175 replies to this topic

[Collombin]

discover23, on 23 Jul 2014 - 14:34, said:

8 years without a title yet he is still rated by most pundits as the best driver in formula 1 . That already says a lot about how good Fernando is and how he deserves to be on any list with the greatest.

And how stats (eg. number of WDC titles) without context are worse than useless, they are positively misleading.

[ensign14]

I think he was the best talent since Senna - and there's barely a gnat's crotchet between him and Hamilton.  Right now he is monstering a former world champ and a man who kept Schumacher honest in inferior equipment. 

[George Costanza]

He will be top 12 when he retires for sure.

 

If he wins another title, then he's top 8.

[stuck-in-first-gear]

Top 10 driver. Very good allrounder, but he has been with Ferrari for too long without any measurable result. Looking back at his career, he will probably be slightly disappointed.

[Burtros]

as65p, on 23 Jul 2014 - 14:52, said:

He didn't.

 

At a stretch. Drivers can hardly finish a season more equal than that.

 

What's that supposed to mean? Are you blaming him for fighting for WDCs in 2nd or 3rd best cars?

 

Come on man, it's obvious what you're up to. A honest thread title would have been "I can't stand Alonso so let's look for ways to downgrade him".

 

there are a couple of people here who have commented negativly on the quality of Alonso's teammates in comparison to those of Michael Schumacher... which is just bizarre really!! Selective memories there I think.

[BlackCat]

better than Schumacher, so somewhere between 40 and 50. (not trolling, just rating everybody from 70ies higher than those from 80ies, from 80ies higher than from 90ies etc)

[RockyRaccoon68]

Following F1 properly since late 90s/very early 00s and he's the best I've ever personally witnessed.

[03011969]

BlackCat, on 23 Jul 2014 - 15:15, said:

not trolling, just rating everybody from 70ies higher than those from 80ies, from 80ies higher than from 90ies etc

 

Yes, every driver from one decade is better than every driver from a subsequent decade. 

 

True, that isn't trolling, it's just laughably illogical.

[Jimisgod]

In chronological order the better drivers are:

Fangio
Moss
Clark
Stewart
Lauda
Prost
Senna
Schumacher

And arguably Brabham.

Thus he is probably about 8th, 9th or 10th.

[George Costanza]

ensign14, on 23 Jul 2014 - 15:02, said:

I think he was the best talent since Senna - and there's barely a gnat's crotchet between him and Hamilton.  Right now he is monstering a former world champ and a man who kept Schumacher honest in inferior equipment. 

Again with inferior? You outright denial of Schu is scary...

[chunder27]

In reply to George.

 

I would suggest that whatever the reason people exclude Schumacher and for me, to some extent Senna (though you can never argue with his attitude, charisma and speed things Schuey lacked), is the contact element and their willingness to do anything, absolutely anything within their reason to win.

 

That I think is why we perhaps look at most drivers before their era with rose tints, and maybe why guys like Button, Alonso, Kimi and the like do seem to be a hark back to those days, where if a move is not strictly on they will usually give way.

 

Schuey and Senna wouldn't, maybe Hamilton or Vettel too. And this sets them apart. For good or bad in most peoples eyes, I doubt many sit in the fence on that one!

[Atreiu]

1 - Senna/Prost
3 - Schumacher
4 - Fangio
5 - Clark
6 - Lauda/Piquet/Stewart
9 - Moss/Fittipaldi

Between 11th and 15th.

---

He has gone 8 years without a title but not 8 years without opportunities.
The way he mishandled 2007 was ridiculous, as if he was also a rookie. If he were truly a great, like Prost/Senna/Schumacher, first he'd get mad, then he'd get even. Instead he got mad, despaired, quit for shelter and comfort and a less challenging environment. Even then his first half of 2008 was so disastrous it was obvious he still hadn't put it all behind. 2010 was a title thrown away by the mistakes in the first half of the season. And even before Pirelli changed its tyres mid season in 2013, he had wasted opportunities and let Vettel slip away.
That's why he is not in my top ten despite his relentlessness and racecraft.

Edited by Atreiu, 24 July 2014 - 05:09.

[sennafan24]

George Costanza, on 23 Jul 2014 - 16:49, said:

Again with inferior? You outright denial of Schu is scary...

I presume he means 2003?

[InSearchOfThe]

Fangio

Clark

Senna

MSC

Prost

Stewart

Alonso

[AlexS]

I can't say the all time because i didn't seeothers. Since the 80's :

 

 

 

In speed he is far from 10 first faster drivers.

 

In will, obsessive professionalism and going around problems is in top 3.

[ardbeg]

I have given the question a whole lot of thought and after running some simulations and cross references the result is: 11

[spacekid]

Of drivers I've watched (since the late 80s) and not just read about, top 5 easily.

[amppatel]

Shouldn't this go in the SQT?

[Sarkon]

Top 10-15.

Don´t think the has that small bit of an extra speed some other drivers have\had which leaves you with an open mouth on some sundays + he´s not really exceptional in the wet so this put him down for me.

If he goes down in history as a double champ "only" this might be revised.

Edited by Sarkon, 23 July 2014 - 18:22.

[Goron3]

He is the best driver I've watched race, and that includes Schumacher who is my personal idol. He is just relentless, particularly in the races, and his racecraft is second to none. He rarely gets involved in silly incidents but at the same time he pulls off some audacious overtakes. He's been the standout performer in F1 for the past 5 years imo.

 

It's hard to rank drivers from different eras but he's certainly up there with Prost, Senna and Schumacher imo. 

[as65p]

AlexS, on 23 Jul 2014 - 18:01, said:

In speed he is far from 10 first faster drivers.

 

Just for laughs, how do you rate Raikkönnens speed?

 

Seriously, it's hilarious to deny Alonsos speed. He was as fast as Hamilton back in the day, you think Lewis was speed wasn't exceptional in 2007?

[noikeee]

Behind the super dominant beasts (Schumacher, Fangio, Clark, Senna), I think I'd rank Prost a notch ahead of him too, and then there's a branch with the likes of Stewart and Lauda where I think he fits in well. So top 10 but not top 5.

[MJB5990]

Somewhere with Stewart, Villeneuve, Brabham, Piquet, Lauda and people like that. Between 7th and 15th.

 

I'd always keep these top seven though: Senna, Prost, Fangio, Moss, Ascari, Schumacher, Clark. Not in order, BTW.

[f1RacingForever]

It was a good op until it got to the massa part and beyond. Alonso, the lucky guy whose teammates suddenly become **** why they face him. He's had much better teammates than Schumacher ever did but that doesn't seem to affect Schumachers reputation. Honestly it hard to say exactly where he ranks all time. I don't think there is much of a difference between guys like senna, prost, clark ect..

[RedRabbit]

I wasn't particularly an admirer of his until he joined Ferrari. I'd always begrudgingly admitted he was good, but just couldnt stand him. His absolute relentless performances in sub-par Ferrari's have absolutely changed my opinion and he is able, without doubt,  to stand shoulder to shoulder with Senna, Prost and Schumacher. Had his cars been even just slightly more competitive throughout the year he would easily have another 2 titles to his name.

 

What I enjoy about him, is that fighting for the lead of the race is equally important to him as fighting for 10th place - he just wont give up and he'll do that all season as if his life depended on it. That kind of attitude alone is deserving as being recognised as one of the greats.

[ExEd]

Cant say since he is still active, but ,say he retires today, would make it to my top 10.

Although im a Mclaren fan, i really started to respect his skills in those late Ferrari years ,much later of his championships and the Macca season.

He is clearly over-driving (is that a word?) that Ferraris in places they shouldn't be and yes,he under performs for time to time, but that happens to all.

 

In general i think him and Hamilton above all others and i believe most of f1 fanbase feels the same.

 

[Shuralonso]

top 1

[bourbon]

You can't rate these drivers "all time" before they retire. 

 

Alonso has already done enough to be among the creme of the crop (greats) of the sport upon retirement (among around 42 drivers at present).  However, his exact placement among those few drivers cannot be determined until he retires. 

Edited by bourbon, 23 July 2014 - 19:29.

[P123]

He's up there with the best of all time- mid top 10, lower top 10.. .whatever, that's only going to become ever more crowded over the decades. Hopefully he will win one or two more WDC before he retires, as his talent deserves. He came fairly close in 2010 and 2012 in a much lesser car to the one that the WDC was clinched in.

[Fondmetal]

I would say the last 5 seasons have defined Alonso the best driver of the current generation and certainly top 6 of all time. I would go as far as saying he can be placed level with Senna Prost Schumacher. Vettel and Hamilton do not even come close we know Hamilton is fast but he has mind issues that will prevent him from being that great driver and Vettel well as Alonso said last year where would he be in a mediocre car? Moreover he is being destroyed by Ricciardo in the race and qualifying.

Edited by Fondmetal, 23 July 2014 - 19:36.

[George Costanza]

Sarkon, on 23 Jul 2014 - 18:20, said:

Top 10-15.

Don´t think the has that small bit of an extra speed some other drivers have\had which leaves you with an open mouth on some sundays + he´s not really exceptional in the wet so this put him down for me.

If he goes down in history as a double champ "only" this might be revised.

His 2008 and 2012 seasons would counter this... He has been good in wet, see Hungary 2006 and Spa 2008, Sepang 2012. Ok he had a bad race for Japan in 2007....  Last season Fred was wonderful as well.

 

Sure is not like Schu would do it ever single season, but...

[Rob]

I've given up trying to rank drivers. Trying to decide if Fangio or Alonso is the better driver is like trying to decide the better pilot out of Orville Wright and Chuck Yeager. Worlds apart.

 

He's pretty damn good. I'll leave it at that.

[thechin]

chunder27, on 23 Jul 2014 - 17:15, said:

In reply to George.

 

I would suggest that whatever the reason people exclude Schumacher and for me, to some extent Senna (though you can never argue with his attitude, charisma and speed things Schuey lacked), is the contact element and their willingness to do anything, absolutely anything within their reason to win.

 

That I think is why we perhaps look at most drivers before their era with rose tints, and maybe why guys like Button, Alonso, Kimi and the like do seem to be a hark back to those days, where if a move is not strictly on they will usually give way.

 

Schuey and Senna wouldn't, maybe Hamilton or Vettel too. And this sets them apart. For good or bad in most peoples eyes, I doubt many sit in the fence on that one!

Totally agree and got called out for talking nonsense when I said that Schumacher should not be considered an all time great.

 

Also, I don't get the titles obsession. People here saying if he wins another title then he will be top 5, but if he doesn't then he won't? Surely if the last few years (and this one) have taught us anything it is that pretty much anyone can win a title in the right car.

 

I've watched pretty much every race since 1994 and Alonso is the best I have ever seen, by quite some margin. Others have got close on plenty of occasions but I have never seen another driver so relentless in their dedication and performance, while at the same time absolutely respecting the rules of racing. The only bad period of his career was Mclaren, and there he almost won the title. Whatever you think of what happened that year I'm sure everyone would have to agree that he was operating in a less than optimal environment! Indeed, given what we've seen every other year, 2007 looks like the outlier in terms of performance. 

[Sarkon]

George Costanza, on 23 Jul 2014 - 20:19, said:

His 2008 and 2012 seasons would counter this... He has been good in wet, see Hungary 2006 and Spa 2008, Sepang 2012. Ok he had a bad race for Japan in 2007....  Last season Fred was wonderful as well.

 

Sure is not like Schu would do it ever single season, but...

 

Of course he isn´t bad in the wet but just not exceptional like Senna or Schumacher for example.

I would say Hungary and Sepang are his best drives too from what I remember, for a guy who´s around for ages now that´s a bit short for me.

Guess I could come up with 10-15 amazing wet weather performances for the guys mentioned above.

[MJ999]

I think  like most of you here , I have never driven a formula 1 car so i am not best placed to comment on driver rankings but for the past 20 years or so that i have followed F1 .... i would say 95% of time i hear comments from pundits like Martin Brundle Anthony Davidson Bruno Senna, Ross Brawn, Martin Whitmarsh, Luca Montezemolo, Damon Hill, Johnny Herbert, Toto Wolff , Dieter Zetsche etc etc  that he is the best driver on the grid.... and the funny thing is they are not even Spanish. They could have said Lewis Hamilton, they have seen the 2007 season yet still for them Alonso is No1.

 

 

Don't you guys think for a second that there must be a bloody good reason why they all say the same thing? and why he is the highest paid driver on the grid?

Edited by MJ999, 23 July 2014 - 20:55.

[MetallurgicalHedonist]

Burtros, on 23 Jul 2014 - 15:09, said:

there are a couple of people here who have commented negativly on the quality of Alonso's teammates in comparison to those of Michael Schumacher... which is just bizarre really!! Selective memories there I think.

 

This.

 

Btw.: those people used to accuse others of glorifying other drivers (e.g. Senna)... Now they are doing it themselves with Schumacher.

 

as65p, on 23 Jul 2014 - 18:26, said:

Seriously, it's hilarious to deny Alonsos speed. He was as fast as Hamilton back in the day, you think Lewis was speed wasn't exceptional in 2007?

 

I guess Alonso loses just because of the fact that Hamilton was a "r.o.o.k.i.e.". I mean he wasn't competing against a rookie Hülkenberg. It was a rookie Hamilton whom he was competing against. I'm wondering whether the same people think that Piquet was a loser just because he was slower than a certain rookie by the end of 1991.

 

Schumster, on 23 Jul 2014 - 11:45, said:

How high does Mr.Six tenths rank in your greatest F1 drivers of all time list?

 

I personally rank him in the top 5, an all-time great but there is a doubt, a suspicion that he truly, truly hasn't been challenged yet and the challenges he has so far faced he's been hit and miss.

 

 

As you probably are a fan of Schumacher:

 

Brundle, Patrese, a Piquet who was five races before his retirement, Herbert, Lehto, Verstappen, Irvine, Barrichello, Massa... have been challenges?

 

 

 

Quote

Has been truly challenged teammate wise? He had Trulli as his first proper challenge and he was losing out to him in '04 as they entered the final three races before Briatore cracked. Fisichella? A good driver but nothing special. Piquet? Not so much. Massa? A shadow of his former self after those accidents and his treatment at Ferrari. Raikkonen? Again, another shadow.

 

Alonso has had (soon to be) champions who were younger than him and were, as I said, future champions or who are now the same age as him and he was either as good as them (against Hamilton) or better than them (against Räikkönen). By that standard, Schumacher had permanently only "Fisichellas" in his F1 career (Patrese, Herbert, Irvine, Barrichello, Massa). And when Schumacher had a future champion as a teammate (call me crazy, but I give Rosberg that "future champion"- label), then Schumacher wasn't as convincing as Alonso was against Hamilton. You say that doesn't count as Schumacher was over the hill when he faced a 16 years younger Rosberg. OK, then Piquet was also over the hill when he faced a 16 years younger Schumacher and that doesn't count either.

 

Talking about "shadow" Massa. Crazy stuff, but now he is competing again for pole positions and was on pole position again and talking about points: he lost probably 50-60 points which was mainly not his fault (Australia, Canada, Silverstone, Hockenheim). So, is he "healthy" again and not a shadow anymore all of a sudden?

 

And shadowy Raikkonen? Don't think he was shadowy only one year before this season when he won in Australia or  when he kicked Vettel down the road in Nürburgring when Vettel said afterwards that that was one of his hardest wins.

 

 

 

Quote

Hamilton? He lost out to a rookie, which all time great would lose out to a rookie?

 

Which all-time great had to face a rookie who became immediately youngest champion the following season in not the clearly best car?

 

 

 

Quote

He let the 2010 and 2012 championships slip away, albeit he was only in that position due to his supreme driving, he lost to a rookie and is faltering big time at Ferrari. He has maybe another 2-3 years of driving before his performances will drop off. Time is running out for him.

 

I bet you don't say that Schumacher let the 1997 championship slip away (I mean, he was leading the championship before the last race).

Edited by MetallurgicalHedonist, 23 July 2014 - 21:34.

[Seanspeed]

I don't really have a list. I'm the kind of person who likes to make up my own mind about a driver based on watching them, which makes judging drivers pre 1980 or so extremely difficult as I haven't seen a whole lot of full races from then. Even throughout the 80's, apart from a few seasons where I was lucky enough to watch most of the season(often with non-English commentary! lol), I had to rely a lot on the season highlight/review videos.

Certainly seems to me that Alonso should probably considered among the all-time greats somewhere, though.

[sopa]

Sarkon, on 23 Jul 2014 - 18:20, said:

Top 10-15.

Don´t think the has that small bit of an extra speed some other drivers have\had which leaves you with an open mouth on some sundays + he´s not really exceptional in the wet so this put him down for me.

If he goes down in history as a double champ "only" this might be revised.

 

So Alonso might go into the history like Prost. Very intelligent racer and very efficient points "collector" with main weaknesses in qualifying and wet racing. Not that he was "weak" in those departments, but didn't exactly stand out from the other frontrunners either. Same with Alonso. Considering Prost is usually rated in top5 or thereabouts, that would be a very good positioning for Alonso.

 

Another example would be Lauda, also very close to Alonso in several aspects. Though Lauda was a great qualifier in mid-70s for Ferrari by racking up lots of poles, but not so much later in his career. Lauda is also usually in the top10 lists.

 

I agree with a claim that the "top lists" are only going to get more and more crowded as the time passes by, so it can get confusing trying to cramp all those drivers into as good positions as possible

[bourbon]

All the argument over teammates.  I just don't see them as having any importance at all when it comes to rating the driver.  I can't imagine rating him highly because he beat Ferrari-form Massa or a massively struggling Raikkonen.   All these years of watching him on track informs the opinion.  Based on that and his achievements, it is obvious that he is a top driver in the sport.

[Nitropower]

In my list and leaving all biases behind he is the best I have seen - I cannot really judge drivers in the 80's an part of the 90's as even if I have seen a lot of races from then, I didn't see most of them by the time they were run and it feels quite different.

Schumacher in his prime is a close second and then one day I thought a a Hamilton would evolve into one of the all-time best but he didn't keep up with the hype of his first year. Then I can't really judge Vettel because, I don't care about what they say, but he has always had the best machinery and team and a heavier and slower team mate. When he has not had the best equipment he has been mediocre even if it was the second best car at worst.

To do this list I don't really look at my preferences or the number of wins, but the results they got with the means and support they had. For me Alonso is the clear example of the right guy in the wrong car for most if his career.

[BK201]

Schumster, on 23 Jul 2014 - 11:45, said:

How high does Mr.Six tenths rank in your greatest F1 drivers of all time list?

 

I personally rank him in the top 5 .... Time is running out f in the top 5 of all time is very impressive, so

 

Ranking in the top 5 of all time is very impressive, so I don't know why you then go on to be so negative about him. I would not put him in the top 5, but in the top ten for sure. He lost close title races in 2007, 2010 and 2012, so there's a question mark about whether he can deliver in a must win situation. Other than that he's a great driver.

[4MEN]

It's pointless to compare drivers from different eras. 

[Longtimefan]

I rate him very highly, I'd say he's probably in or very close to being into my top ten.

 

I think he's currently the best driver in F1, just very sad whats left of his career is being wasted at Ferrari.  I'm not an Alonso fan but I would like to see him take at least one more title.  I believe he deserves it.

Edited by Longtimefan, 23 July 2014 - 23:00.

[Schumster]

MetallurgicalHedonist, on 23 Jul 2014 - 21:32, said:

This.

 

Btw.: those people used to accuse others of glorifying other drivers (e.g. Senna)... Now they are doing it themselves with Schumacher.

 

 

I guess Alonso loses just because of the fact that Hamilton was a "r.o.o.k.i.e.". I mean he wasn't competing against a rookie Hülkenberg. It was a rookie Hamilton whom he was competing against. I'm wondering whether the same people think that Piquet was a loser just because he was slower than a certain rookie by the end of 1991.

 

 

As you probably are a fan of Schumacher:

 

Brundle, Patrese, a Piquet who was five races before his retirement, Herbert, Lehto, Verstappen, Irvine, Barrichello, Massa... have been challenges?

 

 

 

 

Alonso has had (soon to be) champions who were younger than him and were, as I said, future champions or who are now the same age as him and he was either as good as them (against Hamilton) or better than them (against Räikkönen). By that standard, Schumacher had permanently only "Fisichellas" in his F1 career (Patrese, Herbert, Irvine, Barrichello, Massa). And when Schumacher had a future champion as a teammate (call me crazy, but I give Rosberg that "future champion"- label), then Schumacher wasn't as convincing as Alonso was against Hamilton. You say that doesn't count as Schumacher was over the hill when he faced a 16 years younger Rosberg. OK, then Piquet was also over the hill when he faced a 16 years younger Schumacher and that doesn't count either.

 

Talking about "shadow" Massa. Crazy stuff, but now he is competing again for pole positions and was on pole position again and talking about points: he lost probably 50-60 points which was mainly not his fault (Australia, Canada, Silverstone, Hockenheim). So, is he "healthy" again and not a shadow anymore all of a sudden?

 

And shadowy Raikkonen? Don't think he was shadowy only one year before this season when he won in Australia or  when he kicked Vettel down the road in Nürburgring when Vettel said afterwards that that was one of his hardest wins.

 

 

 

 

Which all-time great had to face a rookie who became immediately youngest champion the following season in not the clearly best car?

 

 

 

 

I bet you don't say that Schumacher let the 1997 championship slip away (I mean, he was leading the championship before the last race).

 

Good post and I say that despite me being on the end of it. Like I said, I rank him in the top 5 all time greats so the respect is obviously there and all the negatives I brought up were me doubting whether or not I was ranking him too highly and opening it up for discussion.

[Briz]

At times I hate his personality. I don't really think that season with Hamilton as teammate 7 years ago matters as much as most people here imply it does when rating either of those two drivers... I don't think he's had an amazing set of team mates either, I think if we remove that single crazy year with Hamilton it is pretty much same story like Schumacher's "first career" team mates (who are all rated very low because MSC broke them). And yet I've seen enough to rate Alonso very high, up there with the best of the modern era. Look: Senna-Prost-Schumacher-Alonso - he definitely doesn't look out of place in that bunch. Try inserting Hamilton or Vettel there and many people will raise an eyebrow.

 

One of the greatest ever, because he is fast, relentless, rarely makes mistakes and always brings his A game, not just every weekend but every lap.

[George Costanza]

Briz, on 24 Jul 2014 - 00:14, said:

At times I hate his personality. I don't really think that season with Hamilton as teammate 7 years ago matters as much as most people here imply it does when rating either of those two drivers... I don't think he's had an amazing set of team mates either, I think if we remove that single crazy year with Hamilton it is pretty much same story like Schumacher's "first career" team mates (who are all rated very low because MSC broke them). And yet I've seen enough to rate Alonso very high, up there with the best of the modern era. Look: Senna-Prost-Schumacher-Alonso - he definitely doesn't look out of place in that bunch. Try inserting Hamilton or Vettel there and many people will raise an eyebrow.

 

One of the greatest ever, because he is fast, relentless, rarely makes mistakes and always brings his A game, not just every weekend but every lap.

 

Problem is Senna-Prost is the same era.

 

Senna-Schumacher

 

then Prost-Alonso sounds better to me.

 

Fred's more on Prost's level than Senna-Schumacher for me.

Edited by George Costanza, 24 July 2014 - 00:35.

[DrivenF1]

Goron3, on 23 Jul 2014 - 18:21, said:

He is the best driver I've watched race, and that includes Schumacher who is my personal idol. He is just relentless, particularly in the races, and his racecraft is second to none. He rarely gets involved in silly incidents but at the same time he pulls off some audacious overtakes. He's been the standout performer in F1 for the past 5 years imo.

 

It's hard to rank drivers from different eras but he's certainly up there with Prost, Senna and Schumacher imo. 

 

This is exactly my thoughts on the matter too although I hold him on par to Schumacher.

[Kenstate]

I can't claim to have watched enough F1 to make a comprehensive list first hand. But I have no problem saying he's been the most impressive driver of THIS generation. As it is pretty difficult to take into account differences in era (the older generation certainly drove under tougher conditions and less than ideal cars, but the talent pool was not as diverse as today's), any list with fernando in the top 10 in the company of fangio, lauda, stewart, schumacher, prost, senna, clark seems okay by me. (not in any particular order)

[Ikebana]

I cannot rate him in comparison to a lot of drivers because I've been following F1 since 1998 only. But in comparison to anyother driver since that year, I'd tank him #2 definitely, with Schumacher #1.

 

 

discover23, on 23 Jul 2014 - 14:34, said:

8 years without a title yet he is still rated by most pundits as the best driver in formula 1 . That already says a lot about how good Fernando is and how he deserves to be on any list with the greatest.

 

 

In my opinion it also means that nowadays fans aren't as bad as some say, as people seem to take into account context and all of that, which is extremely positive and wise. And not just because it favors Alonso, but because I think it's more fair to do so.

Edited by Ikebana, 24 July 2014 - 02:38.

[pokerkid]

sopa, on 23 Jul 2014 - 22:26, said:

So Alonso might go into the history like Prost. Very intelligent racer and very efficient points "collector" with main weaknesses in qualifying and wet racing. Not that he was "weak" in those departments, but didn't exactly stand out from the other frontrunners either. Same with Alonso.

 

Alonso has been devastatingly impressive in the wet and qualifying his whole career, yet these myths still persist by some people, because they are unable to differentient between car and driver performance. He has dominated his team mates generally in these areas, and had some amazing wet weather drives unlike Prost.

 

Hungary 2006

Nurburgring 2007

Malaysia 2012

 

Someone posted qualifying statistics recently that showed by % vs team mates, Alonso is only second to Senna in qualifying, but that is still not enough to convince some people. Truthfully Alonso has no driving weaknesses, he is equally exceptional in every area, every condition, every car.

Edited by pokerkid, 24 July 2014 - 03:00.