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FORMULA 1

Fernando Alonso, the most intelligent driver I’ve worked with

Mark Temple, race engineer for Fernando Alonso at McLaren, talks about the intelligence of the Asturian and described his assets as a "potent combination". Warriors @ Cavaliers

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Mark Temple y Fernando Alonso.
McLaren Honda

Intelligence and talent combine

With the 2017 Formula 1 season just over a month away, interest in what is happening in the teams is building. Fernando Alonso's race engineer, Mark Temple, has been speaking on the official McLaren website about his man and puts him head and shoulders above other drivers that he's been involved with, calling out his intelligence as a key factor in any success achieved.

"He’s the most intelligent driver I’ve worked with,” Temple quite bluntly stated. "Combine this intelligence with a supreme level of natural talent and you’re left with a very potent combination.

"It allows him to do so much else while driving the car. He processes a lot of data and he’s always thinking about strategy. Fernando extracts the maximum from everything around him."

Throws in, doesn't lose out

As well as the thinking part of the brain, Temple went on to talk about the attitude of the Spanish driver when he gets behind the wheel.

"He drives it in a very aggressive manner. He really attacks the braking areas and throws the car into the corners, but he doesn’t lose out on corner exit. Often, if a driver’s aggressive on entry he loses out on exit, but Fernando manages to keep the car on the limit in both areas."

Fighting fit

"Fernando's aerobic work in these past years has been good, but now there is more fitness, more weight, more strength needed," said Edoardo Bendinelli, the drivers' personal trainer.

"I can say that Fernando is in his best shape, stronger and more motivated than ever."

Fernando Alonso doing some light weight training.
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Fernando Alonso doing some light weight training.DIARIO AS

The season gets underway in Australia on March 26 but ahead of that the teams will showcase their new cars in the week commencing February 21, and testing will take place between February 27 and March 10.