By role
April 30 2003

Renault’s Technical Director is full of praise for his young driver Fernando Alonso. In a recent interview published by bbc.co.uk the outspoken engineer rates Fernando as high as Michael Schumacher. Gascoyne is of the opinion that Alonso has showed his true potential so far, and that that has made him to reach 2 podiums in 4 races in a car that is not in the level of the big three yet (Ferrari, McLaren y Williams)

"When Michael Schumacher first came into F1, it was obvious it was only a matter of time before he won a race, and it's the same with Fernando now, it's hard to put your finger on it exactly. He's obviously blindingly quick. But a lot of people can drive a racing car quickly.

So how do you spot the difference between quick and Championship material? Gascoyne is clear:
"The ones who are really good have ability to spare - it just comes naturally to them. And Fernando is like that. The good guys never need excuses about why they're off the pace because they never are," He goes on. "That's the big difference between them and the others. If a car is 0.2secs off the pace, some drivers will let it get to them and be a second slower. But Fernando would be exactly 0.2secs off for the whole race.”

How do you get the best out of a driver that is already giving his best?

"You can't shout at him to go quicker, because he's always on the limit. And the mechanics worship him. If he crashes the car, they'd stay up all night over and over again to repair it if they had to because they know he'll go quick in it. The guys have seen all the whingers and they know the real deal when they see it."

"Fernando is definitely going to win world championships.” He adds.

There are three drivers now hailed as future World Chapions, Raikkonen, Montoya and Alonso:
"I think Raikkonen could do a Mika Hakkinen, and win a couple of world championships when the car is good, but I don't think he'll be the bloke who wins a race when the car should not, like Michael can. But I think Fernando will. He's got that edge. Is Fernando a Schumacher? Yeah, I think he is."

Gascoyne for sure has confidence on his driver. And Alonso is paying off that confidence with results and points.