Schumacher joins chorus of approval for 'outstanding' Alonso

Michael Schumacher may have won the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona on Sunday – his 66th triumph and the first for the new Ferrari F2003-GA – but the star of the show was undoubtedly Fernando Alonso, who finished second. The 21-year-old is the best Spaniard ever to sit in a Formula One car, and there is a maturity and assurance about his driving that is reminiscent of Schumacher himself when he started out on the trail back in 1991.

Alonso made his Formula One debut with Minardi in 2001, the year that also brought Juan Pablo Montoya and Kimi Raikkonen into the big league. He was overshadowed by both since they had superior equipment, but Rupert Manwaring, at that time managing director of Minardi, had no doubts about his driver right from the start.

"This one is special," he said in Melbourne that year. "There is something about the way he handles himself and the car. He knows just what he is doing, and he is doing it naturally and with all the time in the world to think about all the other things a young driver tends not to have the time to think about."

There was a furore last year when it became clear that Renault intended to replace the highly rated Jenson Button with Alonso for 2003, after the Spaniard had been obliged through contractual issues to sit out 2002 as a test driver for the team. The technical director, Mike Gascoyne, rates Alonso highly. "Fernando has it all," Gascoyne said. "He is calm and fast and very sharp." Small wonder that the team believes that they, not McLaren with Raikkonen or Williams-BMW with Montoya or BAR-Honda with Button, have the next Schumacher.

The world champion himself knows quality when he sees it. Alonso was racing at home, in front of adoring countrymen starved for so long of a real top-liner, yet all weekend he barely put a wheel wrong.

"Honestly, I think he does an outstanding job, not only now, he has already done it when he joined Minardi, in my view," Schumacher said. "He has consistently improved and now he has shown his capability. Concerning the pressure of home, I don't know. Normally when you sit in the race car, from my point of view, you don't consider so much where you are, you just do your job and concentrate. Whether he does the same or not with the extra pressure that is there you would have to ask him. But I think he does a very good job."

Alonso himself appeared unruffled. "Racing at home is fantastic. It's probably the best place for me to do it. All weekend has been perfect for the team. This is the best day of my life and I feel I am dreaming. It's difficult to describe what I felt on that final lap with all the flags and the crowds cheering me on."

So far this season Alonso has scored points in all five races. Seventh in Australia, third in Malaysia (where he started from pole) and Brazil (where he crashed and caused the race to be red-flagged), sixth at Imola and now second in Spain (5.716sec adrift of Schumacher). His first victory could come this season, even though Renault lack the horsepower of their rivals. Barcelona underlined the aerodynamic excellence of their package, and that could be the vital factor on certain types of circuit. Allied to Renault's brilliant launch-control system, that could add up to a fearsome combination in Monaco.