Alonso in the rain, just for the record

[OTA]

I've read a few times the surprise of some journalists about Alonso habilities in the wet. That opinion come by the though that there is not rain in Spain. Some go as far as saying that his hability in liquid come from his years spent in Oxford.
Well there's plenty of rain in Spain. The area where Alonso comes from, Asturias, is the wetter area in Spain, and has about the same rainfall as the British isles or Germany to give a couple of examples. Also, we should take into consideration that the asfalt in Asturias is of much worse grip that the one in the UK for instance, and the fact that in Alonso's karting time more than half of the races where street races, therefore his habilities in the wet might very well come from his origins in the not so sunny Spain.

Cheers
David

[F1MAN2007]

Hope it will rain this week end and he can win again!!!

[ShiftingGears]

I don't think its where he comes from, I think its more to do with the fact that he just has a better feel of the car he's driving than others.

[OTA]

Which could easily come from his experience in wet Asturias. Any way, my point was not the origin of FA hability, but the fact that it rains where he comes from, he did not discover the rain in the UK.
Cheers
David

[Sleeper]

I think that the amount of rain an area gets has absolutely bugger all bearing on the respective wet weather driving abilities of drivers that come from any given region. Look at Massa, we know it can get pretty wet in Brazil but he's still a useless wet weather driver.

The ability to drive well in the wet comes from the drivers inherent feel for what the car is doing, not from large amounts of experience (because a driver is always going to have considerably more experience of driving in the dry rather than the wet, though it does acount for some improvment).

[wedge]

What are you talking about?

Its not where you're from, it's where you're at!

Driving in the wet requires a natural talent and nurturing that talent in karting and junior formulae.

What makes him so good in the wet and probably the best overtaker in the wet? It is his natural talent of driving on the limit and a thorough understanding of track conditions. He has the skill and confidence to use every piece of asphalt on a wet race track.

[wmcot]

Which could easily come from his experience in wet Asturias. Any way, my point was not the origin of FA hability, but the fact that it rains where he comes from, he did not discover the rain in the UK.
Cheers
David

Actually, the British invented rain!! :)

[markabilly]

Well there was winning world championships, but that aside when ever it rained, one just knew that MS would have a big advantage over the field

A year ago, it rained at one race --gee i can not remember which, and what impressed me was how well both MS and Fa were going compared to everyone else and it looked to me that FA was winning the battle until the wheel came off.........With MS gone, there is is no one else who can compete when it rains with FA.....

[Sleeper]

Well there was winning world championships, but that aside when ever it rained, one just knew that MS would have a big advantage over the field

A year ago, it rained at one race --gee i can not remember which, and what impressed me was how well both MS and Fa were going compared to everyone else and it looked to me that FA was winning the battle until the wheel came off.........With MS gone, there is is no one else who can compete when it rains with FA.....
Actually, Button was fastest in the wet during last years Hungarian GP, he caught Alonso and was hassaling him just before his stop. Alonso probably would have won, but only because Buttons pit stratagy put him at a disadvantage (his last stop was made whilst the track was really starting to dry, but several laps to early for dry tyres, Alonso's was at the right time). Plus, in the last race, before he went off in the turn 1 lake, Button was nearly 2 seconds a lap faster than everyone else and had gone from 20th to 4th and was right with ALonso and Massa.

Just pointing out that Alonso is probably "only" second best in the wet of the current crop behind Button, but I would really like to see what Sutil can do in a decent car in the wet.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

Button was nearly 2 seconds a lap faster than everyone else and had gone from 20th to 4th and was right with ALonso and Massa.
Didn't Button go odd on lap 2? Winklehock was 30 seconds faster than everyone else on lap 1 ;)




Just pointing out that Alonso is probably "only" second best in the wet of the current crop behind Button, but I would really like to see what Sutil can do in a decent car in the wet.

I reckon Alonso is better than Button in the wet. But if we had a thunderstorm in Hungary then I'd expect Button to get a strong finish.

[wedge]

Actually, Button was fastest in the wet during last years Hungarian GP, he caught Alonso and was hassaling him just before his stop. Alonso probably would have won, but only because Buttons pit stratagy put him at a disadvantage (his last stop was made whilst the track was really starting to dry, but several laps to early for dry tyres, Alonso's was at the right time). Plus, in the last race, before he went off in the turn 1 lake, Button was nearly 2 seconds a lap faster than everyone else and had gone from 20th to 4th and was right with ALonso and Massa.

Just pointing out that Alonso is probably "only" second best in the wet of the current crop behind Button, but I would really like to see what Sutil can do in a decent car in the wet.

Button and Alonso qualified in similar positions. Alonso went to the front in a matter of laps, whereas Button was passing nearly a car per lap!

Alonso battle against Schumi side-by-side in consecutive corners using the outside 'karting' line.

IMO, I would rate Alonso slightly higher than Button in terms of wet weather driving - not that I have any significant doubts over Button's ability in the wet.

To drive instantly on the limit in the wet is in Schumi/Senna territory!