But can the Spaniard ever win another Grand Prix?
Recently perusing the various Formula 1 Fodder
during the Belgian Grand Prix weekend. I ran across one Headline noting how Fredrico
Suave’, aka Fernando Alonso had Chirped Piastri, Piastri, Piastri was Alpine’s
Focus! I simply couldn’t help but chuckling over this Nonsense! Really Alonso?
As the Sport’s Elder Statesman at Age 41, you cannot understand why Alpine would
be coveting fresh faced 21yr Old Oscar Piastri, Seriously? For which I
scribbled Here upon No Fenders about the current Changing Of the Guard upon Kimi
Raikkonen announcing His retirement from Formula 1 just over a year ago now…
http://www.nofenders.net/2021/09/changing-of-guard.html
Yet the mention of Alonso’s name triggered another
Factoid I’d been paying loose Attenzione to this F1 Season, that Fernando Has
Raced More Grands Prix than You Kimi, Please Confirm!
Since by my Unscientific reckoning, Fernando
will have just completed His Staggering 350th Grands Prix Start at this
past weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix. Eclipsing the record for most Grands Prix
Starts by Kimi Raikkonen, who had Broken Rubino’s, nee Rubens Barrichello’s
record of 322 Grands Prix Starts at the Nurburgring’s Eiffel Grand Prix on
October 11, 2020. As Kimi and His Oomphlats were set to become the first F1 Driver
to make 350 Grands Prix Starts before testing positive for COVID-19 prior to
last year’s Dutch Grand Prix. And finished His F1 career with 349 Starts to His
credit.
Rubino’ Held the record for some 12-plus years
before Raikkonen surpassed His Feat. Although Kimi in His typical Non-plussed
self, said He Didn’t care about Records! And was probably Busy Having an Ice Cream…
Whilst Barrichello was the first F1 Driver to
surpass Riccardo Patrese’s once staggering sum of 256 Grands Prix Starts that
the Italian Held for 15 years!
As Patrese was the first Formula 1 Driver to
make 200 Starts at the 1990 British Grand Prix, and also the first to make 250
Starts at the 1993 German Grand Prix.
Yet with the constant push of Liberty Media to
monotize it’s Return On Investment by Adding More ‘N More Grands Prix to the F1
Calendar every year, now projected at an Outlandish 24 for next year! Patrese’s
accomplishments Diminish each F1 Season. Since Lewis Hamilton just became the
Sport’s sixth F1 Driver to make 300 Grands Prix Starts at this year’s French
Grand Prix.
As Patrese has now slid down to ninth Overall on
the Career Grands Prix Starts tally. With Alonso leading the way. Followed by
Raikkonen, with Hamilton set to soon leapfrog Michael Schumacher and Jenson
Button’s tie for 306 Starts at this year’s Circuit Of The Americas (COTA) U.S.
Grand Prix. Along with ‘lil syd viddle’, aka Sebastian Vettel, who was busy
making His 291st Start at
this year’s Belgian Grand Prix. While Felipe Massa retired with 269 Starts.
As Alonso becomes Formula One’s first Driver to
make 350 Grands Prix Starts. And with His two year Aston Martin contract, and
Liberty Media’s Greediness! Alonso theoretically could become the Sport’s first
ever Driver to make an Insane 400 Starts?
Yet Barrichello surpassed the previous Ironman Holder
Riccardo Patrese’s record of 256 Grand Prix Starts Wayback in June, 2008 which
I scribbled ‘bout Here upon No Fenders Wayback then. As Patrese Had surpassed Graham
Hill and Jacques Laffite’s then record of 176 Grand Prix Starts Wayback in
1989!
As Graham Hill had held the Starts record for
more than a Decade after His final start at the 1975 Monaco Grand Prix before
perishing in a Plane crash later that November.
And then Laffite tied Hill’s record in His
final start at the 1986 British Grand Prix, where the Frenchman suffered career
ending injuries to both legs during a bygone era where f1 Drivers lives expectancy
and career longevity was in a Far more Different Zip code than today’s modern
Formula 1 era!
