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The F1 driver who was Alonso before Alonso

Bring Back V10s

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When Fernando Alonso eventually decides to hang up his helmet, he'll rightly be remembered as one of the finest drivers as his generation - but also as someone who could and probably should have won even more, had he made some different career choices. And that description could just as easily be applied to a driver from an earlier era of F1: John Surtees.

As Edd Straw and Mark Hughes discuss on the latest episode of The Race F1 Rewind, Surtees was - in many ways - the Fernando Alonso of his day: blindingly fast but also driven by passion and principle - often to his own detriment.

Listen in as Edd and Mark explore Surtees's career through the Alonso lens, explaining the parallels between these F1 greats and why statistics will never do them justice.

00:00 The similarities between Surtees and Alonso
03:41 Surtees' astonishing early career
27:21 The fallout with Ferrari
44:44 Honda partnership and Team Surtees
53:06 Statistics and legacy

#f1 #bringbackv10s #formula1 #podcast #f1podcast #history #retro #nostalgia #f1history #classicf1 #v10 #f1rewind #alonso #fernandoalonso

10 Comments

@14Unow 6 days ago

Look at Alonso's record. Two F1 titles, World Sports car champion, two Lemans wins, and one Daytona 500 win. That shows his spread of talent.

@re14437 8 days ago

I met John at Goodwood about 12 years ago. Lovely gentleman.

@tamasvas1919 8 days ago

The argument that Fernando should not have left Ferrari doesn't hold any water, considering Ferrari wanted him out, and Sebastian in It wasn't on his own accord that he left (as explained in one your previous episodes). I mean if your driver constatly creates friction in the team and berates them whenever they don't win, you simply wouldn't want to work with that person. I understand why he got fed up with Ferrari, but it's common sense to not bash your employer, even if you are one of the best at what you do. Also Fernando won a great number of races, won two championships, so it's not like he doesn't have a succesful carrer in F1, not to mention other disciplines. Jim Clark is also a two-time wc and he is regarded as one the best as well. Every driver has his weaknesses and Fernando's is probably hubris, just my guess.

@Rypsolisti 9 days ago

According to Alan Jones, John Surtees wanted to test his car without wings to see how the suspension worked. Needless to say Jones was not impressed because the load on suspension is totally different without wings.

@Rypsolisti 9 days ago

That Dragoni guy was an a$$hole!

@jamesatkinsonja 9 days ago (edited)

John Surtees motorbike career is legendary in it's own right and by winning the 1964 title he's the only person to ever win the F1 and motorbike titles and probably will keep that record forever. Like Prost he also failed as a team owner and in both cases it shouldn't tarnish there considerable legacy.

@the_right_is_always_right 9 days ago

Alonso was already a two time world champion, earning his titles against one of the best of all time, before Hamilton even sat in an F1 car. Alonso won his titles through grit and sheer driving talent, Hamilton needed the very best car, without which he has shown himself to be unable to win and completely lacking in racecraft.

@jurgenandrag3181 9 days ago

I think, if a team principal tells Alonso he can't guarantee his safety, he puts it in writing and gives the tp a copy with the understanding that it would be released if he died driving the car.