“Michael Schumacher Never Had Bad Days” – 32 GP Winner Fernando Alonso Takes Inspiration From Former Rival Ahead of Aston Martin Debut

Tejas Venkatesh | 10/02/2023
“Michael Schumacher Never Had Bad Days” – 32 GP Winner Fernando Alonso Takes Inspiration From Former Rival Ahead of Aston Martin Debut

Fernando Alonso will enter his 22nd season in Formula 1 when the 2023 season begins. The 2-time World Champion broke the record for most race starts in F1 and is ready to begin his newest chapter in the sport with Aston Martin.

Alonso has raced and beaten World Class drivers like Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel, Kimi Raikkonen and others during his career. But he derives a certain level of motivation from 7-time World Champion Michael Schumacher.

Alonso ended Schumacher and Ferrari’s domination in F1 when he clinched the 2005 and 2006 titles. Schumi retired in 2006, but the lessons learnt from his former rival have stayed with the Spaniard.

 

With Alonso moving to midfield with Aston Martin, the driver won’t be fighting for wins unlike during his prime. But the 32 Grand Prix winner believes he is ready to step up in any challenge needed.

Also Read: Astrophysicist Reveals How He Helped Fernando Alonso Defeat Michael Schumacher

Fernando Alonso describes Michael Schumacher as a teacher

Fernando Alonso described 7-time Champion Michael Schumacher as a teacher. And the Spaniards believes the German was never easy to beat, even when fortunes did not favour him.

Alonso recalled, “Michael didn’t have bad days. Michael never underperformed. That’s what impressed me most when I got to Formula One and especially when I fought with him for the championship.”

Alonso claims every driver he faced so far had good days and bad days. It was his duty to attack for wins and maximum points when he sensed his rivals weren’t having a good race.

 

But with Michael, it was never easy. Alonso stated that he and Ferrari were “unbeatable” for most of the season. And even if Alonso managed to outperform his rival, Schumi still managed to finish on the podium.

He added, “Even after a bad free practice or a bad qualifying, you would still find Michael on the podium on Sunday. He had this tenacity, this willingness to exploit any opportunity, to minimise the damage on the bad days and maximise the good days.”

Also Read: Fernando Alonso Thinks His Teammate Lance Stroll Has Championship-Winning Potential

Aston Martin Alonso’s biggest challenge so far

Aston Martin is developing an ambitious project of becoming a competitive team able to win races and championships in the future. And by recruiting Fernando Alonso, the team have shown commitment to their vision.

This is what drew Alonso’s interest. Although the Spaniard knows his team is still far from winning titles or races, he does not want to put any added pressure or expectations on his team for now.

Alonso said, “I’m not thinking about timeframes and how long it will take the team to win races. I will take it race by race, season by season. What’s important is that we keep making progress.”

 

Fernando finished 9th in the 2022 standings this year. But he believes his new team will help him propel up the standings in the coming seasons.

He added, “It’s a matter of time until Aston Martin is winning races and championships. Making that time as short as possible is my biggest challenge.”

Aston Martin finished 7th last season in the constructor’s championship despite finishing on level points. They will be launching their 2023 car on February 13 from their Silverstone facility.

Also Read: Lewis Hamilton Says He Does Not Want His Legacy ‘Tainted’ as Michael Schumacher

Post Edited By: Tejas Venkatesh
Aston Martin Fernando Alonso Michael Schumacher

About the author

Tejas Venkatesh

Tejas Venkatesh is a Motorsports writer at The SportsRush. He started watching F1 in 2007 and fell in love with the sound of the revving V8s. A technical nerd, tejas loves to nerd over the technical beauty only motorsports can achieve. He calls himself a Vettel fanboy and spent the night crying after Hockenheim 2018. Apart from F1, Tejas is an avid Chelsea Fan and loves football.

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