Fernando Alonso considers Michael Schumacher as his toughest opponent for 2011
With a close championship battle in the Formula 1 2010 season, strong competition is expected amongst the young drivers. However, Fernando Alonso considers Michael Schumacher as the biggest threat for the upcoming season in 2011, the Spaniard revealed.
Schumacher had a disappointing return to the sport and he wasn’t able to reflect his true potential last year. He was criticised by many former greats of Formula 1 and no-one expected wonders from him on his return.
The 7 time champion was over-shadowed by his team-mate Nico Rosberg who scored almost double the points he scored. Alonso believes, however, that the reason behind Schumacher underperforming was his car and once the German has a competitive car, he will
be the one to fear, again.
Talking to the reporters, Alonso stated, “There will be five world champions on the track and the most dangerous champion for me is always Michael. He is still super class and if the car is right he will be a contender”
He further added, “Now in January if I have to choose one name I have to say Michael. He is seven-time champion, he has nothing to prove. He had a difficult season but he is still a champion.”
The Spaniard doesn’t rule out the chances of other drivers and he said that some other drivers will also be top contenders in the next season for the championship. According to him, the current champion Sebastian Vettel will be stronger than the last season.
Alonso finished runner-up behind Vettel in 2010 and is expecting that his team can develop a strong car for him and his team-mate Felipe Massa. “Hopefully our car is better than the others and my toughest rival next year is Felipe.” added alonso.
Apart from Vettel and Schumacher, Alonso also considers Mclaren-Mercedes to be one of the top teams in the next season.
These comments from Alonso will be a confidence booster for the legendary German driver. Alonso is the only champion, amongst four other Formula 1 champions in the drivers line-up, who have raced alongside Schumacher at his peak. He is the best person who
can reflect on what can be expected from Schumacher.
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