http://www.crash.net/motorsport/f1/news/173023-0/alonso_could_beat_hamilton_easily.html Formula 1 » Alonso 'could beat Hamilton easily'. Wednesday, 7th January 2009 Double F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso and Ferrari would make 'an exceptional duo' capable of defeating Lewis Hamilton 'easily', it is contended by three of the sport's experts. Fernando Alonso ‘is still the best driver around' in Formula 1, would ‘represent an exceptional duo' with Ferrari and ‘could beat Lewis Hamilton easily' – those are the views of three expert commentators after speculation linking the Spaniard to a future in scarlet re-surfaced again recently. It was reported in Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport last week that Alonso and Ferrari had agreed a four-year contract as of 2011 – if not earlier and some of the sport's most seasoned observers reckon should the rumours indeed turn out to be true, it would be a match made in heaven and one that could prove to be nigh-on unbeatable. “Two years is a long time,” contended former F1 team owner Giancarlo Minardi, who handed Alonso his break in the top flight back in 2001. “Since Fernando hasn't lost the taste of victory, why wait so long? Joking apart, though, I know that there are contracts in place and only Ferrari knows what happened to Kimi Raikkonen last season. “I haven't seen Alonso since the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, so we haven't spoken about his future, and for Christmas we simply exchanged wishes, but it's undeniable that for Ferrari such a driver would be very useful. At the end of the day, he's the driver who up until now has given Hamilton the hardest time in equal equipment, and he could beat him easily.” Those sentiments are echoed by ex-Minardi technical director and now Sky TV pundit Gabriele Tredozi, who pointed to the way the man from Oviedo had helped to turn Renault's fortunes around in 2008 as evidence of his outstanding calibre and prowess. “It would be like having another [Michael] Schumacher there,” the Italian mused of the possibility of Alonso joining forces with the Scuderia. “He's quick and technically strong, and above all his consistency is unrivalled. He never has ups and downs during the season, except for those caused by the lack of competitiveness of his car. “Moreover, he's sincere – as he demonstrated during his difficult period at McLaren – he's a driver who needs to feel the support of the team behind him like no other, and he knows how to motivate the team too. “He knows how to assess a car's strong and weak points without wavering, he has exceptional racecraft and he knows how to manage the tyres well. He is also capable of getting himself out of even the most difficult situations; last season is the most obvious example of that.” Erstwhile Ferrari team principal Cesare Fiorio, finally – the man who gave the double world champion his F1 test debut with Minardi at Jerez in 1999, the Asturian-born star lapping 1.5 seconds faster than any other young driver trying out on the same day – argues that an Alonso-Ferrari combination would give the entire field cause for concern. “In situations like this [with the raft of new technical and aerodynamic regulations for 2009], a team can gain an advantage over another because its engineers have had a hunch that turns out to work better,” the 69-year-old reasoned. “In that context I have no doubts – I would prefer to have Alonso in my team, because for me he is still the best driver around. “He is stronger even than Lewis Hamilton; the two are equal in terms of raw speed, but Fernando has a lower propensity to make mistakes. He's consistent, has a good rhythm inside the car and he's intelligent. “He and Ferrari would represent an exceptional duo. In winning the constructors' world championship, Maranello showed that it had worked the best, both in the factory and at the races – but if you miss out on the drivers' title, perhaps the fault for that lies with the man in the cockpit…”
I could have sworn that they finished the title last year in the same car with identical points. Surely being in the same car is the best benchmark to compare them, it is quite unlikely to happen again though. EDIT: By last year i mean 2007, my brain has not made it into 2009 yet.
Very funny article! Ya, because FA beat LH so easily before......while LH was a rookie. ROTFL at this statement!
Well, that's actually true.... nothing motivates a team better than their whiney has-been driver threatening to turn them into the FIA for a conspiracy he was party to, unless they guarantee him an unfair advantage over his teammate! Alonso is a classy loser too - who can forget when he was being whipped by Schumacher during MS' last year, and Ferdo got on the radio and accused the team of sabotaging his car. He's classy to the end!
Felipe would have beaten LH in a more RELIABLE ferrari and more consistent pit performance. Sure FA can beat LH. If the car is faster and more reliable, this year it wasnt when it needed to be. This article says very little new and nothing of note.
I think Fernando in the red car could easily run circles around Lewis too. If Kimi and Felipe decide to wake up and be consistent the entire season, they can too. Lewis is a very consistent driver, but Fernando, Kimi, and Felipe are capable of more speed.
I think, perhaps, what the article isn't saying is that the Ferrari is the better car so Alonso would have a clear advantage. Really, FM should have won last year. He had the better car and drove well enough to be champ. Unfortunately, Dominicali & co were still cutting their teeth on the defending champ team and fumbled it over to Hamilton. Credit Hamilton for pushing the car and staying in the face of Ferrari though...last I checked Kovalienen was nowhere to be found.
Rubbish! Alonso was a sore loser when he was a team mate to Hamilton and Hamilton more than showed him up. Hamilton's speed rattled him so bad that he acted like a spoilt brat throwing his dummies out the pram! Alonso is a good driver but not invincible. Harry
alonso's a bad loser, and an even worse team mate. i do think having him in the ferrari will be a potent combination, but i don't get why people think he's so much faster than lewis. lewis has shown he has the speed in all conditions, as long as the car is good. I'd love to see Lewis drive the ferrari!
Hard to say who is the better driver, Alonso or Hamilton. Both are on a level above the rest of the drivers. Alonso has the experience and the coolness. Hamilton has the speed. Only time will tell who will collect more championships.
Thank you, thank you, for an even handed post!! It'll be interesting to see what the FA bashers have to say if the move is made and he beats LH, as well as what the FA supporters will say if LH outperforms him.
Alonso knows Hamilton is faster, that's why he acted like a baby when they were teamates. Made a big smokescreen to hide the fact he (alonso) was slower.
Here we go again. I suppose a provocative claim like this is destined to lead to a debate. Alonso got treated poorly at McLaren and grew tired of the environment. Can't say I blame him. It's a matter of how you choose to interpret it.
The fact is, Fernando wouldn't have left if Lewis wasn't at least as quick as him. You could see it on Fernando's face at Indy and other tracks where Lewis beat him, it pissed him off. You say Mclaren treated him badly, but how do you know? How do you define it? What we KNOW is that Lewis was seriously quick, and threatened Alonso's championship, even as a rookie, that's a fact.
Ferrari lost the world driver's championship because the team failed too many times in 2008. If the team improves, any of the current drivers or Alonso can beat Hamilton. The question is, can any of these drivers improve THE TEAM the way Schumacher did.
Like I said, it's all how you choose to interpret the situation. Personally, I find it unlikely that a 2-time Champion was getting outperformed by a rookie who happened to be the prize child of the team's developmental program, a driver in whom they had invested millions before he turned a Formula 1 wheel. Yes, they're both quick. But to whom do you think the team would give the nod of preferential treatment?
FA had no idea how quick LH would be like the rest of us, developed or not, you can't polish a turd! IMO RD let them race fair and square, that's why they lost the WDC.
See, I think they had a pretty good idea of what they had with Lewis. Granted, there was always the unknown of rookie-ness, but this was a kid that they had watched develop for several years. They saw how confident and ambitious he was, knew how well he tested the car, and most likely figured what better way to ease him into F1 than to pair him with a 2-time champ. Sure, they probably let them both race and underestimated his competitiveness out of the gate. But when he began to shine so quickly, I really believe there was a collective "Heyyyy..." at McLaren that tilted team biases in Hamilton's favor. Alonso was the star, the hired gun. But Hamilton was the family son, so to speak. You won't convince me that there was equal emotion for both drivers. Favoritism doesn't always swing a hammer, it can present itself in subtle ways.
