Fernando Alonso is one of the few admirers of Michael Schumacher who got to battle the 7x world champion. However, the Spaniard never knew about the German racer until he got serious about racing in F1.
The reason young Nando was unaware of the F1 legend as the sport wasn’t popular in Spain. The youngster didn’t even consider karting and was more interested in being a footballer for his boyhood club. However, his racing enthusiast father motivated his son to follow a career in racing.
Fernando Alonso, Renault, Monaco, 2006. Photo: Clive Mason. #f1 pic.twitter.com/yOtmqZLfej
— Demetriou Neto (@NetoDemetriou) June 9, 2023
Alonso shared a rivalry with the Ferrari driver during his early days with Renault. The Asturian beat Schumacher in the 2005 championship battle, ending Ferrari and Schumi’s 5-year dominance in F1.
How Fernando Alonso first knew about Michael Schumacher?
When Fernando Alonso started karting in the 90s, Michael Schumacher had secured his first of seven crowns. The German won two titles with Benetton in 1994 and 1995 before making a big-money move to Ferrari.
Alonso knew nothing about racing and F1. He claimed in his ‘Players Tribune blog, “I didn’t know anything about the big European championships. I didn’t even know who Michael Schumacher was. I was just racing.”
It was only in 200 when he was promoted to F3 that he took racing seriously. During this time, Alonso recollects visiting historic tracks like Monaco and Spa and learning about legends of 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
He added, “Between race weekends I would look up guys that I kept hearing about in the paddock. Guys like Schumacher, Ayrton Senna, and Alain Prost. And the more I learned about them, the more it motivated me. I wanted to get to that level.”
Alonso even calls the German to be one of the toughest and, at times, an unsporting rival. However, he regards the 7x champion as one of the best because of the sheer difficulty it was to keep Schumacher’s Ferrari behind.
Alonso has a history of bad career choices
Fernando Alonso has enjoyed the longest F1 career, with over 350 race starts to his name. Alonso was once the youngest champion in the sport and remains one of the greatest to have raced in F1.
However, it’s understood that the driver could have achieved more than two titles. The Spaniard’s made a lot of mistakes and team switches which affected his potential.
Like his switch from Renault to McLaren in 2007. The driver left his title-winning team for the British contributor. The Spaniard lost the 2007 title by a single point to Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen. However, after a fallout with rookie teammate Lewis Hamilton and in the wake of McLaren’s Spygate scandal, he left the team.
He left the team and moved back to Renault. However, had he stuck around for another season, he could have received a call from Red Bull as they were approaching their peak in 2009. He’d leave Renaut after the team was involved in the 2009 Singapore GP crash gate.
2011 Spanish GP 🏁
Fabulous start of Fernando Alonso 🇪🇸 on his Ferrari.#classiccars pic.twitter.com/GCP2WEbemR— Retromania (26.2K+ Classics & Motorsports Lovers) (@Retromania4ever) June 10, 2023
Alonso drove for Ferrari between 2010 and 2014. The Spaniard could have achieved two titles, which he lost to the finest of margins to Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel. He left the team after a fallout with McLaren.
After a few frustrating years with McLaren, he retired from F1 to race in IndyCar. The Spaniard would return in 2021 when Renault, later known as Alpine, gave him a call.
Today he races for Aston Martin, with whom he joined ahead of the 2023 season. Alonso has enjoyed a career revival, claiming five podiums in the opening seven races of the season. For the first time since his Ferrari days, he has returned as a title contender. Perhaps Alonso finally took the right call.
