Some of the greatest drivers in the history of Formula 1 have donned the famous red overalls of Ferrari.
The allure of the Maranello-based team finally convinced Lewis Hamilton that he couldn’t end his career in F1 without racing for them.
Speaking to the Formula1.it website, former engineer Rob Smedley has been talking about one of the drivers he worked with at the team.
Although they may be Formula 1’s most famous team, they’ve not always been the most successful.
They last won the Constructors’ Championship in 2008 with the pairing of Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa.
Lewis Hamilton won the driver’s title that year, with Raikkonen achieving Ferrari’s most recent Drivers’ Championship the previous year.
Since then, some fantastic drivers have turned out for the Tifosi with varying degrees of success.
Smedley has now shared just how impressed he was with Fernando Alonso during his time at Ferrari.
Although the Spaniard didn’t achieve that coveted third world title with the team, he still pulled off some remarkable results.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Aston Martin F1 Team from team principal to lineage
Rob Smedley describes Fernando Alonso’s time with Ferrari
After an impressive but fruitless debut campaign with Minardi in 2001, Alonso burst onto the scene with Renault in 2003 and within three seasons was a Formula 1 world champion.
He won back-to-back titles before announcing a surprise move to McLaren in 2007.
The 42-year-old finished 3 in the Drivers’ Championship in his first year with the team but internal politics saw him make an immediate return to Flavio Briatore’s team.
They weren’t in the same position of strength as when he left them though and in 2010 he made the move to Ferrari.
What followed was five years of incredibly impressive driving for very little reward, finishing runner-up in the driver’s standings on three separate occasions.
Rob Smedley has now spoken about how impressed Ferrari were with Alonso, especially considering he never had the fastest car on the grid during his time there.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Scuderia Ferrari from team principal to factory
Ferrari never delivered Alonso his championship-winning car
Talking about the Spaniard’s spell with the team, Smedley said: “[Fernando] Alonso in those years, not having the best car, always managed to get the most out of it like no one else was able to do. A miracle.
“It’s a shame not to have won in 2010 and 2012, but I think they were still positive years for him.
“He was there, always in the points, perhaps helped by the fight between the Red Bull drivers but still, miraculously, fighting for the title until the end.”
Things went from bad to worse after his Ferrari exit but things are looking up once again for Alonso…
What does the future hold for Fernando Alonso?
The driver merry-go-round was in full force in 2015 and the man who denied Alonso and Smedley several titles at Ferrari – Sebastian Vettel – replaced him as he returned to McLaren.
It was an even tougher time than his previous one-year spell, finishing 17, 10 and 15 in the standings during his second stint there.
Alonso took some time out of F1 to go and win the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice and the World Endurance Championship.
He now finds himself in a strong position at Aston Martin, so much so that he’s dispelled the rumours surrounding his future.
Aston Martin confirmed that Alonso would be extending his time with the team, sharing the simple message, ‘Here to stay’, on social media.
It shows the Spaniard has faith in the direction the team is going in which is a huge boost to Mike Krack and Lawrence Stroll.
The post ‘Like no one else’: Rob Smedley says 42-year-old F1 driver was a ‘miracle’ during his time at Ferrari appeared first on F1 Oversteer.