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Overtook 10 cars in the opening lap. At times it looks like he was playing a racing computer game on easy difficulty.

Saw that vid earlier. It did remind me of playing an f1 game on console too

But it took some balls running through the smoke between Vettel and Rosberg.

Ocon also had a really good start from memory as well

That guy just does not belong in that car.

specdecible wrote:Ocon also had a really good start from memory as well

Yes in the video he seems to be 2 place ahead. Mclaren Honda I thought had a very good race. It really does not matter if the track is a engine or high downforce track. P7 is as far as they can reach under normal circumstances. They are fighting FI, Williams consistently now for that spot.

I checked. There are no appropriate superlatives in the dictionary to describe that opening lap.

For my personal "driver of the year" he is leading comfortably.

Mercedes-Benz wrote:

specdecible wrote:Ocon also had a really good start from memory as well

Yes in the video he seems to be 2 place ahead. Mclaren Honda I thought had a very good race. It really does not matter if the track is a engine or high downforce track. P7 is as far as they can reach under normal circumstances. They are fighting FI, Williams consistently now for that spot.

Yes they both gained 10 places. Ocon went from 20th to 10th - in a Manor!

perfect mix of aggression and caution as ever. take note sv and mv

The guy is just a genius on the opening lap.

It's heart breaking that he's been stuck in mediocre cars since years on end. A glorious career that's been wasted.

A splendid racer such as Alonso only a 2x world champion.

He may be 35 but his powers don't seem don't seem to be diminishing one bit. His control and racecraft is frequently on a completely different level. I live in hope that, before it is too late, McLaren will come up with a car that his brilliance warrants.

Alonso and Ricciardo in a competitive Ferrari would be my dream F1 scenario.

Imagine if the McLaren was 0.5 or 1 second faster, the season could have been so much fun and his first lap much more spectacular.

simply the best driver on the opening lap ever.

His net gain of positions on the first lap is uncanny. He's passed about 40 or 50 cars at the start this year.

This wet start from 2006 is impressive (as is the glimpse we get of Button also killing it, and eventually winning the race)

Sensational stuff indeed but if you think about most of the cars he passed in that lap…

Most are merely moving barricades. The Toro Rosso's look strong when he hits the wake and his front end washes out and they pull away, but he claws back that space with little effort and zips past even faster, and the situation is similar with the Renault, though their chassis is not as good as TR. Those 2 guys are driving tremendously under powered machinery. Shame too because the chassis looks pretty solid at times and they have to push harder to compensate for the lack of HP.

What I do see in this is how really good the McLaren Chassis is and how good the PU is getting. It seems in the low to mid-range of the power band, Honda is really strong now. He hits corners a bit off but can put down the hammer and the real estate between him and people ahead disappears in no time. If this upswing in performance continues, and they get next year's chassis just right, McLaren might be in a good position to challenge at the front.

UnlikeUday wrote:It's heart breaking that he's been stuck in mediocre cars since years on end. A glorious career that's been wasted.

A splendid racer such as Alonso only a 2x world champion.

Sometimes you have to look at the entirety of the situation and consider all the variables contributing to things like this. And while I wouldn't personally call any portion of his career a waste, it could, should and would have been better if he'd gone with a different manager years ago. Flavio influenced decisions that perhaps other managers would have steered him away from. The most inopportune portion of his career was his 2nd stint with Renault and he jumped ship as soon as he got the chance. Sadly, by the time he arrived at Ferrari, LDM was running things HIS way and it never worked out the way it could have, had he checked his ego and allowed the racing minds dictate the racing program. IMPO, Ferrari continue to struggle today because upper management are running htings and they have a marketing guy running a race team. The ONLY time I can remember that ever working for any team was when Flavio ran Benetton/Renault. Arrivabene was never even a Ferrari employee! He's Marlboro's guy! LOL

I can think of several dozen people who are more qualified to run that team and for that matter some of us here are far more qualified than that guy. And now that James Allison gone it most likely means a decline in performance is coming, though from what I've read here and there, Allison's influence on the 2017 car seems quite heavy so I shall remain optimistic for them.

Alonso simply went to Ferrari at a time when things were changing and year to year their cars' performance varied in different ways and he did a magnificent job of driving around the deficiencies of those cars. That however doesn't mean he's a wasted talent and rather, I find it showcased his abilities just that much more because no one can say his performance was in any way complimented or aided by the machinery he was piloting.

wolfticket wrote:He may be 35 but his powers don't seem don't seem to be diminishing one bit. His control and racecraft is frequently on a completely different level. I live in hope that, before it is too late, McLaren will come up with a car that his brilliance warrants.

Alonso hardly ever makes errors; his off at Silverstone 2016 was through trying so hard in a slow car. In one of the top cars 2008-2009 and 2015-2016 he'd probably have had another four WDCs. I'd rank him up with Prost, Senna...Fangio.

However Button has surprised by his speed too in 2016: i'm surprised his averages are as close to Alonso's as they are.

POBRatings wrote:

wolfticket wrote:He may be 35 but his powers don't seem don't seem to be diminishing one bit. His control and racecraft is frequently on a completely different level. I live in hope that, before it is too late, McLaren will come up with a car that his brilliance warrants.

Alonso hardly ever makes errors; his off at Silverstone 2016 was through trying so hard in a slow car. In one of the top cars 2008-2009 and 2015-2016 he'd probably have had another four WDCs. I'd rank him up with Prost, Senna...Fangio.

However Button has surprised by his speed too in 2016: i'm surprised his averages are as close to Alonso's as they are.

I don't like trying to find fault with drivers like Alonso but I think it was his own mistake in Australia. I don't think Gutierrez was to blame for that. But despite retiring from that race and missing the next race, he has still made up for it by scoring points very often. He loves his 7th position though the last 4 times he finished in the points, he finished 7th.

I don't want him to retire till he atleast bags 2 more titles.

UnlikeUday wrote:I don't want him to retire till he atleast bags 2 more titles.

Looking for him to beat that Fangio record of oldest champ eh?

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Imagine him with a mercedes, what he could do. An inspiration.

mcdo wrote:

UnlikeUday wrote:I don't want him to retire till he atleast bags 2 more titles.

Looking for him to beat that Fangio record of oldest champ eh?

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Dont go that far. Prost got his last title with 39, Mansell with 40, Schumacher in 2006 fought until the end with 37.

It was very good driving, but tbh he seemed to just drag past most of them. A combination af a good driver and a car 10 slots out of place and things falling well for him. Which does not take away his skill to benefit from it.

F1 MERCENARY wrote:Sometimes you have to look at the entirety of the situation and consider all the variables contributing to things like this. And while I wouldn't personally call any portion of his career a waste, it could, should and would have been better if he'd gone with a different manager years ago. Flavio influenced decisions that perhaps other managers would have steered him away from. The most inopportune portion of his career was his 2nd stint with Renault and he jumped ship as soon as he got the chance. Sadly, by the time he arrived at Ferrari, LDM was running things HIS way and it never worked out the way it could have, had he checked his ego and allowed the racing minds dictate the racing program. IMPO, Ferrari continue to struggle today because upper management are running htings and they have a marketing guy running a race team. The ONLY time I can remember that ever working for any team was when Flavio ran Benetton/Renault. Arrivabene was never even a Ferrari employee! He's Marlboro's guy! LOL

Two thoughts when reading this. Concerning Alonso, that jumping ship is becoming a specialty of his. And while Flavio may indeed have made choices others wouldn't have, if I recall correctly, it was Alonso himself who decided to join McLaren late in 2005.
I don't find it odd that Marlboro's Arrivabene finds himself at Ferrari, after all, both cars and drivers still wear their subliminal advertising. Whether he functions well is another matter, but I understand Räikkönen is positive about him.

But he is without a doubt one of the best drivers in F1, and his opening lap was stunning.

nixxxon wrote:Imagine him with a mercedes, what he could do. An inspiration.

The best drivers really shine through when given a car that isn't the best. Any of the drivers on the grid, without exception, would be winning races in that Merc. If Alonso drove for Mercedes he'd probably just be cruising along in first place rather like Hamilton, who was much more enjoyable to watch at McLaren when he was pulling off unlikely victories in the 2nd or 3rd best car.

He's great for sure, but he doesn't overtake as many cars without the turn 1 crash. He's spent so many years in sub par cars

It's been often this season that I've thought after the first couple laps "wow Alonso is already in n:th position? They should show the in car replay of his start!"
He's the absolute best in those conditions.

I guess that, as some commentator stated and the beginning of the season, 'he's too old, he lacks drive..' or something along those lines... (-:

Alonso's will be one of the more interesting and impressive legacies in F1's history. As another poster suggested, up there with Prost, Senna and Fangio, in a strangely special kind of way. Probably less titles than them, probably more near misses than any of them (perhaps bar one, and that is debatable), in probably the worst 'average car through entire career' than any of them.

And we're lucky to be watching him fighting a pretty good generation of drivers, too...