Alonso named best driver of 2010 by team bosses

F1 Fanatic round-up

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F1 team bosses vote Fernando Alonso as the driver of the year.

Links

F1 bosses vote Alonso the best of 2010 (Autosport)

“Alonso beat Vettel by nine points overall after the votes of all the team principals were added up – moving him up from fourth place overall where he was voted last season.”

Scarbs F1 on Twitter

“I’m hearing the 2013 engine rules are: mandated 1.6l I4 turbo, 88mm bores, direct injection, 100kg\h fuel flow rate.”

I love you boys! (Red Bulletin)

Adrian Newey: “If I had to choose one moment of the last season, perhaps I would pick the moment when I knew the RB6 was a fast car. Wind-tunnel testing is one thing, but you can never be sure. Not even pole position at the first race will guarantee you’ll still be competitive at the last race.”

What if Senna had jumped to IndyCars? (The Times Leader)

“When we look at a possible Senna-IndyCar partnership, it’s not just the question of how would Senna fare against the IndyCar field, but rather if the massive public following and immense level of respect that followed him would have had any major impact on the IndyCar "civil war" that ripped the sport apart in 1995.”

2011 FIA Formula One World Championship (FIA)

Lewis Hamilton now listed as number three. Updated list here: 2011 F1 drivers and teams

Comment of the day

Invoke has reservations over Sergio Perez’s arrival at Sauber, after the team dropped the ‘known quantity’ Nick Heidfeld:

It’s interesting that they have have switched back to an unknown quantity again so quickly. I’m sure the sponsorship potential was very enticing, and actually I think Perez could do well in F1 given some time, I just hope it doesn’t hurt their chances next year.

On a more positive note, this move should hopefully ensure stability for the team in the long term. They provided some exciting on-track action this year, I wish them well for 2011 and beyond.
Invoke

From the forum

Amazing pictures from a race at the Oscar Alfredo Galvez race track from Fer No. 65. See here: They copy us at Monza…

Read Fer’s excellent guest article on the Argentinean Touring Car Championship from earlier this year: Why you should watch?óÔé¼?ª TC2000

Happy birthday!

We’ve got a double birthday today – all the best to RIISE and Speed Damon!

On this day in F1

One year ago today the FIA confirmed Sauber would race in F1 in 2010, giving it the space that had been vacated by Toyota:

Sauber takes Toyota’s place on 2010 grid

Image © Ferrari spa

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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158 comments on “Alonso named best driver of 2010 by team bosses”

  1. We all know Alonso is the best driver on the grid. Definitly not the most liked, but the most talented !

    1. Here are the points:

      1. Alonso 229
      2. Vettel 220
      3. Hamilton 196
      4. Webber 146
      5. Kubica 129
      6. Button 86
      7. Rosberg 68
      8. Hulkenberg 17
      9. Massa 17
      10. Barrichello 11

      Webber is definitly not regarded as a talented driver, he is really far back, any driver could have done the same in the fast car he had.

      1. Interesting that the guy in 8th doesn’t even have a contract for 2011…

        1. And that Kobayashi, who outdrove him in an inferior car after countless mechanical failures wasn’t even on that list. Not that I’m saying he’s in the top 10 at the moment, but I have to assume that Hülkenberg being on there in that spot has more to do with his 1 pole position being fresh in the minds of the team principles when this survey was conducted.

          1. Soumya Banerjee
            3rd December 2010, 6:07

            Surprised to see both HAM and KUB lower down the order compared to Vettel.

      2. Oh look at that the great Jenson Button is only 8th looks like a lot of team principals agree with me.

        1. He’s 6th, but never mind. :P

      3. You forget that HAM was held back at Monaco and drove off the road at SPA in 2007. In 2008 there was a dodgy moment, 2009 was a DD year then came Ferrari, He streched He`s muscle and Massa bowed to the pressure in front off everybodies eyes at HOC. When you look over ALO I can feel nothing but `Hmmmm` little bit dodgy. Best driver No.

    2. Do we? He’s most probably in the top 3, along with Hamilton and Vettel, but after 2007 I have always had my reservations with him being the undisputed top dog

      1. Where was Schumacher?

        1. Oh, good point! That is just the icing on the cake for this season.

        2. I mean the best drivers right now, not of their whole career’s. Schumacher needs to prove himself next season if I’m to consider him an equal of those 3

        3. LOL @ Schumacher. I never thought the day would come where Schumi wasn’t amongst the top 10 drivers on the grid. It does however, put a large smile on my face.

          I’m shocked that Webber is ranked above Kubica and Rosberg, maybe its just a sympathy vote.

          1. We know, Schumacher is evil…..

      2. Soumya Banerjee
        3rd December 2010, 6:28

        And Webber shouldnt be in that list at all. He should have done much better with a car as good as that.

    3. jsw11984 (@jarred-walmsley)
      3rd December 2010, 1:25

      So,apparently all one needs to do is have his teammate pull over for him and be unable to pass a rookie. and then they will win driver of the year

      1. You also forgot coasting in 2nd place waiting for a DNF win!

        1. Which happened on more than one occasion.

          1. Alonso is faster than you? :P

        2. Soumya Banerjee
          3rd December 2010, 6:09

          Same for Hamilton there!!! And McLaren themselves believe they were quicker than Ferrari overall!!! Which just shows the magnitude of Alonso’s talent,i think.

          1. Wait, so because Alonso got wins because of DNF’s that makes him less of a driver? I’ve said it before and i’ll say it again. If Alonso had the Red Bull he would’ve won the title before Suzuka easily, Vettel wouldn’t.

            That Ferrari couldn’t keep up with the Red Bull, or are we being ignorant and think the cars were equal? Some people….Alonso will show next season why he is the best in the field when Red Bull are brought back out of their bubble and have a car on pace with everyone else.

          2. RIISE, is it Vettel’s fault his exhaust broke in Bahrain, his brakes failed in Australia and his engine blew up in Korea?

            While there may be some truth in that he’s hard on the machinery, I really doubt Alonso would’ve wrapped up the title much earlier given the kind of machinery Vettel had.

          3. I mean, given the SAME kind of machinery Vettel had

          4. Alonso and Hamilton would have won the WDC much earlier if they were RBR drivers…..solong as they were not RBR drivers at the same time or it would be 2007 all over again!!

    4. Jelle van der Meer
      3rd December 2010, 8:41

      Disagree – Alonso is not the best driver on the grid and certainly not the most talented.

      Alonso has not been talented for a while, the new drivers Vettel, Kubica, etc are better examples.

      What did Alonso actually do this year, most of the points he got by (mechnical) failures of others or teamorders. He didn’t have brilliant drivers like some other people and when most needed he could not overtook a rookie in an inferior car.

      You are right that is the least liked driver on the grid but that is for a very good reason, Alonso is not a real racer and a sore loser.

      1. Vettel better? Are you talking about the “pole kid” who couldn’t win in a beast of a car, or the “wunder-crash-kid? :)

        I agree though about Kubica & Rosberg – they certainly are as talented as Alonso, but lack the experience and the “killer” mindset of a ruthless champion. Their day of glory will come… and i fear it’ll be pretty soon. ;)

        As for Hamilton, Button & Webber – they all had a faster car all season long than Alonso, yet in the end they failed to outscore him (even if you take away the 7 “illegal” points from the German GP)!!!

        Well, I hope you see things clearer now… :)

        1. Why do Ferrari fans think they had a rubbish car this season. They actually had quite a good car… ok not as good as the red bull but certainly as good if not better than the McLaren.

          1. And far more reliable than the Red Bull…

          2. You did read this article? :)

      2. I wish I had a link to the article, but I think it was in Motorsport magazine in an interview with Sir Stirling Moss. He talks about how Alonso is the best driver in F1 and why.

        Like the great Jim Clark, he can adjust his driving style to suit the car and always has. Never hear him complaining about an undrivable car like Hamilton does so often, just get on with it and drive the car.

        Never been much of an Alonso fan until reading the interview, Moss will convince you he is very talanted. He sees things we just wouldn’t think of looking at.

        1. ” Never hear him complaining about an undrivable car like Hamilton does so often”

          That’s true because he’s always whingeing about Hamilton himself.

          1. so why does Hamilton consider Alonso one of his best friends in F1?

        2. “Never hear him complaining about an undrivable car like Hamilton does so often, just get on with it and drive the car.”

          Clearly you didn’t watch Korea then.

          Alonso: These are the worst conditions I’ve ever driven in.

          Hamilton: It’s fine!

      3. If I have to choose between YOUR opinion and the team principals, let me think….do you think that you know more about F1 than these guys…?
        and of course FA is not a real racer of course he just a passer by.

        1. team principals and drivers too, they voted FA as the best and most complete driver

        2. I would agree with the team pricipals. But Alonso was not without some driver error this year. eg. jump start; Monico off in Qually; Spa oof in race for example.
          Hamilton should have been second, I know he had two 1st lap offs but I’m a fan!!

      4. @Jelle van der Meer.

        “He didn’t have brilliant drivers like some other people and when most needed he could not overtook a rookie in an inferior car.”

        What about the Singapore GP? He was the only driver this season to have a perfect race weekend, in a car that was still slower than the RB6 at that circuit. What about his Monza win? Dont you think other drivers such as Lewis were handed a win at Turkey? Webber handed a win due to Vettel sleeping at the restart at Hungary.

        And if you are judging him by his ability to overtake a car that was faster on the straights in Abu Dhabi… then I guess you do not know much about this sport anyways.

        I’m sure you are not a fan .. but you cannot deny that he is a phenomenal driver.

      5. What did Alonso do this year?? He didn’t have a brilliant drive???? Dude where the hell have you been this year? He drove a grand slam in Singapore with a car that was actually faster 0.2 seconds behind him (that hasn’t been done since 2004 when Schumacher did it in a Ferrari that was waaaayyy better than all other cars). That’s the most impressive drive all season by far!!!

        He competed untill the end of the championship with a car that was third fastest on the grid, drove from 24 to 6 in Monaco, completely destroyed Massa who showed the true pace of the Ferrari, drove consistent and smart (saved tires and engines where he could, along with some great passing moves), did a brilliant recovery race in Australia I think it was, where Hamilton, Schumacher and Alonso crashed and fell back. Alonso got to 4th place from well behind, drove to his teammate’s tale in half a racing distance.

        Sorry, but I haven’t seen any of the other drivers even close to his level this year. Kubica and Hamilton were great as well, but this guy really did something special. It’s not a surprise that the experts (team bosses and fellow drivers) vote him as the best driver as far as sheer driving skill is concerned.

      6. yeah, totally agree…and just to remind all Alonso’s fans Hamilton in rookie year beat Alonso fair and square in the same car…so Alonso never will be better than Hamilton…. Vettel with 10 poles tels everything…if Alonso have same mechanical failure like Vettel, Alonso would be nowhere near top 4

        And for this team bosses votes i have only one word…. bulls…

    5. Prisoner Monkeys
      4th December 2010, 5:27

      We all know Alonso is the best driver on the grid. Definitly not the most liked, but the most talented !

      So talented that he won the 2010 World Championship?

  2. I think most Team Principles if they had a free choice would grab Alonso. And 4th isn’t really far back.

    Waits for all the haters to show up bleating about the Favoritism at Mclaren

    1. Martin Whitmarsh?

      1. By all accounts Alonso’s main problem was with Ron, so maybe Martin wouldn’t have so many reservations about signing Fernando. Who knows though? There’s obviously a lot about 2007 at McLaren that we don’t know.

        1. In the “you ask the questions” bit in F1 Racing Whitmarsh said he’d had no regrets about Fernando signing at Mclaren and that he’d do it again I think.

        2. Martin might, but Alonso would never go back to McLaren, because 07/Ron/Ham and becuase hes dream has always been to drive for Ferrari (dream that most drivers share). In fact, Jean Todt was the only obstacle to not have signed earlier. He would have avoided the biggest error in his career: racing for Mclaren

          1. I’m pretty sure he’s said in the past his lifelong dream was to drive for Senna’s team… not Ferrari. I’m sure that dream changed after ’07.

          2. Alonso was McLaren fan. When he went to McLaren he did a speech at the MTC enthusing about McLaren’s history and especially reminisced about when they dominated in 1989. Trying to get preferential treatment knowing their history was silly on his part but he’d still be there if he hadn’t tried to blackmail them. The Alonso v Hamilton rivalry is peanuts compared to Prost v Senna.

          3. yeah….and you know way all Schumacher’s, Alonso’s and others similar bad losers drivers is dream to drive for Ferrari
            1. They get undisputed No.1 status
            2. Not even one FIA rule will affect Ferrari ..only small fine
            3. They can speak free whatever they like or behave on track whatever they like and wave to others drivers to let get pass even crash them and get away of it with no penalty

            I remember one driver i think he’s name was Ayrton Senna and never like to drive for Ferrari

          4. LOL @ emil, with the usual, predictable “FIA-rarri” rubbish. You wouldn’t recognise greatness if it slapped you in the face.

          5. @ emil, you do realise that senna said he wanted to end his career at ferrari right?

  3. Can’t wait to hear the roar of a 1.6l straight 4 through Stowe…

    Grr. Leave Motorsport Alone! I demand free choice of engine layout, let’s get some Merc V10s racing Ferrari V12s and Renault 1.9 turbodiesels :D

    1. Now THAT would be one heck of a race, lol!

      1. is your avatar an older kimi raikonnen? if it’s you then no offence intended! lol

    2. I suspect this might unfairly help Lotus and Virgin, seeing as they can source aircraft engines… :D

      1. The turbo engines from the 80’s sounded great. Anything which leads to more flames and cars that spit and crackle on the overrun is a good thing.

      2. Lets just hope it won’t be any rolls royce engines from the giant airbus then. That would make for a huge oil spill on the track!

        1. Might be entertaining, but not really sport, no.

    3. i agree, they should give freedom of choice. i don’t think V12s and V10s will ever come back to F1, but i like dreaming…

  4. Kobayashi not int he top 10? Damn.

    1. Kobayashi was better then the last three.

    2. I still have my reservations about Koby. He’s a brilliant racer, but his qualifying performances were pretty mediocre. The fact he outpaced Heidfeld was impressive, but I think the jury’s still out

      1. He also owned Alonso, the number 1 driver, in Valencia.

        1. In my book that only comes second to Sato doing it in Canada.

          1. Haha, damn right, Sato in the Supern Aguri at Montreal 07 was the stuff of legends!

          2. someone say my name?

          3. I was there and on the next lap when Sato drove past the stands there was huge roar from the crowd, including me. Still, Kobayashi’s move was much more impressive.

      2. Same for Button (6th is a fair assessment), he won two races this year, but his qualifying pace relative to Hamilton was really horrid, especially when the race pace of the car was close to the RBRs and the Ferraris

      3. Kobayashi’s qualifying this year was just fine. He made it to Q3 a few times, and he normally qualified around 12th or 13th position which isn’t bad. He had a few off-days in qualifying, but so did most of the drivers.

  5. Happy birthday RIISE (am I right as pronouncing your name like the footballer John Arne Riise?!) and Damon

    1. ditto, happy birfday guys! Riise, was such a class footballer for the (used to be) best team in Europe, Liverpool. Sorry going off topic lol.

      1. tritto, if that’s a word…

        1. fritto, if that’s also a word…

          1. fried in Italian.

      2. Haha cheers guys, it was a nickname I picked up a few years ago. I am Liverpool fan and am ginger…so you know.

        1. I am Liverpool fan and am ginger

          My deepest sympathies. ;)

    2. Happy birthday from me as well.

      1. From me too.
        (Short comment)

  6. Man, I will always love the look of those early 90’s indy cars. They just look so mean and low. And Senna would have been a beast in a Penske.

    1. Charles Carroll
      3rd December 2010, 5:45

      I know! That was cool to see Senna driving an Indy Car. I wish the F1 guys would enter the Indy 500 like they used to!

    2. Up until 201 the Penske had the same livery as the old Mclarens Senna used to drive.

      The current Penske livery looks like crap in comparison.

      1. *2010 comment too short

  7. Prisoner Monkeys
    3rd December 2010, 3:02

    The team principals were paynig attention in Germany, right? I mean, Alonso basically got on the radio and said “I’m faster than Massa, but I can’t pass him all on my own – could you guys get him to move over for me?”

    1. That’s what makes him the best. He took the initiative to get on the radio and ask for special help. ;-)

      1. Prisoner Monkeys
        3rd December 2010, 5:19

        Actually, it just highlights a disturbing trend with Alonso. He’s either very impatient or very spoiled. He had Ferrari move Massa over for him, but that’s not the only time he’s expressed dissatisfaction with it. In Monaco, he was spotted making aggressive hand gestures towards Lucas di Grassi, and he did something similar to Vitaly Petrov on the warm-down lap in Abu Dhabi. Alonso seems to expect that drivers will simply get out of his way the moment he appears in their wing mirrors, despite the fact that they are racing for position and have every right to do so.

        1. Other drivers in his situation would get irritated if they were behind Digrassi and Vitaly as well. And while other drivers hold back from expressing it, he really doesn’t give a f***. I think its awesome that he does. As far as Felipe is concerned there is not point in even arguing it, Felipe wasn’t really fighting for the WDC, while Alonso was. He didn’t want to risk anything and took the easy way out.

          1. Prisoner Monkeys
            3rd December 2010, 22:55

            “Not wanting to risk anything” is not an excuse for team orders. And I’m willing to bet that if any other driver was shown venting his frustrations at a driver he was racing for position (I can understand frutrations at a lapped car, but not a car you’re racing), you’d be all over it as a show of bad sportsmanship, not claiming that he doesn’t give a damn.

            Let’s face it: Fernando Alonso can be a bad sport. He didn’t even congratulate Vettel in Abu Dhabi.

          2. Felipe is a crash kid.. we’ve seen him get tangled up in bad overtaking moves as well as terrible defensive moves throughout the season. And lets face it.. Felipe didn’t look like he was going to win the WDC at anytime after the first 4 races of the season. It was just a logical thing for Ferrari and for Fernando. Sure.. a lot of fans didn’t like it.. including myself.. but Ferrari had one driver capable of winning the WDC and another who wasn’t. Simple.

            And when it comes to the Petrov incident.. I think he just realised that he lost the WDC on a bad call. He was frustrated and in the heat of the moment he made an unsportsmanlike gesture. People make mistakes in the heat of the moment.. we are all human after all. I just think that gesture was blown way out of proportion.

        2. Againd and again, Germany. Can’t imagine all your posts if FA would have been champion by less than 7 points.

          TEAM MANAGERS AND DRIVERS HAVE VOTED FERNANDO ALONSO BEST AND MOST COMPLETE DRIVER.

          But of course, PM knows more than all of them together… aghhhh….

          1. Prisoner Monkeys
            3rd December 2010, 22:56

            Againd and again, Germany.

            Well, it was the worst moment of the season: https://www.racefans.net/2010/12/01/no-prizes-for-guessing-the-worst-moment-of-2010/

    2. I think that more highlights the problem with the sport, not the driver.

    3. I think that maybe Alonso did one or two other things in all the other races this year to be among the four contenders at the end.

      Opinions are opinions, but can’t you please try beat a different drum about Alonso? He’s made some of the most memorable overtakes of the last decade, and that won’t disappear because of one race where he and the team pulled a crappy move on a deserving – if too pliable – teammate.

  8. i think the team bosses should also name the worst drivers in 2010, or let’s have vote on f1fanatic…

    1. Di Grassi ‘for sure’.

      1. Lewis Hamilton…….

        1. Petrov……………. :P

          1. Difficult to choose between Senna and Chandok.

            I can’t remember very well if all the times Karun beat Bruno were because of technical problems at Senna’s side.

            If so: Chandok if not Senna – because being beaten by Klien… Come on!

            (Yamamoto actually went above expectations (Suzuka).

          2. Yamamoto actually went above expectations

            You’re right. He was expected to implement his pit-lane speed limiter for all his race starts, but he only used it for one start. :-)

    2. Heidfeld was the worst driver of 2010 by a long way.

    3. that would be more of an ‘whose your least favourite driver’ poll then a ‘worst driver poll’

  9. Its clear that the team principals (not principles) have a short memory. The last few races have been assigned much more importance than the races in the first half of the season. What else can account for Button having only about a third of Alonso’s points who wins this poll by having an unbelievable second half.
    Hulk’s pole in the second last race seems to have stuck in the mind of many but they have forgotten that 3 minutes of brilliance does not mask the mediocrity of the entire season.

    Sutil – who suffered with a faltering car in the second half – does not even get a mention. Again, evidence that team principals have failed to consider the entire season, but considered only the recent races.

    1. Soumya Banerjee
      3rd December 2010, 6:13

      Why dont you become a team principal, my good friend,i am sure you would do a better job than these misguided idiots,most of whom have several years,if not decades, of experience in
      identifying driver talent. And Sutil in Korea was probably the worst single performance of the past 2 decades.

      1. Yeah Sutil was crazy in Korea but very entertaining ! we need more people like him :)

        1. People keep having a go at Sutil, but if those passes had of stuck, He would be getting huge amounts of praise now.

          In a similar way, if Koby had crashed when he made those great passes, would we be talking about how good he is? I doubt it…

          If I remember correctly, Sutil had brake problems…

          1. Which is why you shouldn’t be trying to out-

            brake

            people. And that’s only even if your memory does serve you correctly.

      2. Yes, one bad performance defines the entire season, doesn’t it?
        Atleast have the decency to quote more than 1 example before objecting to my claims in a blaise manner.

        1. * blase, not blaise Comment too short

    2. “Its clear that the team principals (not principles) have a short memory”

      lol – or is it just that the principals don’t have principles?

    3. I’m pretty sure that the team principles have better things to do, than make a list which in the end means absoultely nothing. I highly doubt that they spent anymore than a five minutes assembling their lists.

  10. Soumya Banerjee
    3rd December 2010, 6:15

    Anybody know the results of the 2009 poll?? I mean besides Alonso’s position there,of course(he was 4th).

  11. Votes from team principals cannot be doubted. Respect has to be earned and Alonso thrives very well in this zone.

    That’s why the ‘best overall packaged driver’ has been trailing Alonso for years. Most liked persona does not bring you championships.

  12. The drivers, the team managers… all vote for Alonso as the best driver. But well, it seems Alonso haters know far more from F1 than the profesionals. Stay in your dream-cloud while Alonso enjoys his well deserved status, having had an incredible season seating on the 3rd fastest car of the grid.
    Ferrari! Just need the 2nd fastest car next season and Alonso will easily be WDC 2011

  13. “Ferrari! Just need the 2nd fastest car next season and Alonso will easily be WDC 2011”

    Didn’t he have the quickest in 07?

    It seems that most team principles don’t mind the occasional shunt and the odd glaring mistake in what they perceive to be is the make-up of a good driver.

    Bring back Takuma Sato! All is forgiven!

    1. It seems that most team principles don’t mind the occasional shunt and the odd glaring mistake in what they perceive to be is the make-up of a good driver.

      Or indeed having a poor whole first half of the season. Couldn’t pass his slower team-mate in Australia, jumped the start in China, nowhere in Spain until two mechanical erros for others, binned it at Monaco only to be saved by the Safety Car, spent half the race trying to pass Petrov in Turkey (sound familiar?), got mugged in Canada trying to overtake a vastly inferior car, lost his cool in Valencia, had a shocker at Silverstone…Bahrain and Malaysia were his only good weekends.

      Then again, the fact they only ranked him 4th last year makes me think these rankings aren’t exactly a good description ;)

      1. I think Monza and even more so Singapore were both pretty good weekends for him as well.

      2. @Ichtyes.We could put point out the exact same number of errors for each of the other three championship contenders throughout the season. Jenson is not included, because in spite of making no errors all season, his sub par pace did not make him a serious championship contender.

    2. Aha, I said Ferrari because Alonso needs a decent car actually with a team supporting and not against him so the newcomer shiny new star makes it, jumping to F1 in a top team. Didn’t quite work out Ron! Even equal points endof season, jeje

      By the way, where did Ham finshed this season with the 2nd fastest car? and the tittle defending driver, yes Button..

      THE DRIVERS DID VOTE FOR ALONSO TOO AS BEST AND MOST COMPLETE DRIVER, HELLO??

      1. Alonso’s attitude was what resulted in any feeling that the team was against him.

  14. WOW :D My post at the round-up :D.

    1. That first picture is really nice indeed (as Ned noted in the thread).
      However, at first a I thiught you accientically had a shot from this years WC Football (Soccer), with all the Orange (..I am dutch…)

      1. Chevrolet’s grandstand is a colourful one =D

  15. I can easily see why Alonso (deservedly) topped this poll. After all, if you were a team principal wouldn’t you want a driver who can galvanise and lead a team while at the same time be ferociously quick? You sense Ferrari had real direction this season and Alonso was a huge part of that. It isn’t his fault that he was so much quicker than his team mate.

    So he waved his fist a couple of times and got angry. He isn’t the first one and he wont be the last – remember DC in France in 2000, or evem Hamilton at Bahrain in 2008. It’s a natural reaction and it should be celebrated that there are still drivers who show their raw emotion.

    Taking everything into account, Alonso is probably the best driver on the grid. Vettel might be quicker over a couple of laps, Hamilton might be more attacking and Button might be calmer, but none of them have the complete range of skills like Alonso does. His only real weakness seems to be his emotions sometimes getting the better of him, but that’s hardly crime of the century is it?

    1. I agree. I think Alonso’s building up Ferrari around himself the same way Schumacher did, but he’s starting there with a more competitive car than Schumacher did.

  16. My first comment of the day, thanks Keith :)

  17. Alonso is indeed one of the best.

    But I don’t like him. I don’t like Hamilton, I don’t like Webber.

    I like Schumacher, Raikkonnen, Vettel, Trulli, Chandok, Button, Barichello. I feel sympathy for Massa.

    etc

    ‘chemistry’ between people apparantly also works when you only know someone from TV, racing a car and giving some interviews (the post race interviews with Kimi!).

    And with this complex sport, full of factors which we know and don’t know, it is so hard to compare drivers really objectively.

    I can’t remember any F1 driver who never made a mistake. They’re human after all. And this humanity, like parking your car at Rascasse, or lying to the Stewards, ratting out your team, or waving your hand, or pointing to your head… This humanity makes all sports, including F1, interesting to watch and follow. Including this endless debate…

  18. The importance of this poll is that the team managers are saying we would predominantly prefer an aggressive me-me-me type of driver who is totally focused on one thing-winning. By any means possible.

    “Sportsmanship” has little to do with F1 these days.

    1. Indeed. They all remember Senna…but he was really good!

    2. totally disagree. Team managers normaly want loosers in their teams that are very nice to them and their team mates so they can spend a great time travelling around the world.

      Do you really think there is one single driver out there without a winning fcused mind??? They all have been brought up like this since kids with the only goal of arriving in pos 1 to the finish line.

      Drivers have their own friends and family outside he racing to be nice to, F1 is competing, developing cars to the extreme spending fortunes on it, no space for sportsmanship other than helping out your team mate to score points for the team and WDC

  19. Maybe in 2005 or 2006, Alonso was the best driver on the grid, but I don’t think he is anymore.

    He seems to struggle when it comes to being stranded in the midfield. Valencia, Silverstone and Abu Dhabi, he never really fought back being stuck behind less experienced drivers… not to mention Kobayashi catching him napping in Valencia (One of my favourite moments of the season) ;)

    Australia was a decent performance but he was aided by not pitting and Hamilton and Webber colliding putting the pressure off. Hockenheim was a gifted win. In both those races he struggled to pass his teammate who was all over the place but managing to stay ahead.

    What happens is that whenever Fernando gets frustrated, it affects his abilities as a racing driver and can’t perform at his best.

    So, who do I think is the best driver on the grid now? Enter Robert Kubica. He can overtake (as Singapore proved), he can drive fast, he’s a tough but fair racer and he’s the one driver that Lewis Hamilton can’t seem to overtake. ;) Give him a car that is almost as good as this year’s Red Bull and he’ll challenge for the title.

    1. I tend to agree with your idea that Alonso suffers from frustration – I think 2007 really cracked him just a little bit. Not sure I would choose Kubica over him as the best for the moment though. I want to see him in a race winning car some more before I would be able to agree.

  20. The fact that Kubica sits behind Webber tells that the voting was not a pure indication of driver talent alone , but rather a lot of influence from the speed of the car the driver had.

  21. The team bosses’ opinion of Alonso was shared by the drivers in that vote they had in July. Then again, Rosberg received a vote for “most beautiful woman,” so who can say how scientific it really was. ;-)

  22. No surprise here. Alonso is still the best. In an RBR this year, he would have dominated from start to finish. I think Vettel was deservedly a close 2nd. You have to say that he is a solid top-3 driver, along w/ Alonso and Lewis. Webber has no place in the top-5. Kubica and Rosberg belong there.

  23. I find this article hilarious,not because Alonso tops the poll by team principals,he also came out well in the drivers vote to,but its the denial some feel,Why?

    Brakius mentioned the Moss interview,it certainly does show how professionals see him rather than the anti Alonso camp do.

    Ferrari knew he could be a bit fiesty,and not easy to please,yet he and Ferrari pulled themselves back from a 47 point deficit at Silverstone to fight and lead the WDC,and i might add the THIRD fastest car.

    Lastly Dan Thorn sums it up nicely i think.

  24. Alonso is, at least for me, the best driver out there. His comeback this year was great! But he made a couple of silly mistakes this year, especially in Spa and Silverstone where he didn’t give his place back to Kubica, so I don’t agree with him that this was his personal best. This year I think both Kubica and Rosberg were the best, but they didn’t have the right car. But as I said, Alonso’s comeback was brilliant because his car was not the quickest of them all.

  25. '92 & '93 Peugeot 905 Le Mans Winner
    3rd December 2010, 20:09

    Whose helmet is it on the picture???
    The helmet before you click on this article

  26. LMFAO…It makes the Russia bid look credable. How ALO can be considered for anything apart from snake of the year makes me wonder, and Quatar for 2022, Bernie must be doing overtime, considering they dont have a domestic league and no grass. But Iam sure Herman can build some disposable stadiums for em.

  27. I see the dominoes have started to fall, lets hope it spreads to all those corrupt forces who wanna take F1 to places….Oh wait a minute……..It`s already there.

  28. Prisoner Monkeys
    3rd December 2010, 22:52

    Read Fer’s excellent guest article on the Argentinean Touring Car Championship from earlier this year: Why you should watch… TC2000

    I was going to write an article on “Why you should watch V8 Supercars”, but decided against it. It’s not worth watching, since one of the manufacturers has taken to buying the champion every year. They don’t care about the racing; rather, they’re trying to control as much of the grid as possible as a marketing exercise. The moment a driver starts showing promise, Holden buys them – even when it violates an existing contract.

  29. I like that Hulkenberg made the top 10 out scoring his team mate Rubens and equaling Massa. I really think that Williams has really lost the plot in not keeping him.

    1. Barrichello was way better than Hulkenburg all season and outscored him 47 to 22 points where it really matters.

      One Swallow doesn’t make a summer.

      It would seem that both team principles and F1 drivers suffer from some sort of short term memory syndrome.

      1. It shows just how much thought that they put into their voting, when both Massa and Hulkenburg get into the top ten (ranked equal with Massa isn’t saying much either) and Barrichello is nowhere to be seen.

        1. Actually he’s 10th, but he was way better than the two ahead of him.

      2. Ruben should have and did outscore Hulk during the season… he’s the experienced veteran. What he didn’t do was to impress the way The Hulk did. Having said that… Rubens did make it and Shumacher didn’t… He’s got to be loving that!

        1. Rosberg is no rookie and Hulk is. Rosberg has been here for 4 years and Rubens has been not been retired for 3 years. I don’t see the comparison.

        2. Hulk only really impressed for a couple of minutes in Brazil.

      3. Well you have to take into account the amount of experience Barrichello had. When it comes to raw talent Hülkenberg is the better of the 2. He’s proven to be consistent, fast, able to pull out a good qualifying lap, able to drive under hard conditions (he did that better than Barrichello actually! Beat Barri comfortably in Maleysia as well as his pole-race) and he doesn’t make many mistakes. He was a little off the pace, but overall he wasn’t far behind Rubens, which is a great achievement. So I can see why they picked him over Barrichello. Given the amount of experience you’d expect Barrichello to destroy Hülkenberg the way Kubica did with Petrov. That didn’t happen.

        1. And Alonso couldn’t pass Petrov in a faster car. It’s all really just perception isn’t it.

          1. Alonso couldnt pass petrov, who had a faster car on the straights, which is where all the overtaking happened.

            but yes it is just perspective :p haha

            :)

  30. He impressed on more occassions, but not on a regular basis. But that’s is what rookies do, sometimes they preform well en the next race they don’t.

    And it is no shame to end up behind Rubens. That’s a very good driver who performs well over a full season. Hulk still has to learn how to do that. He will.

  31. 2005-2010 there is only one WDC won by Ferrari driver. And i beleive next year is just one more dry year to this list even Donkey is treated like a king in Santander Ferrari. The dream team is no more.

    Stop the hype, its ridicules!!

    1. Ferrari were right up there in 4 of those six seasons fighting for the WDC, so it’s only your opinion that is ridiculous (different word to “ridicules”).

      1. ridicules is what you get when something ridiculous mates with hercules :)

    2. In that period, which driver won the most titles?

  32. Spa09: From 2005-2010 also just one McLaren driver won the WDC. So that dream is also over?

  33. Serves him right. And it ain’t no hype, never was, never will.

  34. Alonso is the most talented driver, and Singapore 2010 was a drive of the year, incredible demonstration of pure speed with inferior car

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