A conversation I had in mid 2003…
H: So you watch F1?
Me: For a while now…
H: Whome do you support?
Me: Fernando Alonso and Renault.
H: Why? Cant you choose someone who can win?
Me: :)
I believe the time has come to answer that question…
Back in 2003 at the Malaysian Grand Prix a certain Spaniard took Pole, fought hard and finished on the podium. There was something I saw in him… I find it hard to explain even now but there was that aura of righteousness around him and I knew I would back this guy… Few months later he became the youngest race winner in the history of F1(Hungary 2003), everyone marvelled his amazing pace and hailed him as the next World Champion.
Renault… What do I say about this French team? I fell in love with it thanks to Alonso. As I learnt about its past and the ideals of the team… I began to love them. Renault has always stood and fought for the small teams in F1, entering F1 taking over the side from Benneton(which at the time was only 5th or 6th best) Renault began its steep climb to the top.
In the first few years 2001-2004 Renault was literally laughed at by the top teams in F1. They were called names like ‘track cleaners'(used for the teams that drive on a dirty track to get more track time… The top teams wait for the lower teams to clean the track to use it at its optimum) and were even told things like ‘you act like a low team you will never become one of the top’, Renault smiled back.
In an age where everyone spent big bucks Renault had one of the smallest budget in Formula One. The team had only about 1/5th or 1/6th the strength(in no. of personnel) of teams like Ferrari and Mc Laren right until 2005… but the love for the sport was as much as the top teams. Over time despite the best efforts of other teams and Renault, teams like Minardi and Jordan crumbled without enough funds… The rule changes which Ferrari fans say was done to stop Michael Schumacher’s 5 straight World Championships(which is partially true) was done so that poor teams have a fighting chance in this sport. Renault fought for them and I salute their efforts.
Then came the season of 2004… Ferrari were untouchable, Michael won 13 of the 18 possible races… but in the dim light on the rest of the grid there was movement… A team, a driver had decided to step up to the ring… They needed the best preparation anyone in F1 had ever done, Mid way through 2004 they were already working on the ‘R25’ A name which will be forever tattooed on every Alonso and Renault fan’s mind.
2004 in ways was the best season by Fernando Alonso(In my opinion it was far better than 2005). Alonso had a car which was no where close to the best, yet he drove to 3 podiums and some of the best driving I had ever seen in F1. People have always wondered where Alonso’s maturity in the car comes…. Look at the season of ’04, That was the year the boy became the man… 2005 was when the man became World Champion.
‘Winter testing’ was special in 2004-2005. Renault was the only team doing it and it payed off handsomely. Renault started the season a class above the rest… Suddenly the ‘Track Cleaners’ were the best on the Paddock. Finally Alonso had a car that complimented his abilities and now literally nobody could stop him. Kimi came close but Renault had won the championship before the contenders had even stepped up.
What was Alonso’s best races? Two races… Japanese Grand Prix 2001 where he finished 11th and Hungary 2006 where he retired. His fights with Michael will be remember forever but his genius to be truly understood we have to look aback at those races. In 2001 driving a Minardi, Alonso in his last race for the team produced such a performance that Paul Stoddard remarked ‘This guy will be a World Champion one day.’ Alonso was putting in faster lap after lap despite chasing nobody for track position. Paul later said something in the lines of ‘He already had a contract with Renault, he was not doing it to impress someone… he was just that good’. About Hungaroring 2006, If you missed it tell me I have a personal copy of the race :)
But truly I am not an Alonso fan thanks to the wins… Its more the ideals he and Renault have preached… Its important to win but far more important to win honorably. Terms like Hard Work and Honesty have changed their meaning in my dictionary after following this team. The team has taught me to respect others victories and to keep fighting, to not give up hope when the world is against you and to believe in and walk the right path.
People might say this is just a sport and that is just a team but for me its far more. The last time I felt so much for a player it was Goran Ivanisivic and his quest for Wimbeldon but that seems so different when compared to the underdog team’s climb to the top.
Many people call Alonso arrogant speaker, they mock his celebrations and his comments but that is only because they cannot find a single fault in what he does on track. As far as Arrogance goes I have yet to see an example of it… most ppl who put the blame on him simply ignore the requests to bring up evidence. The celebrations are quiet funny but that is what Alonso is… He does not think himself to be great… he is just a boy doing what he loves best… I sure hope the boy inside of him never gets sidelined.
Now for the answer to the question which was asked to me back in 2003 (will tell him the next time I meet him)
H: Why? Cant you choose someone who can win?
Me: Coz I did not choose a Winner… I chose a Champion :)