"We know Nico is very consistent and is very strong," says Alonso
Thursday 10 November 2016 18:04, UK
Fernando Alonso does not believe it should come as a surprise that "consistent" Nico Rosberg is on the brink of beating Lewis Hamilton to F1's world title.
For the first time in their four seasons as Mercedes team-mates, Rosberg is on course to beat Hamilton over the course of a full campaign with victory for the German in this Sunday's Brazilian GP enough for him to become world champion for the first time.
And McLaren's Alonso, a double title winner in 2005 and 2006, believes the German has proved himself to be a worthy title contender in his own right.
"I don't think that anyone thought that the championship was easy for Lewis this year. He didn't even think that way when it started," said Alonso at Interlagos.
"We know Nico is very consistent and is very strong in some circumstances. Here in Brazil he was winning for the last two years, even if Hamilton was dominating other circuits. So we know that Nico is a very strong driver - and very consistent as well.
"He normally finishes all the races, [with] many, many podiums, so he will always be a title contender and this year he is even ahead of Hamilton. So let's see what the outcome is."
Last season aside, when Hamilton won 10 of the opening 16 races to clinch his second consecutive title with three races to spare, Alonso says the battle at Mercedes has invariably been close.
"They were quite equal two years ago when the championship was decided in the last race in Abu Dhabi. So they were up and down that year," said the Spaniard.
"Last year Lewis was much quicker and had the championship [won] with good margin and I think this year Nico was very strong and was more consistent.
"He had less reliability issues also, Nico, so that was probably a little bit of an advantage. But apart from last year, they were always both quite competitive."
Why Rosberg would be a deserved champ if he wins the title
The fact Hamilton's title defence has been compromised by several engine failures, notably in Malaysia last month when on course for a comfortable victory, has led some to question whether Rosberg would be a fully-deserving world champion.
Jenson Button, Alonso's McLaren team-mate and a former title winner himself, says "circumstances" have fallen more for Rosberg this year but it still would not dilute the achievement and "if you win a world championship you're a worthy champion".
However, Button reckons the possibility of a rain-hit weekend in Brazil would mean Rosberg will have to work harder to close it out this weekend.
"I think this weekend is going to be an interesting one," said Button. "If it's dry it's very easy for him to clinch the title here, but if it's wet it really does mix things up.
"It puts a lot of pressure on both of them if it's wet because Lewis knows he's very strong in the wet and he can get a big points haul here. And Nico knows he's got more to lose if it's wet.
"So it's tricky in the wet because everything's to play for and one tiny mistake can end in disaster. I hope it's wet and it's good for Formula 1 if there's a good fight in the wet. I'm sure Nico wants it to be dry, but everybody else who watches F1 and is in F1 wants it to be wet."
Can Nico Rosberg clinch the title at Interlagos? Watch the Brazilian GP live on Sky Sports F1 on Sunday, the race begins at 4pm; Watch the whole race weekend with a NOW TV week pass - £10.99, no contract
