After winning two titles with Renault and a short but chaotic stint at McLaren before returning to the French team again, Fernando Alonso signed for Ferrari in 2010 to become the new leader of the Maranello team on arrival.
During his five seasons at the Scuderia , the Spaniard managed to win 11 races and finished as runner-up in the world three times, although he did not achieve the main objective, which was to win the title.
It should be noted that in two of his five years in red, 2010 and 2012, Alonso held on in the fight for the title until the last race, however, on both occasions he was defeated by Sebastian Vettel.
Remembering some of their battles on the track, the tactical confrontation between the two at the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, a classic of modern Formula 1, cannot be ignored.
At the time, Massimo Rivola was working as team manager at Ferrari and recently acknowledged in an interview for Il Foglio that Alonso ‘s ability to read the races from inside the car impressed everyone within the team.
“I’ve never seen anyone read a race like he did,” Rivola said. “At one point he literally made us feel like idiots on the pit wall as he knew everything.”
“We had a lot of data monitors in front of us, but often he came to some of the conclusions before us. And he was also doing his job in the car.”
Rivola worked at Ferrari until the end of the last decade: he became sports director, but later, due to internal disagreements, he left the racing structure and started working alongside the young drivers, in fact, it was thanks to his efforts that Charles Leclerc arrived at the Ferrari academy.
“I think Charles is superior to other drivers of his generation. Yes, Red Bull signed Max Verstappen, but there he had the opportunity to repeatedly make mistakes. Leclerc was demanded by Ferrari to act immediately at the highest level. It is a lot of pressure. highest”.
Referring to other rising stars who could be compared to the Monegasque driver, Rivola added: “Lando Norris was a nice surprise last year. I remember taking a very serious look at him when he was 16.”
“George Russell is another one of the drivers who has what it takes to be a champion.”
“However, the good performances of Carlos Sainz, I must admit, did not surprise me. For a long time I recommended signing him for our Academy. He has always been very strong, he is fast and intelligent,” he concluded.
