F1 Half Term Report: Rate the Grid - Fernando Alonso

[Paul Jeffrey]

Twice World Champion and McLaren lead driver, how has one of the most decorated drivers on the grid performed in 2017, in your opinion?

2017 has been another difficult year for the Spanish driver, with just a second string McLaren Honda to pilot on a Sunday afternoon and very little to show with regards to points results, Alonso has still managed to remain at the forefront of fans attention with some eye catching performances, not least of which was his stunning Indy 500 debut back in May.

At 36 years of age, time is against the Spaniard to add to his pervious two World Championship victories, however if 2017 is anything to go by, age certainly hasn't dulled the speed and wily race craft of the McLaren man.

Vote now to tell us how you rate the first half of 2017 for Fernando Alonso, and leave a comment below!

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[ramokerat]

I think his effort in the Indy 500 is enough for a 10. First race in an indycar and he was definitely fighting for the win. In F1 he is a good as can be but obviously honda is masking that.

 

[Akra]

He's more interesting than the rest of the grid combined, in every area.

 

[kedy89]

He's driving the hell out of that piece of **** car.

 

[Glaurung]

In terms of driving, he's the best driver of the F1 circus.
But outside the cockpit he's definitely not a team leader: he lacks the ability to relate with his engineers, polarizing the team upon him and addressing properly the car development (like back in the days what Schumacher has done in Benetton and Ferrari).
Vote 10 for the pure driving skills, but down to 8 as a whole.

 

[Deleted member 6919]

For his pure effort in a under powered car, and a amazing appearance in the Indy 500, he easily deserves a 9..

 

[TrumpetReich]

I know everyone just LOVES how hard he drives, but have you considered he's killing the car? All those engine failures aren't unexpected. The guys on the box tell him to change to a different mode to keep it alive, yet he ignores them, and sure enough, it usually blows up. It's fun to watch, sure, but he has no one but himself to blame for all those DNFs.

 

[Rob]

What Fernando has done in F1 this year is stunning enough, with that P.O.S. he has to drive. However, what he has done for open wheel racing may just go down in the history books as the second coming of Nigel Mansell. It's up to IndyCar now to cultivate that and try to overcome F1's antagonism toward other series'. This man will forever be #2 in the world to me (after Nigel), even though most F1 fans will see 1/2 of the picture. Fernando is now publicly loved and immediately recognizable in a country where race fans look at F1 and laugh. Now they aren't laughing as hard...and the F1 paddock is getting very nervous. He's bridged the gap, as only a beloved driver can do. These guys don't come along every day. It made his jump to McLaren 100% worth it IMO. And my money still says he'll be in IndyCar next year.

 

[Akra]

I know everyone just LOVES how hard he drives, but have you considered he's killing the car? All those engine failures aren't unexpected. The guys on the box tell him to change to a different mode to keep it alive, yet he ignores them, and sure enough, it usually blows up. It's fun to watch, sure, but he has no one but himself to blame for all those DNFs.

Yeah, Honda isn't at all to blame for a slow engine that blows up if you don't make it even slower. I guess Fernando was blowing up Jensons engine and what not too. And all the stress he puts them through on warm-up laps, and grid penalties. All Fernandos fault.

 

[James Cook]

Alonso is one of the few remaining reasons to watch F1.

 

[aphidgod]

10, for continuing to drive the car to its absolute limit even with the knowledge that it's likely in vain. Takes some character to do that. And we all know his skill level.

 

[Mitja Bonca]

For sure one of the best in this business, no doubt about it. The only one who have beaten the best of the best.

 

[Kasti]

He´s like wine, getting older means getting better. But the car... sad to see Bruce Mclaren´s orange backmarking cause of useless engine.

 

[M-Bimmer]

Would be beyond frustrated but he is a hell of a fighter.

He is about pure driving/racing
-No advice from the pit wall (tyres&what to do when)...check
-Sometimes Influence his pit strategy...check
-Not into F1 b. politics...check

this guy kinda humiliated Schummy back in the days and i used to hate him for that but he is the only true fighter out there today and for that reason i am really thankful to be around and watch his pure talent even if it does not show in results (personally i don't care about numbers i would rather watch an eventful race which i would consider an instant classic than seeing my favourite driver starting and finishing 1st without a single fight...nope no way i would watch that boring race again feeling)

 

[racelover]

With what we saw in Hungary in mind, maybe, hopefully, there's still more to come

 

[kondor999]

Put this man in the Renault and he'd be right in there with the Red Bulls going for podiums.

10/10 Would watch this guy even in Formula E. And I don't say that about anyone.

 

[jimtiti14]

The most complete driver on the grid at the moment,but the car.....no comment.

 

[INEEDU]

He pushes the McLaren past what it should be.... take Hungary as an example. He pushed the car so hard into P6 when the Honda engine cant even cope with speeds above 270 km/h (xD) but yeah he pushed so hard in that slow ass Honda powered McLaren.

 

[Nick Hill]

Scoring even *a* point in this turd of a F1 car would be quite a feat. Scoring 10? That's some pretty good driving in my book - I give him a '9'.

With the car being as unreliable as it is, it's hard to get a very good apples-to-apples compare between Alonso and Vandoorne, but the few instances where they have been able to both finish, Alonso has been significantly ahead of his teammate.

 

[Alen Terzić]

''The best'' pretty much sums it up.