The career of Fernando Alonso, which so far has awarded him two world titles, 32 victories and 98 podiums, has been characterized by three great rivalries: the one with Michael Schumacher for the 2006 world championship, the internal battle in McLaren in 2007 against Lewis Hamilton and the one with Sebastian Vettel at the time of his militancy in Ferrari. The Spaniard has been in the Circus – net of three seasons of absence – practically since 2001 and can thus provide a privileged point of view on the rivals he has met on his long journey that will lead him in the next championship to be the oldest and most experienced as races concluded, by virtue of the retirement of Kimi Raikkonen. The Alpine rider, fresh from the brilliant third place in Qatar, spoke to the podcast microphones ‘Beyond the Grid’.
Lewis Hamilton. “I think Lewis brought out the best in myself. With Lewis, I found a rivalry I was not looking for. In 2007 we shared the team and this is – by definition, according to what people think – the biggest fight you can have. But I honestly believe that in 2007 we were both not ready, he first because he was a rookie who was coming to Formula 1. And I wasn’t performing at my best, I hadn’t integrated with the team. And we fought against each other, creating a lot of stress in the battle for the championship and we weren’t managed well. We finished even in the standings, but I think we both could have done better. In the following years I had a better package than him when I moved to Ferrari. And we haven’t really fought against each other. And when he was the one who moved to Mercedes, the same thing happened, on the contrary. This is a point that I miss in my career, but obviously we are talking about a sports legend and, like Michael, he pushes you to the limit. To beat Lewis you have to be on top. “
Sebastian Vettel. “Clearly we didn’t have the same package to compete wheel to wheel, but we fought for a few championships until the last race. And in 2010 and 2012 I had to be at my best to fight against a superior Red Bull. They had some reliability problems, not finishing races and we were able to fight for the championship, with a knife in the teeth every weekend. “
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