F1 Blog

The Y Series: McLaren will define Alonso’s career

In the history of F1, a total of 791 drivers have entered at least one GP. Fernando Alonso has done what only 13 other drivers have ever done - win 2 World Driver Championships. In mathematical terms, he’s better than about 98% of the drivers ever to attempt to race. But to get to the stratosphere, where Michael Schumacher resides, Alonso needs to do with McLaren what Michael did with Ferrari. Michael made Ferrari. He turned a team that was frankly, crap into a team so dominant, the FIA started to change rules so as to curb their success. To illustrate my point, in the 11 seasons prior to Schumacher’s arrival, Ferrari had 16 wins, 87 podiums, 12 poles, and no Constructors of Drivers Championships. In the 11 seasons Michael was at Ferrari, they had 87 wins, 203 podiums, 74 poles, 6 Constructors titles, and 5 Drivers titles. Also, bear in mind that Ferrari had the likes of Prost and Mansell during the lean years.

Alonso is quick, there’s no doubt about it. When he was at Minardi in 2001, it was clear he had pace. But he scored no points thanks to the fact that he was, well, in a Minardi. He showed what he could do with a good car at Renault. But he didn’t make Renault better, they made him better. Renault themselves decided to put forth the money and effort required to win the Drivers title. Specifically, it was the supreme aero package Renault had during the last 2 seasons.

But now he is doing what Michael did. After 2 titles, he’s moving to a lesser team. This year, McLaren didn’t win at least 1 race for the first time since the 1996 season. That, in part is why Kimi Raikkonen decided to just ship to Ferrari. In terms of reliability, Ferrari is to McLaren what Michael Jordan is to Manute Bol. There was always something wrong with Kimi’s car. He couldn’t finish a race to save his life. He retired 29 times in 5 seasons. Ferrari had 23 as a team during that time. Michael had the same problems as Kimi when he went to Ferrari in 1996. Engines blew left and right, suspensions broke, the pit crew made mistakes, etc. Michael put his foot down. He grabbed the team by the collective scruff of the neck and made them step up their game. He would not tolerate failure. Yet he would not throw the team under the bus, unlike Alonso, should trouble arise. He always propped them up in victory, and in defeat. Look no further than Japan. After having an engine failure that effectively costs him the championship, he walks back to the garage, and proceeds to give handshakes and hugs to all the mechanics. Had that happened to Alonso, he probably would have accused them of trying to sabotage his chances of winning the title.

When Alonso retires and we look back on his career, we will look at his years at McLaren as his definitive ones. Either he will do for McLaren what Michael did for Ferrari, or he will become the next Jacques Villeneuve; a champion solely because he was in the right car at the right time. Unfortunatly for Alonso, he already lives up to Villeneuve’s hallmark of shooting his mouth off. After the Italian GP, he had this to say about Michael, “Michael is the most unsporting driver F1 has ever seen. Zidane retired with more glory than Schumacher.” Alonso also needs to work on his celebrations. No more retarded dancing (Spain), no more imitating a crane (Japan), and definitely no more reminding us how many wins you have after the race with your fingers. We don’t care. Be humble. That is what makes a true champion. Take a cue from Michael. Win the race, look happy, thank the team, go home. That’s how you win like a champion. Act like you’ve been there before. Let’s hope the McLaren professionalism will sink in. If not, the only place his career can go from here is down. And it’s a pretty long fall from the top. Just ask Jacques.

Tags: alonso, mclaren