Alonso in Ferrari spell labelled as 'closest we’ve had to perfection'

That driver, in the Briton’s view, is Alonso during his Ferrari years. Across that four-season spell from 2010 to 2014, the Spaniard came agonisingly close to the title on two occasions. The first came in his debut season at Maranello, when he arrived at the Abu Dhabi finale leading the standings, only to lose the championship to Vettel. The second followed in 2012, when Alonso kept his title hopes alive until the very end, again against Vettel, ultimately falling short by just three points despite a Ferrari that was not on the same level as Red Bull that year.

Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Palmer described how Alonso seemed almost able to anticipate situations before they unfolded, praising his exceptional racecraft and ability to position the car perfectly in wheel-to-wheel battles. He also recalled racing against him during the McLaren-Honda era, admitting the Spaniard operated on a completely different level and often left him with valuable lessons on track, despite his own confidence in his racecraft developed through GP2.

Speaking at the Classic Monaco Grand Prix, held this weekend, Alonso made it clear he still feels competitive, motivated and fully in love with racing, insisting the time to retire has not yet come.

The Spaniard highlighted how deeply rooted the sport is in his life, having spent more than four decades behind the wheel since starting at just three years old, and admitted that stepping away will be an incredibly difficult decision to accept when the moment eventually arrives. For now, however, he continues to feel sharp, driven and genuinely happy every time he gets in the car, suggesting this is unlikely to be his final season.