Fernando Alonso’s first F1 team-mate makes enormous skill level claim about him

Tarso Marques, team-mate of Fernando Alonso in his first Formula 1 season at Minardi, claims the two-time World Champion was better than Michael Schumacher while they raced against each other.

On top of that, the Brazilian driver added, “even if the Brazilians get angry”, that he is “also better than Senna”, on account that Alonso makes fewer driving mistakes than the three-time World Champion made in his career.

Fernando Alonso ‘as good as or better’ than recent Formula 1 legends

Alonso is already enshrined among the greats of Formula 1 as a two-time World Champion, and he holds the record for the all-time highest number of race starts to go with his 32 Grand Prix victories to date.

He also has several title near-misses to go with his championships, going close again in 2007, 2010 and 2012 – the last of which coming in a Ferrari which appeared to lack pace overall compared to the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel.

Marques was on the other side of the garage when Alonso first arrived in Formula 1 at Minardi in 2001, and explained his belief that his talent warrants a title tally matching that of Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton.

More on Fernando Alonso and his Formula 1 statistics to date

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“I’m a fan of Ayrton Senna like all Brazilians, and there are recent legends like Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton and now Max Verstappen, and it’s very difficult to compare drivers from different eras, but I think Fernando is as good as them or better,” Marques told Spanish publication Marca.

“If I had to choose a driver for my team, I would choose Fernando. I think he was better than Schumacher when they raced against each other and, even if the Brazilians get angry, I would say he is also better than Senna.

“Senna was incredible, he had a natural talent, but the truth is that he made more mistakes than Fernando.

“Fernando quickly learned to drive a race not only fast but also intelligently, something I would also say about Hamilton.

“Fernando is probably the best, along with Hamilton. I think Fernando should be on his level in terms of number of titles, but sometimes he hasn’t had the right car.

“I think he deserves more titles than he has. Those two world titles are great, but they don’t really reflect his talent. He should have much more than that.”

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