Newey is very clear about Alonso: «He is one of the best drivers of all time»
The British designer does not limit himself to highlighting the speed or talent of Fernando Alonso: he explains what distinguishes the best drivers and the reason why he places the Asturian in that elite.
Adrian Newey knows well what a driver needs to win in Formula 1. Throughout his career, he has worked with some of the greatest in history and has been able to see firsthand what distinguishes those who can make a difference behind the wheel.
This list includes great champions like Senna, Prost, Mansell, Häkkinen, Räikkönen, Vettel, or Verstappen. Now, after so many years facing Fernando Alonso as a rival, he has the opportunity to work with him at Aston Martin. And his assessment leaves no room for doubt.
«Fernando is, without a doubt, one of the best drivers of all time. And I believe that, as is the case with all the great drivers I have been fortunate enough to work with, probably one of the things that distinguishes them is their mental processing capacity that remains available.»
This already makes it clear that the British engineer's explanation goes beyond speed, steering sensitivity, or the ability to find the limits of a race car. For Newey, one of Alonso's great virtues is his ability to process information while driving, something that allows the best drivers to simultaneously manage numerous factors that affect their performance.
Driving a Formula 1 at over 300 km/h requires enormous concentration. One must control braking references, keep the car on the proper line, manage tires, and react to any changes in the car's behavior. All this while manipulating numerous parameters on the steering wheel or mentally processing strategic variables. However, exceptional drivers manage to make many of those actions not require all of their conscious attention.
«Obviously, you need a certain mental capacity to drive the car in the first place. But when we talk about really great drivers, you get the impression that all of that is somehow in the subconscious, which leaves the conscious part of the brain free to process everything,» Newey explains on the subject.
Alonso's ability to read races
This detail is especially important in a competition where information changes constantly. Tire degradation, car balance evolution, rival behavior, or strategic opportunities force the driver to interpret what happens and adapt their driving in a matter of seconds.
It is not enough, therefore, to execute the engineers' orders correctly or to reproduce a sequence of movements. The best are capable of understanding what is happening, anticipating what may occur, and altering their driving style to get the most out of the circumstances.
This is precisely the ability that Newey highlights in Fernando Alonso, whom he equates with the great drivers he has worked with throughout his career.
«That ability allows them to understand how the tires behave, how the race is developing, how they can modify their driving style to adapt to the car's balance at that specific moment, etc., etc. And Fernando, like the other great drivers, absolutely belongs to that category,» Newey reiterates.
The recognition holds special value because Newey does not speak of Alonso from a distance or solely due to his achievements. Both have spent many years competing from opposing positions but have always shown interest in sharing a team and working together.
In fact, they came very close to working together at Red Bull. Newey recalled that the Asturian could have joined the team in 2008 to contest the 2009 season, although the negotiations did not reach a successful conclusion. Subsequently, other approaches were also made that never came to fruition.
The willingness to collaborate was also present on Alonso's part. When he learned that Newey could leave Red Bull, the Spanish driver even contacted him directly to express his interest: «If you ever think you would like to take on a new challenge, I would love to work with you someday,» he told him.
That possibility eventually became a reality with the engineer's arrival at Aston Martin. And now, while they both work to try to take the Silverstone team to the highest level, Newey confirms that the admiration he has always felt for the Spanish driver had very solid foundations.
* This news is an AI translation of the original content. Motenic.com is part of Motor.es.