Fernando Alonso rates himself one mark shy of being the perfect driver

Fernando Alonso

Alonso rates himself one mark shy of being the perfect driver

The 39-year-old believes he is 9/10 across the board

Ian Parkes

Wednesday 7 October 2020 07:08

Fernando Alonso has hailed himself as near perfect when it comes to being an all-round driver.

Following a two-year sabbatical away from Formula 1, Alonso is due to return to the sport next year with the Renault-rebranded Alpine team.

Ahead of his comeback, the 39-year-old two-time F1 and Le Mans champion rates himself highly.

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Speaking at a press conference this week to promote the Amazon documentary Fernando, and suggested to him he was a complete driver given his experiences, Alonso replied: "I must agree. I consider myself to be quite complete -- maybe I score nine in everything.

"Maybe there's a faster driver in wet conditions, or on Saturday, or on the starting line, one that's better than me. But I think I'm close to the top in many circumstances and categories, and in the championship that's a good thing to have.

"It's like when you have any top athlete doing good in every single category, in the end, you win."

Over time, Alonso has enjoyed competing in other categories and cars, adding experiences in the Indy500 and Dakar Rally to his CV, while he has competed with a range of different engine and tyre manufacturers.

Reflecting on the variety throughout his many years in motorsport, Alonso added: "Throughout my career, when the engines were V10 or V8, we were there all the time. With Michelin, Pirelli, we were still there in the top positions.

"The wet conditions were always good for me, and now, when I've gone to other categories, to go to the Dakar Rally and be amongst the top five was a good surprise for me. To jump in a car and be able to lead in the Indy 500 was a surprise to me.

"So you discover yourself as a driver who can adapt to any car, circumstance or category, and you start to harness that for your own benefit. You're aware of your limitations, you try to hide them to not give any openings to your rivals or opponents.

"But your qualities, you try to emphasise them, and that's what I intend to do. I try to emphasise them better than others."

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