Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso have been part of some of F1’s most iconic battles ever. They went toe to toe for the world championship in 2005 and 2006. Now, 17 years after the Spanish driver got the better of his German counterpart, Alonso revealed in the High Performance podcast that he was faster than Schumacher, all along, despite what some people claim.
A young Alonso in his Renault proved to be a menace for Ferrari and its seven-time world champion driver. Despite winning five back-to-back world championships, Alonso managed to defeat Schumacher in both 2005 an 2006, the moment Renault gave him a competitive car.
Alonso, who has 32 Grand Prix wins under his belt recently revealed that he always knew he was faster than Schumacher. This was way before his fight with the Ferrari driver began in the 2005 F1 world championship.
Fernando Alonso knew he was faster than Schumacher
Alonso made his F1 debut in 2001 and got his first win two years later. However, it wasn’t until 2005 did he finally start challenging for the world title. Ahead of that that season, many expected Schumacher and Ferrari to continue with their dominance. Alonso, however, stood up, and ousted the German legend.
Talking about this, he said in the podcast, “When I entered Formula 1, Michael Schumacher was dominating the sport. I just never felt like I was slower than him.”
Fernando Alonso overtaking Michael Schumacher at the 130R during the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix with Telecinco audio
— Aston Martin F1 updates (@startonpole) October 3, 2022
Admittedly, the 42-year-old never doubted himself against Michael Schumacher as he admitted he had a Kamikaze approach against him. Alonso never backed off while competing for the lead against the Ferrari driver and this is what put him in an advantageous position over others.
Schumacher and Alonso’s journey in F1 post 2006
Following the conclusion of the 2006 F1 season, Michael Schumacher retired from the sport with seven F1 world championships to his name. Even though he made a return in 2010 and stayed in the sport till 2012, he never got back his mojo. This was mainly because he was driving for a Mercedes team that was finding its feet in the sport.
Fernando Alonso overtakes Michael Schumacher as the driver with the longest career in Formula 1 today 👴 pic.twitter.com/L3j7M1B80e
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) June 12, 2022
As for Fernando Alonso, he changed teams as he moved to McLaren and Ferrari in search of success. He moved to Alpine [formerly Renault] again but he never relieved his past heroics. He is with Aston Martin currently, and is still in search of his first race win since the 2013 season.
In the end, Schumacher has been more successful on track than Alonso and is regarded by many as the greatest driver of all time. However, many people feel that things could have been a lot more different had he made some major career choices.
