Alonso has the same skills as Schumacher: Domenicali

Former Ferrari boss, Stefano Domenicali, has claimed that the skill sets of Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso can be considered at an equal level and the Spaniard could have clinched the drivers’ title with Ferrari, if not for a poor car.

Domenicali appeared on F1’s new podcast, Beyond the Grid, and spoke fondly of Alonso.  “I rate Fernando an incredible driver,” said the Italian. He went on to compare them directly too.

“I would say, as always, in terms of numbers, Michael. But Fernando… don’t forget that he was able to win and he was able to get closer to be very successful also with Ferrari.”

Alonso, who retires at the end of this season, came close to winning the title for Ferrari in both 2010 and 2012 but lost out to Vettel on both occasions, with both coming in the ending stages of the season. And the ex-boss acknowledged it.

“The difference from these two periods is from one side we had the best team ever in terms of positions in all the roles, in terms of performance, in terms of drivers,” said Domenicali.

“When Fernando was with Felipe [Massa] the car unfortunately was not the best for a lot of reasons and, despite that, we were able to get close to win championships – I would say very unlucky we didn’t win 2010 and 2012 for two different reasons.”

“Despite that we were able to arrive at the end fighting for the championship and this is an element that is not taken for granted because top drivers need to have a good car.”

For all the talent that Alonso has, it seems strange that he won only two drivers’ titles, though that can be attributed to him driving poorly developed cars for a lot of his career, with Ferrari, Renault and McLaren, during their later years being the prime examples.

However, former F1 boss, Bernie Ecclestone, claimed that the Spaniard could not be considered a great purely because of his undoubted talent because he made bad decisions throughout his career.

Whatever the case may be, Alonso will surely be remembered as the bloke who challenged the might of Schumacher and Ferrari at a period when they were dominating F1. He took the fight to the German and arguably also caused his retirement from the sport.