Fernando Alonso; the Spaniard stallion
Fernando Alonso is one of those drivers that have the ability to perform at their best no matter what the situation is. Fernando struggled earlier in his career when he joined Minardi to begin his career in Formula 1 in 2001 before joining Renault as a test
driver the following year. The Spaniard started showing his true colours when he started racing as a full-time driver with Renault as he finished in 6th place in his 2nd full season in the sport. Keeping in mind Renault was not one of
the best teams on track back then, Fernando finished in 4th place in the drivers’ standings the following year and it seemed that since the Spaniard joined the team, Renault started taking some wild risks and the team with radical improvement in
its car performance race after race.
Fernando Alonso did not have to wait for long as he won his first Formula 1 championship in 2005 just 3 years after he started racing as a full time driver in Renault and the team owes it all to Fernando because he is one of those people who actively work
with the whole team and its engineers to pull out the best possible performance from their car.
Fernando is truly a leading driver and has the ability to lift a team from scratch. Alonso was able to successfully defend his title the following year and he had the honour of defeating the mighty Michael Schumacher in his peak time. Michael won 5 consecutive
championships before 2005 when Fernando Alonso broke his championship winning streak and took the new generation of drivers to the next level.
The Spaniard proceeded to join McLaren in 2007 and had a great season but faced a lot of controversies due to personal differences with the team. Fernando finished in 3rd place that year and lost his championship to Kimi Raikkonen. Alonso had
to return to Renault unfortunately as none of the top running teams had a spot open for him. Fernando struggled with the team for 2 more years, as the team was not in its best shape in the years 2008 and 2009.
Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, won his first championship in 2008 and became a potential threat to the Spaniard.
However, Lewis is one of those drivers who can race up to the mark only when provided the best car, while Fernando is oblivious from these factors. He is blessed with the ability to take out the best performance from the car and set it up himself as well
if required.
Even though Fernando was struggling with Renault, he kept giving outstanding performances every now and then to earn himself a spot in Ferrari for the 2010 season. Fernando began the 2010 season with a win but struggled later on in the first half of the
championship. Fernando Alonso joined the team alongside Felipe Massa who was the top championship contender for the year 2008.
However, many new drivers joined the sport but the most dangerous threat for Fernando out of the new drivers was Sebastian Vettel. Vettel is like a reflection of Fernando and Lewis as he is also as aggressive and determined as these two beasts.
After recovering from the first half of the 2010 season, Fernando gained the advantage in the second half and took the lead from Red Bull’s Mark Webber in the drivers’ standings. Alonso was leading the 2010 drivers’ standings by 231 points just 11 points
ahead of Mark Webber followed by Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton who were 25 and 21 points adrift of the championship leader respectively in the second last race of the season. However, Vettel overtook all other rivals by his mind blowing performance in
the last race of the season, leaving Fernando far behind in the rally.
Tags: