It’s Saturday at Buddh International Circuit in late October 2012 and Fernando Alonso is despondent.
Three races earlier he held a 37-point lead over Lewis Hamilton at the top of the drivers’ championship. Sebastian Vettel was a further two points behind.
Since then Vettel had won three races in a row, erasing Alonso’s championship lead and leaving him with a six-point deficit. He and Red Bull team mate Mark Webber annexed the front row for the Indian Grand Prix, leaving Alonso fifth on the grid, over half a second off the pace.
“At the moment I am, or we are not, fighting against Sebastian only,” said Alonso, “we are fighting against Newey, let’s say, because they are first and second in the last [three] races.”
The first rounds of the 2012 season were thrillingly competitive. The opening seven races were each won by a different driver, from five different teams. But in the second half of the year Red Bull’s design team, led by chief technical officer, made strides with the performance of their RB8, and Alonso’s title hopes began to fade.
That moment 12 years ago was Alonso’s last, best chance to win the third world championship he has sought since his back-to-back title wins of 2005 and 2006. Now 43, the longevity of his career has defied the expectations of many, not least himself.
It has been driven by Alonso’s utter conviction that he remains a match for anyone else on the grid. And his equally firm and frequently stated understanding that the key to success in F1 is having the best car.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Newey’s arrival makes that a serious possibility for Aston Martin in 2026, when new regulations arrive in time for Alonso’s 23rd season in F1. And he is quite convinced of Alonso’s abilities, having previously named him as one of the few drivers on the grid he is most keen to work with in the future.
“Fernando, of course we’ve battled against each other for so many years,” said Newey after his move to Aston Martin was made official today. “He’s been a bit of a kind of arch-enemy at times.
“We came so close to him joining Red Bull in 2008 for the 2009 season, but unfortunately it didn’t quite happen, which is a great shame, so we continue to battle against each other. He’s a legend of the sport. So I’m very much looking forward to working with him.”
The…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at RaceFans…