- 17 Jun 08, 16:30#49595
Ayrton Senna: WDC 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
McLaren: WCC 1974, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2007
McLaren: WDC 1974, 1976, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2008
From F1 Live:
At least two of Lewis Hamilton's key rivals would beat the 23-year-old British driver in the same car.
That is the belief of F1 Chief Executive Bernie Ecclestone, who told The Times newspaper that he ranks former double world champion Fernando Alonso as the best current driver on the grid.
"If he was still in a McLaren he would be showing Lewis the way home - I don't think there is any doubt about that," Ecclestone, 77, said.
Bernie said he sympathised with Alonso, who moved back to Renault this year, after he fell out so spectacularly with McLaren as rookie Hamilton's team-mate in 2007.
"I never asked the guy - I'm going to ask him one day - whether he was told (by McLaren) he was number one.
"Because if he didn't ask and he wasn't told, he would have assumed he was.
Having a guy that's never been in a F1 car in the team with him, he'd expect to be number one wouldn't he?"
"And that's what the problem was. When he found out, although he should have been number one, of course he wasn't," Ecclestone added.
The F1 CEO also rates Robert Kubica, the Canadian Grand Prix winner and new championship leader, very highly.
"If you saw him in a McLaren or a Ferrari, I think I'd put my money on him blowing away Hamilton," Ecclestone said.
It's funny how Ecclestone told Mosley to mind his own business yesterday when it came to talking about the financial side of the new Concorde Agreement, should the teams et al. ever get round to writing and signing it. Now, he's sticking his nose in how McLaren operates, having initially claimed in this article and other sources that he's not even sure of what happened and what Alonso's position in the team was!
At least two of Lewis Hamilton's key rivals would beat the 23-year-old British driver in the same car.
That is the belief of F1 Chief Executive Bernie Ecclestone, who told The Times newspaper that he ranks former double world champion Fernando Alonso as the best current driver on the grid.
"If he was still in a McLaren he would be showing Lewis the way home - I don't think there is any doubt about that," Ecclestone, 77, said.
Bernie said he sympathised with Alonso, who moved back to Renault this year, after he fell out so spectacularly with McLaren as rookie Hamilton's team-mate in 2007.
"I never asked the guy - I'm going to ask him one day - whether he was told (by McLaren) he was number one.
"Because if he didn't ask and he wasn't told, he would have assumed he was.
Having a guy that's never been in a F1 car in the team with him, he'd expect to be number one wouldn't he?"
"And that's what the problem was. When he found out, although he should have been number one, of course he wasn't," Ecclestone added.
The F1 CEO also rates Robert Kubica, the Canadian Grand Prix winner and new championship leader, very highly.
"If you saw him in a McLaren or a Ferrari, I think I'd put my money on him blowing away Hamilton," Ecclestone said.
It's funny how Ecclestone told Mosley to mind his own business yesterday when it came to talking about the financial side of the new Concorde Agreement, should the teams et al. ever get round to writing and signing it. Now, he's sticking his nose in how McLaren operates, having initially claimed in this article and other sources that he's not even sure of what happened and what Alonso's position in the team was!
Ayrton Senna: WDC 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991
McLaren: WCC 1974, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2007
McLaren: WDC 1974, 1976, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1998, 1999, 2008
) and that could of influenced his performance a bit. Just by avoiding his stupid qualifying act in Budapest (and penalty earned) he would likely end up with more points than Lewis.
