Fernando Alonso
Fernando Alonso will retire from Formula 1 at the end of the 2018 season. In this picture, Alonso of Spain and McLaren F1 looks on before the Formula One Grand Prix of Austria at Red Bull Ring on July 1, 2018, in Spielberg, Austria. Mark Thompson/Getty Images

Fernando Alonso has been receiving wide spread praise from current and former drivers after the Spaniard announced his retirement from Formula 1 on Tuesday. However, Jody Scheckter does not agree and believes the double world champion is “overrated.”

The 37-year-old is regarded as one of the best drivers to grace the sport and over the last 17 years, he has amassed 32 race wins and won two F1 Drivers’ titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006.

However, most people praising him will also agree he could have won more titles had he made better decisions with regards to his team choices — a lot of the time it was the case of wrong place, wrong time for Alonso.

Another reason Scheckter believes the Spaniard’s chances were hampered, was that he always upset the team and people around him. Alonso could have won the title with McLaren after joining them, when they had the best car on the grid in 2007. But, a feud with then McLaren team principal Ron Dennis over their preference towards rookie Lewis Hamilton, who was in his first season in the sport, brought an end to their relationship after just one season. The British driver would go on to win the first of his four titles in 2008, beating Ferrari’s Felipe Massa by one point.

Alonso then joined Ferrari in 2010 in the hope of winning his third Drivers’ championship. But after coming close on two occasions, he fell short against the all-conquering Red Bull Racing team and Sebastian Vettel. He then left the Maranello-based team to rejoin McLaren in 2015 as they moved from Mercedes to Honda in the hope of recreating their glory days of the late 80’s.

However, that seemed the worst move of his career, as they struggled in the bottom-half of the grid for most of their three seasons with the Japanese manufacturer. In 2018 McLaren switched to Renault, but their grid position did not change by much as they continue to battle in the midfield, while Ferrari and Mercedes are battling for the title.

During his time with McLaren, Alonso cut a frustrated figure as he continually slated Honda for their poor performing power units and continued to be bitter even after their switch to Renault.

Scheckter believes it was that attitude that hampered his quest for more titles, and believes he is overrated by the other drivers — both current and former.

“I like to just think how many championships somebody’s won,” Scheckter said, as quoted on Planet F1. “You can rate people that they had bad luck and bad cars. I think people overrate him.”

“One of his problems is he seems to upset teams and everybody around him. That’s not the way to win World Championships."

“You’ve got to work with your team and you’re nearly a leader [as a driver],” he added.

Moreover, the 1979 F1 Drivers’ champion also disagreed with Felipe Massa’s recent assessment that suggested Alonso is on the same level as seven-time Drivers’ champion Michael Schumacher.

The German is widely considered as one of the greatest — having dominated the sport from 2000 to 2004 when he won five consecutive titles. Alonso did bring to an end his dominance in 2005, but has not shown the same level of dominance in his 17 years in F1.

“For me, absolutely [they are] not,” Scheckter said when asked about the Alonso and Schumacher comparison. “Schumacher has got to be rated as the best driver ever. Alonso I don’t think he’s in that category.”

“[That’s] not to say he’s not a good driver. He’s one of the top drivers there now,” the former Ferrari driver said of Alonso.

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