F1: 5 Times Fernando Alonso Proved he is one of the GOATs

#5 The Ultimate Qualifying Lap

Alonso showed us that he's lost none of his speed last year.

The one weakness in Alonso's game is possibly qualifying. If you compare his win count (32) to his pole tally (22), that rightly suggests that he's generally faster in races than over 1 lap. You'd be a fool to say that Fernando is slow in qualifying, though, as he's put some sensational laps in over the years, and he showed that he's lost none of his speed last year in his home race.

McLaren were extremely poor in 2017, the progress of the previous year had been erased and the team were in a similar position to when they first used Honda engines in '15. Another engine failure in practice for the Spanish Grand Prix alluded to a difficult weekend for the Woking outfit, but their double world champion driver wasn't having any of it. 'Nando defied the odds to get his McLaren into Q3 and incredibly qualified best of the rest in seventh.

This lap holds a special place in my heart, because this was the first Grand Prix I attended in person, and I saw first-hand how Alonso was visibly quicker than everyone through Turn 9. Not even Lewis Hamilton or Sebastian Vettel was putting as much on the line as Alonso, it was breathtaking and I feel honoured to have that story to tell.

Whether Alonso will return in 2020 or not, one thing is for sure, all F1 fans will miss one of the greatest drivers the sport's ever seen in 2019.