Fernando Alonso recalled the days when he was fighting a Michael Schumacher at the peak of his powers and claims the great German never had bad days or underperformed.
Fernando Alonso will go down in history as the driver who deposed seven-time Formula 1 Champion and legend Michael Schumacher from his throne in the sport.
After five years of utter dominance by Schumacher and Ferrari between 2000 and 2004, a young Alonso came along and beat the German to the Title in 2005 and 2006 ending his streak with the Scuderia.
Looking back on his rivalry with Schumacher, while speaking in an interview to Aston Martin's official website; Alonso said: "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," he added.
"Previously, in all my career and different categories, my rivals had some bad days and those were the days when you would capitalise – you would score many more points than them.
"With Michael, that didn't happen. He and Ferrari were unbeatable most of the time, but even when they didn't have the car, the tyres, or whatever working in the right window, Michael still finished second or third.
"Even after a bad free practice or a bad qualifying, you would still find Michael on the podium on Sunday. He had this tenacity, this willingness to exploit any opportunity – to minimise the damage on the bad days and maximise the good days. His determination was outstanding," the Spaniard explained.
Who is the greatest driver if F1?
Many regard Schumacher as the greatest F1 driver of all time, others think Ayrton Senna is, while these days Lewis Hamilton is considered to be the GOAT by many, but Alonso believes a comparison cannot be made between F1 drivers.
Asked if he is the best driver in F1, Alonso responded: "Nobody knows the answer to that question. Every season we keep changing opinion.
"We thought for many years that Michael Schumacher was unbeatable and had maybe reached a level that no one had in the history of Formula 1. But, throughout the history of the sport, we've seen different drivers dominating – it's impossible to compare them.
"What I do know is that I always try to give my maximum," the Aston Martin ace went on. "I'm never demotivated. It doesn't matter whether I'm fighting for fifth or 15th, for me, it's like fighting for the win because I have to make sure that I give 100 per cent on every lap of every race."
With Alonso now racing for Aston Martin, a team that was languishing in the lower part of the midfield in 2022, he will need all the tenacity he has in him to drag the team forward, especially if the AMR23, Aston Martin's 2023 F1 car that will be revealed on February 13, is not an improvement over its woeful predecessor, the AMR22.
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