Alonso: Critics were a blessing for me

A far cry from the self-centred and polemic man, who also happened to be a true fighter and incredible race driver, which we witnessed from about the first time he sat in a Fo1 car, 20 years ago, until he departed at the closure of the first chapter of his F1 career, at the end of 2018, after four dismal seasons with McLaren.

Previously, a controversy-magnet wherever he went in F1, the 'new' Alonso appears a lot more relaxed, at ease and even as humble as a racing driver can be, helping Esteban Ocon to his first victory on a famous day for Alpine, in Hungary, last time out.

That afternoon, the Spaniard's defence against a hard-charging Lewis Hamilton, not only denied the Mercedes driver a 100th career victory and a win on the day it also provided us with priceless footage that forever shows what Alonso is all about when he does his talking on track.

The gutsy spell, holding off his former McLaren teammate now in a mighty Mercedes, allowed current teammate Ocon, in the other Alpine, to have enough in hand to fend off Hamilton's attack in the final stages of a dramatic race at Hungaroring.

Fernando 2.0 is not shy to speak from his heart, and to admit drawbacks since his return with Alpine: “I knew it would be a process of adaptation. I thought it would've been more rapid, because F1 is a natural thing for me compared to the WEC, the Dakar Rally or Indianapolis, and I thought I would quickly be at my 100%.

“Monaco is an example: I expected it to be a good track for me but in the end, I missed out on Q1. This was a disappointment for me but I knew it was only a matter of time.

"The criticism and the comments that came from that, well it’s not as if I liked it but they were a blessing for me,” he revealed in an interview with SoyMotor.

He added of his critics: "I knew that it was only a matter of time before people started to appreciate the effort to finish a race in tenth. Had I always been in front of Esteban, had I always been in the points, they would have said what they said throughout my career, which is: my teammate was not good enough and that the car had more potential.

"But this time it was me that was missing out!"

“Then, if suddenly they think I am finished, anything I accomplish they appreciate much more. For instance, some races were not great, take France where I finished ninth... it was a good race, nothing special, but it was considered to be a super performance because I was starting to do good races again.

Therefore Alonso, unlike in his past, views the recent criticism as positive, the two-time F1 World Champion admitted as much: "It was a good thing," he concluded.

Alonso has, inadvertently or not, mostly destroyed his teammates wherever he has raced -in F1 the tale of Stoffel Vandoorne a testament to that - but, now at 40, he is different as Ocon testified in a recent interview with Sky F1: "I was told many different stories about Fernando before he came to the team

"We spoke about it together as well. I heard he was a tricky teammate to work with, I heard he liked to play tricks, he was not fair with the teammates inside the team, and that he was ruthless," said the 24-year-old Frenchman, who himself has faced similar accusations from rivals and teammates.

"The times I am having with Fernando are fantastic. We are a great duo sharing information, pushing the team towards the same goal, which is winning in the future.

"That's what we want to be. I'm proud to be working with him, it's a privilege, he's such a legend and I hope we can share together more podiums," added Ocon of what appears to be a rare and unlikely match made in F1 heaven.