A string of uncompetitive Ferraris is the only reason Fernando Alonso hasn’t come close to matching the records of Michael Schumacher, his former boss Stefano Domenicali claims.
This weekend at the Russian Grand Prix, the Spaniard will match the German legend with his 307th race start, 15 short of the all-time record set by another ex-Scuderia driver in Rubens Barrichello.
With Alonso also set to call time on his F1 career at the end of this season, the assessment of the legacy he will leave has already begun and Domenicali believes despite the apparent gulf in the statistics, the double world champion shouldn’t be undervalued.
“I rate Fernando an incredible driver,” he told F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast.
“I would say, as always, in terms of numbers, Michael. But Fernando… don’t forget that he was able to win and he was able to get closer to be very successful also with Ferrari.
“The difference from these two periods is from one side [with Schumacher] we had the best team ever in terms of positions in all the roles, in terms of performance, in terms of drivers,” he continued.
“When Fernando was with Felipe [Massa] the car, unfortunately, was not the best for a lot of reasons and, despite that, we were able to get close to win championships.”
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Alonso’s five-year stint with the Italian team, between 2010 and 2014, was often overshadowed by the emergence of Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel before Mercedes assumed the dominant position at the start of the hybrid era.
But, as Domenicali points out, certainly in the Vettel years, the 37-year-old was the thorn in his side.
“I would say very unlucky we didn’t win 2010 and 2012 for two different reasons,” he claimed.
“Despite that, we were able to arrive at the end fighting for the championship and this is an element that is not taken for granted because top drivers need to have a good car.”