The only man who can understand Fernando Alonso best is Fernando Alonso himself. Yes, fans who measure in millions will have view points as will Bernie.
Ron Dennis will surely say that in him lies the portrait of the most complete Formula One driver since Senna and Schumacher.
Flavio Briatore, the flamboyant and controversial Italian, who led the now re-invigorated Renault – former constructors’ champions for 8 seasons can share a thing or two about Alonso’s brilliance.
And there’s no denying his class and dogged determination since in an era where aesthetics of racing were defined more by driver’s capability than the role-play of technology as evident in today’s hybrid era, it was Fernando Alonso who claimed the drivers’ title.
He did it twice – consecutively – under Renault in 2005 and 2006. He’s been around since 2001 and in what will be his 15th Formula One season in 2016, Alonso will be hoping the throttle at McLaren allows him to gas hard; for in pure unabashed driving at top form lies his enigma.
We examine the complexity of being Formula One’s one of a kind driver, who Niki Lauda, a diehard Hamilton supporter recently declared as the best from the present lot – a starry line up of talents that include Vettel, Hamilton and Raikkonen.
Been there, done that, not done yet
It must be said both Lewis and Sebastian were around during the exciting period where machines were stoked by the more powerful V8’s. This didn’t just appeal to the fancy of fans but fueled the ambition of drivers of the class of Kimi, Button and Alonso himself.
While Hamilton, the three-time championship winning poster boy of today debuted at Australia in 2007, six races later that same year came a certain Sebastian Vettel, eventual four-time world champion.
But in the unpredictable world of Formula One where fortunes often crash like that wrong move at the hairpin bend and where ecstasy felt by a driver on winning an unpredictable contest defeats the despair experienced in the previous, a thing can be said for certain.
There are few drivers who leave such an indelible mark on the sport as has Fernando Alonso Diaz, the current McLaren-Honda top cat.
And yet, for a man who took to karting aged 3, having left no challenge unaccepted in a remarkable F1 stint, being looked up to at a Honda wanting to strike big next year, blooming honors such as the “Fernando Alonso Museum” established in his native Asturias hold less importance.
They may just be vain pleasantry, no matter how opulent, for a man no stranger to riches. Truth be told, no reward may ever fill the void and angst of Fernando Alonso who despite winning World Championship crowns on two separate occasions may still be lurking under the clout of having not won more driver titles, despite being nearly the most potent force in motion in Formula One; unmatched in grit and undefeated for his enthusiasm to succeed.
El Nino in Numbers
With 2 Championships, 1 more than Kimi Raikkononen (aged 36) and Jenson Button (35), he’s ahead of two powerhouses of Formula One. Driver’s with abler cars for much of their careers, such as Rosberg, aged 30, having driven the most impressive product from the Silver Arrows, given its glamorous ruling in the sport for past two seasons- are yet to register a world championship.
With 32 race wins; 12 more than Raikkonen, 10 shy of Vettel and 11 shy of Hamilton – Alonso has nearly 3 times the number of wins grabbed by Felipe Massa and close friend Mark Webber (9 apiece).
Alonso’s record is also more than double the tally of Button’s 15 race wins, which makes him the deadlier weapon at McLaren Honda provided the Japs realize that the Spaniard’s waiting to exhale again.
If you pick Alonso on fastest laps then it will make for an ensemble of cast and characters from the world of Formula One who possess the elements that make the sport what it is; a culmination of guile, daring and charisma. Raikkonen, with 42 fastest laps, easily stands on the loftier pedestal albeit being characteristically adrift of the importance of overall statistics.
If one speaks of the 21 fastest laps recorded by Alonso, then only Vettel with 25 and Hamilton with 28 stand their ground driving cars that unarguably have been both effective and merciless in their annihilation of competitors on the race track.
McLaren-Honda’s dismal season
In what has yet again been a Mercedes dominated season in 2015, just a single word would suffice describing Fernando Alonso’s season: miserable.
With only 11 points in his sack and having made friends with the back-markers, unwittingly off course, there stands Fernando Alonso ranked 17th in the driver's chart at the end of 2015.
With 7 race retirements of 17 races in the recently concluded season, Alonso's performance got marred by what may well be described as a damning engine, produced by McLaren-Honda, regardless of whatever explanation that Ron Dennis can offer.
In a world where meaningless shenanigans such as Hamilton's champagne spraying acts (China, Russia) find a mention in global media as casually as some chivalrous deeds achieved on the track, as only he and the "second best" driver Rosberg can produce- the Honda-McLaren alliance was thought to have given the likes of Williams, Red Bull and possibly, even Ferrari- tough competition, thus finding enough 'hype' in motorsport media.
But, as Kimi Raikkonen had once put it, 'races and partnerships are forged on paper', the Honda powered outfit's ambitious plans backfired. Resultantly, Alonso has had to battle it out with back-markers leaving a lot to be desired from the lowest ebb of his racing career.
Let’s look into his days at the Scuderia of Dreams – Ferrari.
The Terminator at Ferrari
Every racing driver dreams of driving for them. Fernando did once too and not too long ago. In what was his greatest season marked by his relentless drive to near perfection whilst countering and on other occasions, bettering Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull powered havoc, Fernando Alonso sunk his teeth into the flesh of F1’s greatest competition during a memorable period from 2010-2014.
Alonso drove for Ferrari for 5 straight seasons beginning 2010, during which he showed fans and critics ample evidence of what the resilience of a top class driver can produce.
Of the 97 podium finishes that the Spaniard worked earnestly for from his stints with Minardi, Renault, McLaren, Ferrari and Honda – 43 of those came at the epicenter of Formula One’s dizzying heights; the colossus called Ferrari.
In 2010, his maiden year, he stood 10 times on the podium. The feat would be repeated in 2011. In 2012, a landmark year in the tectonic struggle for dominance between Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso, the Spaniard collected an astonishing 13 podium finishes, the most for any driver apart from the reigning German.
2013 was comparatively ordinary; he collected only 8 but healthy podium finishes while 2014 served nothing but a blotch on Alonso’s gargantuan presence at Ferrari.
Some of his most sterling drives came at Singapore, Bahrain, Germany, Britain, Italy, Korea, Malaysia and Spain, thus anointing fans in red spread across an entire world.
Fernando vs Kimi
In terms of their competence and calibre, the former and current Ferrari stars are nearly on par even though adrift when compared statistically. Both entered the ultimate racing fest of Formula One in 2001 at the Australian Grand Prix.
Alonso, who finds himself in a spot of bother at his Japanese carmarker today, went on to register back to back world championships, winning the driver’s title in 2005 and 2006.
But despite all the daring and mastery Alonso has unfurled on the track whilst locking horns with competitors, some of whom have grown up admiring him such as Carlos Sainz, Jr. and Felipe Nasr – who have said he is their idol, it is painful to admit that he may not have been able to tap his talent at all recently.
Kimi Raikkonen, on the other hand is ice and brutally cold for critics, permanently baying for a piece of the Flying Finn. Notoriously shy of media and known for an effervescence despite a laidback approach to F1, Kimi claimed his only world title in his debut year with Ferrari in 2007. This is a feat that the likes of Lauda, Prost or Schumache haven’t managed.
Fernando, aged 34 with 252 race starts against Kimi’s 232 stands statistically tall at 1778 points against the Finn’s tally of 1169 points. What we see is a clear deficit of 604 points between the aggressive accumulator from Spain and the tacit but brilliant Iceman, aged 36.
But must one recollect, during Kimi’s sabbatical from F1 where he cited ‘politics’ as the primary reason for what many still call a manufactured ouster by Luca di Montezemolo, Alonso captured 509 of those points by scoring 252 points in his debut Ferrari season of 2010, following up with 257 in 2011.
The ‘Fire and Ice’ combination that brought together two of the fastest and Formula One aces together for the first time in 2014 season, also their last pairing at Ferrari together, before Alonso was ‘shown the door’ for Vettel, spelt gigantic disappointment for both fans and Ferrari.
During 2014, Alonso drove home 161 points for Ferrari, standing 6th on the standings as he held a tremendous gap of 106 points clear on Kimi who endured the worst season of his career, managing only 55 points driving what he called a car that had a nearly impossible front end.
But even then, Kimi sprung to a fastest lap at Monaco in 2014 where he’s previously won.
Ever a challenger to difficulties, Alonso, even as he endured possibly Ferrari’s worst ever speed wagon, stood third at Hungary amidst technical issues and persistent car handling troubles, failing to win a single race.
But the purists would regard that the fiery Alonso’s pairing with icy cool Raikkonen wasn’t just another major on track partnership. This was a cash cow that didn’t milk diamonds even as two old warhorses were anointed to power the prancing horse.
Will he ever return to the podium?
It is hard to believe that the same Fernando Alonso who one often got accustomed to seeing among the top whilst courting car troubles and mind games of rivals like Vettel on the track last stood on the podium at the 2014 Hungarian Grand Prix, the track where he first won in 2003, his maiden F1 triumph.
Last year, his last at the Prancing Horse, struggling with his less than extraordinary Ferrari F14 T, Fernando was overtaken by Ricciardo's superior RB10 in what was Ferrari’s only shine in the disdain of a season that belonged to Hamilton.
It has been 27 races since Hungaroring ‘14 and we haven't seen Fernando where he looks best; on the podium. In his current car as evidenced by the painful rut produced by McLaren it will take a miracle to see a champion of the class of Alonso back to his best.
More than just an F1 driver
The enigma of Alonso is marked by as many accomplishments as the void left by many that went unachieved. There are many who seek in mere statistics the ultimate path to greatness. But, there are lesser mortals who are known to attain immortality with their skills with the F1 car and their panache while off the track.
Alonso, who has twice tasted glory in those amazing 05-06 seasons with Renault isn’t done yet. He knows that for deriving unparalleled joy from drinking something as holy as only a victory can taste, one has to often gulp it through a poison chalice. Maybe McLaren-Honda is that poison.
McLaren have promised “more competitive” engines this year, with Alonso and teammate Button both hoping for “positive results”.
Let’s hope they find them.
