And in a recent interview with Spanish sports daily AS, the 2-time world champion finally agreed to rate his competition for the 2011 F1 campaign. Needless to say, he was only asked about the drivers likely to challenge him for the title, namely reigning champ Sebastian Vettel, Mark Webber, Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, Michael Schumacher (well, some believe that's just courtesy) and teammate Felipe Massa.
Starting with 23-year old Vettel, Alonso admitted that the Red Bull racer is “very fast and precise. If he is coming first in a race, he is difficult to stop.”
On the other hand, talking about Vettel's more experienced teammate Mark Webber, Alonso reckons that the Australian driver is “calm and very consistent. It is very rare to see him fail.”
Moving on to McLaren's Jenson Button, the Spaniard admitted that the 2009 world champion poses a quality that very few can work with. He “has a great instinct for difficult races in rain or with the safety car. This is an unique talent.”
And while many were expecting some tough words for his former teammate Lewis Hamilton (with whom he experienced one of the most famous feuds in the recent history of the sport), Alonso surprised all by saying “he is a great driver and maybe the fastest at the moment in Formula One.”
Talking about teammate Massa, the Spaniard had only positive words, telling the aforementioned publication that he is “very quick, knows the team and is very hungry to win.” Finally, talking about Schumacher, Alonso admitted he has a lot of respect for the German racer. “He is the champion, we all respect him and he is a driver always capable of surprising,” he concluded.
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