Fernando Alonso once revealed Michael Schumacher’s insane capability of defeating his rivals even when he was on the back foot. The man who snatched the championships from the German star on back-to-back two occasions stated that Schumacher’s undying attitude was what “impressed him most.”
The 41-year-old has been very vocal about this on his Renault days as well as when he switched to other teams. He shared that the seven-time world champion never had a bad day or ever underperformed, even if he had a bad car.
Alonso also stated Schumacher’s extraordinary tenacity during Aston Martin’s AMR23 launch. The Spanish driver was one of the stern rivals of Schumacher back in the 2000s. He was directly in the battle for the F1 world title against the former Benetton driver.
It was the Spaniard who ended the German’s run of five consecutive F1 titles after he dethroned the 54-year-old in 2005, and went on to defend his title in 2006. As a matter of fact, the latter year was the time when the German former driver decided to hang his overalls until deciding to return in 2010.
What impressed Alonso the most about Schumacher?
Notably, the two-time world champion added that Schumacher has a special ability that impressed him the most. This was when he got into F1 and his title battle with Schumacher began.
Talking about this, the 41-year-old stated, as per Racingnews365, “Michael didn’t have bad days, Michael never underperformed. That’s what impressed me most when I got to Formula 1 and especially when I fought with him for the championship.”
Furthermore, he also added that after poor practice or qualification, Michael Schumacher would still be on the podium. Such was the performance level of the seven-time world champion, as he was “unbeatable” with Ferrari.
Winning the title against Schumacher meant more for Alonso
As per the video, the two-time world champion was also asked to speak about his race against him. And specifically, after the last race of the 2006 season concluded. Answering the question, Fernando Alonso asserted, “It was good to fight with him.”
“I always said that to become champion when Michael is still on the track has maybe more value than when he’s retired. And I was extremely lucky to win the last two championships he raced,” conveyed the Asturian.
After Michael Schumacher returned to the sport with Mercedes in 2010, there were sparks of their rivalry. However, that was still nothing to what they have given the F1 world during their peak years.
