Formula One: Who is the greatest driver of all-time?
By Asher Fair
Fernando Alonso (continued)
In the 2005 season, Michael Schumacher, who many people consider the undisputed greatest Formula One driver of all time, as I already referenced in this article, was in his 10th season driving for Scuderia Ferrari. He had come to the team in the 1996 season after winning back-to-back championships driving for Benetton, and he won his first title with the team in 2000.
Heading into the 2005 season, he had won five titles in a row — an amount that only one other driver, Juan Manuel Fangio, has ever been able to accumulate over the course of his entire career. In fact, he had broken his previous record of 11 wins in a season with 13 victories in the 2004 season, making him the clear favorite to win it all yet again in 2005.
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Fernando Alonso put an end to the era of Michael Schumacher domination in 2005 when he won his first career championship while Schumacher finished in 3rd place in the standings, and Alonso battled Schumacher hard all season long in 2006 en route to winning his second straight title. Schumacher had to settle for 2nd, and he did not drive again until the 2010 season.
Schumacher never finished higher than 8th place in the standings again in his final three seasons in Formula One from 2010 to 2012. Without Alonso, Schumacher would be at least an eight-time champion and the numerous records he holds would look ever more untouchable.
Yes, other drivers beat Schumacher over the course of his amazing 17-year Formula One career, but no one did it while he was on a five-season title streak. And Alonso answered that streak with not one but two titles in a row, proving that the fact that he broke Schumacher’s historic streak with his first career championship in the 2005 season was no fluke.
Next: Looking back at Lewis Hamilton's record-setting accomplishment
With so much information about some of the greatest drivers in the history of the sport, you make the call. Which Formula One driver is truly the greatest of all-time?