"I never thought that I was slower than him": When Fernando Alonso reflected on his fearless approach against Michael Schumacher
Fernando Alonso’s move to overtake Michael Schumacher on the outside going into 130R at the 2005 Japanese GP is regarded by many as one of the most fearless moves in F1. This incident from 2005 was one of the first glimpses of Alonso's fearless driving style.
The Spaniard was invited to the High Performance podcast in August 2023 as he spoke about his fearless approach against Schumacher.
Alonso said (via High Performance podcast):
“When I got to F1, Michael Schumacher was dominating the sport, but I never thought I was slower than him, in a way. Maybe it was just a kamikaze approach to F1 and the start of my career. But I never doubted that having the same car, maybe I could challenge him one day. So that's how all my career went."
Alonso officially joined F1 at the start of 2001 as Minardi’s test driver. Schumacher's dominance, on the other hand, had just begun. He won back-to-back championships including the five consecutive titles from 2000 to 2004. Yet, the Spaniard believed in himself to have the ability to beat Schumacher.
In 2005, it was Alonso who ended the German driver's championship streak by winning in his Renault. The Spaniard continued his success into the 2006 season, winning the title again. The Aston Martin driver is now 43-years-old but is arguably still as quick as any other driver in equal machinery.
The two didn't get to compete at the peak of their careers in equal machinery. When Schumacher was dominating with Ferrari, Alonso drove for the backmarker Minardi. Later when Alonso moved to Renault, Schumacher and Ferrari underperformed in the championship.
“Michael never underperformed”: When Fernando Alonso hailed Michael Schumacher
Despite being arch-rivals with Schumacher in the early 2000s, Alonso was full of praise of Schumacher's talent. The Spaniard highlighted how Schumacher extracted the most out of a car in any given situation.
Alonso said in February 2023 (via PlanetF1):
“Michael didn’t have bad days. Michael never underperformed. That’s what impressed me most when I got to Formula 1 and especially when I fought with him for the championship. Previously, in all my career and different categories, my rivals had some bad days and those were the days when you would capitalize – you would score many more points than them.”
“With Michael, that didn’t happen. He and Ferrari were unbeatable most of the time, but even when they didn’t have the car, the tyres, or whatever working in the right window, Michael still finished second or third.”
Michael Schumacher competed in Formula 1 from 1991 to 2006, and then returned with Mercedes in 2010 for a two-year stint.