Fernando Alonso is without a doubt a legendary Formula One driver. He has won the drivers’ championship twice in his career. Given his immense talent, every Formula One fan knows that he could have had more titles to his name. But his first Formula One team boss has gone one step ahead and made a claim that is up for debate.
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Paul Stoddart, former owner and team principal of Minardi, knows Fernando Alonso ever since his formative years in F1. He was the one who took the young Spaniard under his wing at Minardi. Stoddart brought Fernando into his team after being impressed by his performance in Formula 3000.
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Paul Stoddart’s bold claim on Fernando Alonso’s achievements
Paul Stoddart recently appeared on the ‘In the Fast Lane: F1 and MotoGP’ podcast. Stoddart talked about his earliest memories of working with Alonso in 2001. He also made a steep claim about how much he could have achieved had certain things gone his way.
ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – NOVEMBER 25: Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain and Mercedes GP and Fernando Alonso of Spain and McLaren F1 talk on the grid before the Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Charles Coates/Getty Images)
Talking about Fernando’s seasons at Ferrari, where he was ever so close to winning the championship twice, Stoddart said, “there’s two championships with Ferrari that he would’ve, could’ve, and should’ve had. It’s easy to say that but it’s actually really true with Fernando.”
Making a bold claim about Alonso’s talent, the 67-year-old Australian said, “In my mind he’s a two-time world champion that could ever so easily if at a different team, at a different time had been, where he ended up, he could easily be ahead of Hamilton. He certainly had the talent.”
Alonso recently made his 350th race start, a feat that only he can boast of achieving. The Spaniard broke Kimi Raikkonen’s record of 349 race starts and looks to be in no mood to stop after signing a multi-year deal with Aston Martin.
Fernando Alonso’s 350th race ruined by reliability issues
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Fernando Alonso’s 350th race milestone turned into a lackluster event after another DNF. The 2-time world champion had his fourth DNF of the season.
Formula One F1 – Canadian Grand Prix – Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal, Canada – June 18, 2022 Alpine’s Fernando Alonso after finishing in second position after qualifying pool via REUTERS/Jim Watson
Things got worse for Alpine as their second car, driven by Esteban Ocon too bowed out before the race ended. McLaren made the best of the situation with a 4-5 finish, pipping Alpine to take the 4th position in Constructor’s Championship. Alonso came down heavy on his team and blamed the car’s reliability issues for the loss of points.
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Watch This Story: Rare 12-year-old image of 2023 Aston Martin Lineup surfaces as Fernando Alonso announces bizarre shift.
He even made a bold claim saying that he could’ve been competing against the likes of Mercedes had it not been for the points lost to 4 DNFs this season.
