By James Broughton, July 22, 2025
The debate over who is the greatest current F1 driver on the grid is one that will likely rumble on forever. At the center of that discussion are Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. Even Hamilton himself might admit that the mercurial Alonso is the most complete driver on the grid.
Just look at Alonso’s tenure at Ferrari, where he dragged an uncompetitive car to the brink of winning two world championships. That alone is a testament to his extraordinary skill. If Alonso were a Jedi Master, he’d arguably be the most powerful of all time.
Granted, that’s a hyperbolic comparison. But continuing the metaphor, that would make Lewis Hamilton the Luke Skywalker of the story, perhaps the less complete Jedi who ultimately defeats the most complete. The fact that Alonso has only two Drivers’ Championships remains one of the most surprising statistics in Formula 1, considering his legendary reputation.
The Dark Side
Despite performing at the top of his game every race weekend, Alonso has been known to succumb to the “dark side”—or rather, dark moods. In a small and politically sensitive industry like Formula 1, team leaders often think twice before hiring someone perceived as a disruptive influence. Still, Alonso’s brilliance behind the wheel often outweighs that apprehension.
By all accounts, Alonso should be retired by now. Yet at 43 years old, he’s still chasing that elusive third title. He knows full well that even with an Adrian Newey-designed car in 2026, the opportunity to relive past glories may never come. But somehow, he keeps fighting—still finding the motivation after all these years.
During a recent media interview, 1997 F1 World Champion Jacques Villeneuve explained why he believes Fernando Alonso is a better driver than Lewis Hamilton. Personally, I don’t agree with Jacques—one could argue he’s essentially implying that Hamilton is lazy. But really, how lazy can you be and still win over 100 races and seven world championships?
But nonetheless, it’s always interesting to hear from Jacques:
“I will put Alonso because Hamilton has too many downs. Even though he’s got all the championships, it’s not the quantity of championships. If you look at every season, there’s always been two, three, four races where he was completely disappearing.”
“Then suddenly he woke up again and started winning again. Too many of those championships were in cars that even Bottas would have won the championship if Hamilton had not been there.”
“That put him in a place where he became complacent. He forgot how hard he had to fight. You can see it now.”
“It’s a big shock to him that, actually, no, he has to fight as hard as he did in his first and second season, because the first championship he had, amazing. He really fought hard for that.”
“But after that, when the car became superior, he had too many easy years.”
“He always had seasons where he had a few races where he disappeared. He wasn’t there anymore, and suddenly the light turned on again, and he was a killer again. Whereas Alonso is always there.”