Fernando Alonso is a ‘winning’ driver says Lewis Hamilton
Fernando Alonso has been left “angry” that he has only won two F1 world titles in his 20-plus-year career, according to David Coulthard. The former McLaren driver turned TV pundit claimed the Spaniard uses his desire for further success as motivation to compete at the age of 41.
Speaking to the Formula for Success podcast, Coulthard said: “He’s angry. He’s angry that he’s only got two world championships and that anger is what drives him to still have the need.
“That’s the key thing. You don’t lose the speed, you lose the need. He still has the need.” Alonso has openly admitted he is targeting race wins at Aston Martin in 2023 after the squad’s strong start.
The team has an ambitious goal to win the world championship by 2025 meaning Alonso may finally be in the right place at the right time.
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Since securing back-to-back Drivers’ Championships in 2005 and 2006 with Renault, his career has stagnated. He struggled at McLaren in 2007 despite team-mate Lewis Hamilton fighting for the championship in his debut year.
After falling out with the British manufacturer he returned to Renault who had lost the race-winning pace of previous seasons. A switch to Ferrari almost secured him a third title in 2012 but the Spaniard was pipped by Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull at the height of the team’s dominance.
A move back to McLaren failed to work out as the team struggled right at the back of the grid. His spell was punctuated by Alonso’s constant criticism of Honda’s engine as he claimed the car was only as quick as a GP2 machine.
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Max Verstappen stressed Alonso would have likely won more championships if he had been in other cars. The Dutchman warned drivers “need a bit of luck” in F1 to ensure they have a dominant car for a long period of time.
Ex-F1 team boss Eddie Jordan also feels Alonso should have had more success in F1 with even as many as eight titles. However, he blames Alonso for making bad career decisions mainly driven by financial gains.
He told OLBG: “I remember seeing Fernando Alonso pass Michael Schumacher from the outside on a damp track on a really difficult corner in Suzuka, Japan, and I said ‘oh my god, how can he get away with that? Alonso pulled the move off and I thought from there that he was destined for greatness.
“I actually blame him for not winning four, six or maybe even [being an] eight-time world champion – he should have picked his teams better. In his 30s, Alonso went for the money when he could have gone a different route.”
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