On the Beyond the Grid podcast, former Minardi team principal Paul Stoddart reminisced about Fernando Alonso’s rookie season…
Paul Stoddart: “Before the debut race in 2001, Alonso could only drive a new car for 50 kilometers in a straight line in tests, and in the race he “wrapped her neck” and finished 12th.
I first saw Alonso in 2000, in F3000 – he drove for Astromega, and our racer Mark Webber – for European Arrows.
I remember Alonso’s performance at Spa in 2000 – a masterpiece. After that race I had no doubts that I would do everything I could to get him on my team. As now, he was calm and very modest. He just got started and did a great job.
After that race I said: “This man will be world champion” even before he got behind the wheel of Formula 1. And I was not mistaken! Only he should have had four titles, not two.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
