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It was the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola in Italy. I had qualified in second just behind Kimi Räikkönen the day before. But Sunday morning, my team, Renault, had an issue with our car. One of our V-10 cylinders wasn’t working. We basically had a 9½ cylinder engine, which is not ideal. The power input was down from the engine — essentially we were slower. We considered replacing the engine with a new one, which would have resulted in a penalty and put us at the back of the grid for the race start. Or, we could stick with it and take whatever result came.
We stuck with it.
Just nine laps into the race, Kimi retired due to a driveshaft issue in his car. I led for the next 50 laps. The car felt good. A little less power than usual, but I was in a rhythm. With 12 laps to go and still in the lead, I went into the pits for fresh tires. When I got back on the track, I looked in my mirrors, and all I saw was bright red. Ferrari red. Michael Schumacher was pushing me hard. He had more power that day and … yeah, he was so fast.
But I relied on my memories, on what I had learned. I knew the track. I knew the car.
I adapted. I tried to keep him behind me at all costs. It was as much a mental battle as physical. Michael was diving at me every few corners, trying to get a young kid to make a mistake.
But I didn’t. I held on for the win, and even now, that is maybe my favorite race I’ve ever driven. Or at least it’s up there. (It’s hard to just have one.) I remember it so fondly because my team and I overcame the odds from the morning and used all of our ability to get that win. It wasn’t like any other race I had really ever driven. It was totally new.
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I remember this battle well, I remember it because I was cursing at Alonso, it took me years to realize how brilliant he was driving. Even more so now that I know his car was not 100%. He was making his car 20 feet wide and he was also brake checking Michael into the corners in order to force him to lose momentum and not be able to use his HP and pounce on the way out.
It is probably the most memorable drives Alonso ever drove in my opinion. He slayed a giant.
Thanks for sharing that article Deschodt.