Fernando Alonso has made the stunning claim that he was never slower than seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher.
The two shared a short but sweet rivalry at the very top of the sport, with Alonso's two world championships in 2005 and 2006 coming at the expense of Schumacher before the German's first retirement at the end of 2006.
When Alonso first came into the sport in 2001 with the Minardi team, however, things were completely different.
Schumacher had just won the third of his seven world championships, and would go on to win two more before Alonso even managed to win his first race in 2003.
Despite this, Alonso told the High Performance Podcast that he doesn't believe Schumacher was ever faster than him.
"When I first got to Formula One Michael Schumacher was dominating the sport but I never thought that I was slower than him, in a way, maybe it was just a kamikaze approach to Formula One and to the start of my career, but I never doubted that if I had the same car maybe I could challenge him."
No self doubt from confident Alonso
Fernando Alonso has never been shy of confidence, and his intriguing outlook on the sport is what makes him many people's favourite driver.
Indeed, he wasn't wrong. As soon as he was given a car capable of challenging for world championships, he won two consecutively, knocking Michael Schumacher off his perch just as the German had rolled off five championships in a row.
Alonso won two world championships with the Renault team, in 2005 and 2006
Even at the ripe old age of 42, he is still arguably just as quick as the sport's two biggest names in Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton.
"I just do what I know I can do and on that specific thing, I don't have much self doubt or I don't have many problems."
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