“I think he was better”: Fernando Alonso ranked ahead of Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna by former F1 teammate

Fernando Alonso's former teammate Tarso Marques recently placed the Spaniard ahead of drivers like Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna.

Fernando Alonso has won two world championships in his career and is considered one of the greatest in the sport. He competed against seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher when he was in his prime. However, he was not able to reach the number of titles that Schumacher or Senna held in F1.

In terms of longevity, however, he has surpassed both drivers. As of now, he is also the most experienced and oldest F1 driver on the current grid. He started his career in F1 in 2001 and continues to race in the sport after a brief sabbatical in 2019 and 2020.

Speaking to AS, Tarso Marquez admitted that he was an Ayrton Senna fan and also acknowledged recent legends like Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen, and others. However, he feels that Fernando Alonso was slightly better than all of them, even those who have won more titles and races than the Spaniard. He also mentioned that he would choose Alonso if he ever makes a team in F1.

“I am a fan of Ayrton Senna like all Brazilians, and there are recent legends like Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton and now Max Verstappen, and it is very difficult to compare drivers from different eras, but I think Fernando is as good as them or better," Marques said.

I think Fernando should be at his level in terms of the number of titles. If I had to choose a driver for my team, I would choose Fernando. I think he was better than Schumacher when they competed against each other and, even if the Brazilians get angry, I would say he is also better than Senna,” he added.

Tarso Marques was Fernando Alonso's first teammate in F1. The Brazilian returned to the sport after leaving it in 1997.

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Fernando Alonso's first former teammate praised the Spaniard's talent in his early years

Tarso Marques showered praises on Fernando Alonso for his immense talent and the ability to learn and adapt quickly. Speaking to AS, Marques explained that he has had several great teammates like David Coulthard, Giancarlo Fisichella, and more, but claimed that Alonso was better than all of them. He commended how quickly the Spaniard learned the F1 tracks and found the limit of the car in just a few laps.

“I had some great teammates in my career: David Coulthard, Giancarlo Fisichella, Jarno Trulli, Mark Webber; but Fernando was by far the best. The most impressive thing is that he learned the circuits very quickly, much faster than most. He found the limit in a couple of laps.” Marques said.

In 2001, Alonso's debut season, neither he nor Marques were able to score a point since the Minardi team was struggling quite a lot. Soon enough, Marques was replaced by Alex Yoong since the latter had more sponsors, and Alonso jumped ship and moved to Renault. As soon as the Spaniard moved to Renault, his fortunes turned, and he started finishing in the top 10 and soon won his maiden title in 2005.