight ago the better, because it was a completely isolated case from someone who was celebrating [the] carnival.
"I haven't seen any video or recording of the alleged insults."
F1 supremo Ecclestone provoked some controversy last weekend, when he called the launch of the anti-racism campaign as unnecessary following what he saw as a 'one-off' incident.
When asked if the drive was necessary, Alonso said it wasn't and that it painted the Spanish people in the wrong light: "No. It was an isolated incident and if the FIA or anyone are saying that the Spanish fans are racist, it's laughable."
He added that he hadn't spoken to Hamilton about the incident and that he himself hadn't received any support after being called a "dog" at some races last year.
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