Alain Prost has made a huge claim regarding Fernando Alonso, and went on to call him the best on the grid today.
Alonso is a two-time world champion, and has had many great moments in F1. However, one stat that haunted him for a long time was last securing a podium in 2014. Seven years later, he has ended that streak by taking a superb P3 at the Qatar GP.
The Spaniard has been an unlucky driver on many occasions, with the peak of it seeing him make that horribly-timed move to McLaren. It scarred him enough to leave F1 for two years, before returning to Alpine this season. He has since been key in the midfield battle, but hasn’t been able to compete at the level of years past.
However, the 40-year-old defied all the odds and put in a shift to get his car over the line in third place. Every fan was happy to see him on the podium after seven long years, and among them was the F1 legend in Alain.
As quoted by grandpx.news, the 66-year-old said, “For me, he is the best driver in the field.
“The overview of the race he has is unbelievable, as is his feel for the tyres, the statements he makes about the car and how he feeds the engineers.”
Proven wrong
Prost went on to admit that even he was hesitant to welcome Alonso back to Alpine, the team then called Renault with whom the veteran won both his championships with. He had left F1 on bad terms, and it was a sizeable gamble at the time.
He proved everyone wrong and showed that there was life left in the old dog. Blistering starts, holding faster cars off for ridiculous times, and a podium later, his signing has been Alpine’s gain.
Prost admitted as much and hailed the driver, saying, “Fernando has always told me that he has become a different person, and I have to say that he was right.
“He is totally at the service of the team, and that is very good for the team.”
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