Alonso needs McLaren for the title

Many similarities can be identified when comparing Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton: the same fierce determination to win, a season under the same banner, a personality that leaves no one indifferent… but recently, another characteristic became common to both: resignation. Remember, it was a month ago; Sebastian Vettel emerged victorious from the European Grand Prix, his sixth win in eight races with a 77-point lead over his closest competitors at the time, Jenson Button and Mark Webber. From that point on, neither the Spaniard nor the Brit dared to think about the title and were almost ready to meet next year.

But in the last two events, a change has occurred. The reason? A victory by the Scuderia driver at Silverstone and a success by the McLaren driver at the Nurburgring, but above all, a new feeling is slightly settling in the paddock: Red Bull and Vettel are no longer invincible. Often considered a sport mainly played in factories and wind tunnels, where the Red Bull excels, Formula 1 remains a School of psychological warfare. And in a war, allies are needed.

It must be acknowledged that Fernando Alonso is logically eyeing his great rival: « We have a small chance to catch up in the championship if we produce such races, if we are on the podium and if [Vettel] is not. For that to happen, we need the best possible performances from our teammates and we need the best possible performances from McLaren so they can take points from Red Bull ».

But in a war, offensives are also necessary. The Ferrari driver is certainly not lacking in spice: « I don’t think [Vettel is under pressure]. I think it’s just racing; anyway, I don’t know what happened to him. I believe he spun at the beginning of the race. I don’t know how he ended up stuck behind Felipe, maybe he lost a place during a pit stop or something like that, but it happens. Obviously, when you start from pole position, you have an advantage and you can lead the whole race. It’s very easy. When there’s more competition, you have to approach the race differently, you must be perfect in everything: the start, the pit stops, the qualifying… and maybe they struggle in one of these areas, but I think they are always very, very fast ».

Finally, in a war, pressure must be applied to the enemy: « They are always ahead, they are by far the favorites for the Hungarian Grand Prix in Budapest. So, despite this race, nothing has changed ». As a reminder, with nine races remaining in the season, Sebastian Vettel has a 77-point lead over his teammate Mark Webber, 82 points over Lewis Hamilton, and 86 points over Fernando Alonso; that’s more than three wins ahead of his main rivals.