“Nobody Read Races Like Him”- Former Ferrari Director Reflects on Fernando Alonso’s Era in Red

Fernando Alonso made his comeback to the sport in the 2021 season. The Alpine driver started the season slowly but quickly picked up the pace and started to challenge his teammate more regularly. The two-time world champion is known for getting more performance out of a car than anyone else.

The former Ferrari sporting director Massimo Rivola revealed that during his tenure with the Italian team, Alonso would make them feel like idiots. He also praised Fernando’s ability to manage the races while driving the car.

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Nobody read races like him: Former Ferrari F1 Director on Fernando Alonso

As reported by Planetf1, Rivola revealed that sometimes Alonso reads the races better than the people on the pit wall. The Italian mentioned some drivers read the races better and teach the team members too during the process.

“Nobody read races like him. Many times he made those of us on the pit wall feel like idiots because he could see beyond. We were in front of the computers. He was doing another job, but he understood things before the others. There are drivers who teach you a lot,” said Rivola.

Daniel Ricciardo too was impressed by the racecraft of the former world champion. After the Sprint qualifying in Silverstone, the McLaren driver thanked Alonso for making the event interesting.

“I actually congratulate him for making [sprint qualifying] pretty exciting. His start was phenomenal, kept us on our toes. I think as well, it’s cool to see there’s always the question, like with any sport, is age a factor?

“I think his racecraft this year has probably been the best on the grid–at least at times. It’s cool to see that. If you’ve still got a passion and a real drive for it, you can keep doing it at a very high level,” said Ricciardo.

The racecraft of the Alpine driver is something really special. He might not have the outright speed anymore in qualifying, but he can still compete with the best in races.

Hopefully, the Spanish driver gets a more competitive car in the upcoming season to showcase his legendary skills on the track.

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