Lauda considers Alonso difficult to beat for Hamilton and Button

Since joining Ferrari in 2010, Fernando Alonso had never performed as well in the driver standings as he has this 2012 season. The Spaniard currently leads the standings with 129 points and two victories to his name. A year ago, at the same time, the native of Oviedo was in third place with 112 points, having just secured his first—and only—win of the season. In 2010, the season where he fought for the title against the same opponents that seem set to challenge him this year, the Ferrari driver had only 98 points and just one victory, achieved at his first Grand Prix with the Prancing Horse, in Bahrain. For the “Bull from Asturias,” it’s even the first time since 2006, the year of his last title, that he has led the driver’s championship approaching mid-season.

Apart from Mark Webber, who took advantage of his victory on English soil to close the gap to thirteen points behind his rival—but nonetheless friend—Fernando Alonso has left all his rivals more than 25 points behind, equivalent to the value of a victory. This earned him praises from Niki Lauda, who believes the Asturian is simply the best driver currently: “He is the strongest guy on the grid and also the most intelligent,” estimates the Austrian triple champion. “He knows what to do and after three years at Ferrari, he has found his footing, knows his strength, and has driven the team to progress step by step. Red Bull has also technically regained ground, but all things considered, I see Alonso as the most complete driver.”

Consequently, Niki Lauda predicts the greatest difficulties for the Spanish driver’s rivals who have already conceded more or less ground to the Asturian native, notably Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, who have not been able to join the fight for the win, or even for the podium, at Silverstone: « They are both champions and better than they appeared at Silverstone. They suffer from their car’s performance. »

But for the former Ferrari and McLaren driver, it’s not so much the difficulties faced by the Woking team that should be feared, but rather Fernando Alonso’s consistency, as the native of Oviedo is the only driver to have consistently finished in the points at every Grand Prix and is on a streak of four podiums in the last five races, having only missed the podium in Montreal due to a poor strategy: « Alonso already has such a lead, and if things go as expected, he won’t make any mistakes. It’s already getting complicated for Hamilton and Button in the title race. It’s not the point difference I’m talking about: it’s not over for them, but even if they score big points, Alonso won’t be far behind, so closing the gap is going to be difficult. »