Alonso favored over Schumacher and Barrichello for the title
Winner of three Grand Prix races this year and current leader of the world championship, Fernando Alonso impresses, and several current or former peers believe he is the best positioned to win the world championship title this season.
Fernando Alonso is the favorite to claim a third title this year, at least according to the most titled driver in the history of the Formula 1 World Championship, Michael Schumacher. The German driver believes that with a 37-point lead with seven races to go, Alonso is well-positioned to become the youngest triple world champion.
« The gap is still quite significant. Lewis (Hamilton) and Sebastian (Vettel) need to be on the attack while Fernando can focus on managing his lead. We saw this recently at Monza, where he drove very cautiously, » Schumacher said, as quoted by the German news agency SID.
Fernando Alonso has also been endorsed in his quest for a new world championship title by the record holder for the number of Grand Prix raced, Rubens Barrichello. Asked by the Brazilian daily newspaper O Estado de S.Paulo to predict who would be champion this year, the former Williams driver replied: « I see Alonso. »
Barrichello explains his choice by the fact that even though Hamilton is the driver with the best speed in F1, Alonso is the most complete.
Niki Lauda, who might see Alonso join him with the number of world championship titles won (3), is also betting on the Iberian driver. He believes that Sebastian Vettel will not be able to win a third consecutive title this year.
« These quality issues cost Vettel the title. Theoretically, the championship is not lost for Vettel, but in practice… Alonso is clearly in the running for the title. Ferrari is very consistent, » Lauda told the magazine Osterreich.
But Niki Lauda does not exclude Lewis Hamilton from the equation either because, according to him, McLaren has the best car, and their development speed is also the best.
