Alonso and Ralf Schumacher in bust up over kart track

Fernando Alonso and Ralf Schumacher have clashed over a dispute to do with karting. The European karting championship takes place in Spain this weekend, at Alonso's very own karting track. Schumacher, however, has criticised it.

"For the first time since I joined karting again it feels totally wrong to race at a track like this," said Ralf, saying the circuit is damaging karts and endangering the "health" of the drivers.

Schumacher could well be referring to an incident that happened a number of weeks ago after a young boy was killed while racing around the circuit. But from Montreal, Alonso lashed back at the former F1 driver when he heard about the critical comments.

"I think Ralf has been out of the headlines for many years and needs some publicity," said the McLaren-Honda driver. "He also has a kart track where he wants to host a European championship event himself, and perhaps the FIA is not happy with it. I think only Ralf is breaking things, so he may need to tell his drivers to stay on the asphalt. Maybe he's running out of money."

Fergal Walsh