Columnist Tremayne on Alonso: 'He is still important'

Columnist David Tremayne, speaking in an article on F1.com believes that Fernando Alonso should not be written off yet. According to him, this is partly due to the Spanish driver's third place finish for Aston Martin in Bahrain. Alonso also made a good impression during free practice and qualifying, but how far can Alonso go? Is even a world title possible?

Tremayne was impressed with the 41-year-old driver's performance in the season opener and highlighted his battle with Mercedes. "His battles with the still-troubled Mercedes of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton, and later with fellow countryman Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari, demonstrated convincingly on Sunday that if he is given the equipment, he can still mix it."

Old times revived

The two former McLaren teammates, Alonso and Hamilton, battled for P4 at the Bahrain Grand Prix, and this was one of the most spectacular battles during that race. At least, according to the British columnist: "Watching him with Lewis was like watching the best two heavyweight boxers giving and taking punishment, without ever resorting to something underhand."

These fights did give some fans some flashbacks to the 2007 season, in which the two drivers were teammates, and finished on equal footing in the standings.