(This article was originally published in sportskeeda.com on Oct. 19, 2011)
When Fernando Alonso ended Michael Schumacher’s five year title reign in 2005 and became the youngest F1 champion, people did not give much credit to him as his Renault was much faster and superior to Michael’s Ferrari. But when Alonso repeated the feat in 2006 and had beaten an in-form Michael, he was hailed as the next big thing in F1. However, since then things have not gone in Alonso’s favor. Let us take a detailed look into Alonso’s F1 career since 2007 and try to come to a conclusion on what has gone wrong for El Nano.
2007: McLaren Misery:
“Sometimes after a tough season and when the winter arrives, you want to test as late as possible, to be on your holidays as much as you can. But now it’s the opposite. I want to be in the car. I feel like when I arrived in Formula One six years ago. I just want to drive.” - Fernando Alonso optimistic about his McLaren debut
McLaren signed Alonso immediately after his second championship victory. Lewis Hamilton, a British rookie from DTM, was also given a McLaren seat. Alonso was very optimistic about his chances of defending his title in a car which failed to win a single race in 2006. He hoped that he would be given the preference being the defending world champion. What happened was the exact opposite which meant that Alonso would finish 3rd in the drivers championship race behind Hamilton, who was the runner-up to the eventual winner Kimi Raikkonen. What is to be noted here is the fact that Alonso managed to get the best out of whatever provided to him, which enabled him to win 4 races and finish second in the standings.
2008: Renault Return:
After the McLaren saga, Alonso returned back to a toothless Renault team which had lost its fizz after his departure in 2006. Yet Alonso managed to get the best out of the car and finish a credible 5th in the drivers standings. Ironically, his nemesis at McLaren – Lewis Hamilton, won the championship, thereby replacing him as the poster boy of F1.
2009: Rusty in Renault:
The 2009 season was no different for Alonso as he did not have the best car at his disposal. He ended up being 9th at the end of season with just 26 points. His frustration at Renault was the talking point of many and people started to write him off completely. Little did they know that Alonso was far from over.
2010: Foray into Ferrari:
Dubbed as the ‘worst kept secret in Formula 1′, Fernando Alonso joined Ferrari in 2010. Alonso himself was awestruck to know that Ferrari were interested in him. Even I did not expect Ferrari to sign him since Alonso was the one who ended Ferrari & Schumi’s domination in F1 by winning the title in 2005. But Ferrari, who were eager for more success after Raikkonen’s title win in 2007, made a shrewd decision to sign him up.
Alonso did not disappoint the tifosi guys. He announced his return to the top by winning the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix in his first race in the Prancing Horse. That joy didn’t last forever though. Ferrari did not have the fastest car which meant that they had to be satisfied finishing after the Red Bulls and McLarens. Yet again Alonso was forced to get the best out of a slower car. He was back in his elements following a controversial win at the German Grand Prix which was marred by a team orders controversy. Alonso won three out the last five to remain in contention for the title before the last race at Abu Dhabi.
What happened at the Yas Marina circuit has been written and talked about for months now. Vettel became the championship winner after a faulty team strategy cost Alonso his third world title. He had to be content with second position in the drivers standings. It has been a bitter pill for him to swallow since he finished an agonizing 7th in the race behind the Renault of Vitaly Petrov.
2011: Clueless:
2011 has turned out to be even worse for Alonso as he has just one race victory to his credit till now. He might be third in the standings, but his race pace has been slower than the Red Bull and McLaren cars. Yet Alonso has managed to get podium finishes throughout the season which has enabled him to challenge for second position.
Alonso or for the matter Ferrari do not have a single pole position to their credit in 2011. In comparison, Red Bull has had whopping 15 pole positions out of the possible 16. This speaks volumes about the Ferrari’s pace in qualifying and race as a whole. With three races still to go in this season, Alonso might finish second in the driver’s standings, but that’s certainly not what he wants. He always wants to be at the top. He relishes being a winner.
2012: Dawn or Doom
Ferrari are eager to get back at the top of F1 which was evident from Stefan Domenicali’s recent interview. Domenicali has revealed that the 2012 Ferrari car will be an innovative machine.
“Having seen the model in the wind tunnel and the work going on in the drawing office, it will be a very innovative machine. In fact, this is to be expected, this is necessary given that our first goal is that, in 2012, we must be competitive right from the very start of the season.”
If he’s given a car with enough in it to challenge the pace of the Red Bulls, Fernando Alonso will surge back to the top in 2012. That’s what I expect him to do in 2012.
The Bottom Line:
His talent is undoubted. His skills are perfect. His quest for success is relentless. Yet Fernando Alonso seems to be getting the wrong end of the stick. Nothing seems to be going in his favor right now. But as he showed during the last few laps of the 2011 Korean Grand Prix, he still has an overwhelming hunger for success. He might have given up on his chances to finish second this year, but next year is gonna be a completely different story.
He is certainly not fading into the oblivion; He was just being held back by the blushes of his teams (read McLaren, Renault and Ferrari). Mark my words – Fernando Alonso will give Red Bull a run for their money, come 2012.
“You’re trying to take this championship away from me, but I’m going to f***ing well win it anyway” – Fernando Alonso to the stewards after being harshly penalised during the 2006 Italian Grand Prix.
No comments:
Post a Comment