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1979 Formula 1 world champion Jody Scheckter says that people overrate Fernando Alonso. The Spaniard announced on Tuesday that he would be leaving F1 at the end of the season after 17 years competing in the sport.
Alonso is widely regarded as one of the best drivers in the history of F1, claiming two world championships in the mid-2000's. However, Scheckter says that people are quick to overrate the 37-year-old, and cast his opinion on the character of the McLaren driver.
"I like to just think how many championships somebody's won,'' Scheckter said to BBC Radio 5 Live. "You can rate people that they had bad luck and bad cars. I think people overrate him. One of his problems is he seems to upset teams and everybody around him. That's not the way to win world championships. You've got to work with your team and you're nearly a leader [as a driver]."
In the days leading up to Alonso's announcement, his former teammate Felipe Massa said that driving in the same team as Alonso was not easy, but also praised him by placing him in the same rank as seven-time champion Michael Schumacher.
But Scheckter disagrees with Massa: "For me, absolutely not. Schumacher has got to be rated as the best driver ever. Alonso, I don't think he's in that category [That's] not to say he's not a good driver. He's one of the top drivers there now."
Fergal Walsh
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ajpennypacker
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Oh please... Judging by how many championships someone has is simply a lazy measure. Anyone could have won championships in the 2000's with the Ferrari Michael had. His greatness was demonstrated earlier though. Also later while, ironically, fighting Alonso in 2005-2006. Also, anyone could have w... [Read more]