Pedro de la Rosa: 'Alonso deserves another world title'

It was a reunion of two friends at Aston Martin this year. Both are Spaniards, blessed with successful careers in Formula 1. Pedro de la Rosa never became world champion, something Fernando Alonso did achieve. Even twice. In fact, De la Rosa thinks the 41-year-old even deserves a third crown.

On the Aston Martin website De la Rosa, currently ambassador of the Aston Martin F1 team, says he has known Alonso since he was a teenager. It was the time when Alonso was coming through the ranks in karting, while the now 52-year-old De la Rosa made his first steps in formula cars. Thinking about that time, the latter mainly remembers how shy Alonso was. But, Jos Verstappen's former teammate now says, he thought he was talented.

Fighting like a lion

De la Rosa only noticed how good Alonso really was in 2001. He drove a Jaguar himself, while Alonso raced for Minardi. At the start of the race, both drivers were at the back of the grid. Alonso barely had any grip with his limited Minardi, but fought hard with De la Rosa.

By now, both are good friends. De la Rosa has quit racing himself, Alonso is trying to win his third world title: "It would be a dream come true to see Fernando crowned World Champion again. He deserves it. Anything you do in life, if you give your best, sooner or later you will be rewarded – and Fernando has given his best for decades. When you consider the journey he's been on, everything he's put in and everything he's been through, winning the World Championship again would be a fitting finale to a remarkable F1 career."