Former F1 champion Damon Hill has recently showered unique praise on Fernando Alonso. Known for his outrageous defense, the Aston Martin driver is good enough to fight a murder case, Hill thinks.
In the F1 Nation Podcast, Hill said, “I would ask Alonso to defend me in case of murder.” A regular in the podcast now, the 62-year-old is well aware of his defensive prowess.
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One such example of his defense would surely be the 2021 Hungarian Grand Prix. Alonso’s valiant defense against Lewis Hamilton gave his then-Alpine teammate Esteban Ocon his first career win.
While the British former driver is sure that he would appoint the Spanish pilot in the murder case, he also thinks Alonso is just much more to the team than just being a driver, similar to seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher.
Alonso, a strategic maestro, believes Hill
After his astonishing rise in 2023, Hill feels the two-time world champion can help his team in multiple sectors apart from just driving. With over two decades of experience in the sport, the 41-year-old can also work with the strategy.
Speaking on this, the 1996 F1 champion further stated on the podcast, “I get the feeling that he doesn’t think much of driving, he needs to do something else.”
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“He goes around saying: ‘Can I do the strategy too? Give me more information,” concluded the 62-year-old. Being a senior figure in the team and in the sport, he understands the rules and regulations. Hence, it wouldn’t be too tough for him to start strategizing.
Alonso for team principal
With the nature of a genuine leader, Damon Hill is of the opinion that the former Ferrari driver can become a team principal in an F1 team in the near future once he is done with driving.
Talking about this, he shared in the podcast that he [Fernando Alonso] needs to become a team chief. Hill believes in this because the former McLaren man would be brilliant at this job.
Saying, “He just understands this game,” Fernando Alonso would be a perfect fit for this role if he doesn’t take up the job of a lawyer, thinks Hill.