Priestley: Alonso "was very close to perfect at his peak"

Alonso returns to Renault in Formula 1 in 2021 after an absence of three years. In the past, the Spanish world champion was often praised, but there was always criticism about him as well. Marc Priestley has experienced Alonso in his years at McLaren in the past and says that his personality can have a negative impact on a team.

"A lot of respect for him"

"I do have experience with Alonso, I worked with him for a year in 2007, which, frankly, was a very difficult year. I have a lot of respect for Fernando as a driver, I think he is one of the best we have seen. He was very close to perfect at his peak, but we still need to see if that is still the case," he says in a YouTube video.

"What he does have is another side, which can divide people quite a bit. And if you're in a team, that's the last thing you want, a character who might want to draw all the attention to himself. That doesn't necessarily have to be bad, but if you're on the other side of that team it can have a huge negative effect on you. For example, on the mechanics and the other driver of the team. Building a team that works in harmony is very important, and if you have a driver who can disrupt that, it has a very negative impact," says Priestley.