Fernando Alonso in decline...according to the bbc!

[JimClarkFan]

BBC is jumping the gun, but what I find extremely funny is that everyone who was burning Vettel last year, is now excusing Alonso for the exact same thing: bad luck, different cars being faster at different times. It only makes me appreciate more my skill to judge drivers on equal grounds, so I don't have to change my standards every other year.

Lol, ok.

[Overdriving]

Alonso certainly isn't in decline, but he's definitely been pretty average this year. In an arguably best car he's only 3rd in standings, alternating bad races with good ones. Vettel and Kimi are doing a much better job than him, all things considered. Alonso needs to up his game and stop making mistakes.

[Spankyham]

BBC is jumping the gun, but what I find extremely funny is that everyone who was burning Vettel last year, is now excusing Alonso for the exact same thing: bad luck, different cars being faster at different times. It only makes me appreciate more my skill to judge drivers on equal grounds, so I don't have to change my standards every other year.

Yeah...... I used to be modest until I found out I was perfect

[Cam]

While this thread has all the hallmarks of an early locking, if discussed appropriately, balanced with facts and considered opinion, it could uncover some startling facts.

The only initial aspect I can put towards this having any credibility is the performance comparison with Massa. Towards the end of last year, Massa really came on strong, out-qualifying Alonso several times and having to hold station behind him in some races. It was hailed at the great "Massa Return" - but was it?

Maybe Alonso faded?

Now, remove the fanboyism, keep an open mind and see if there isn't some other indicators to prove either way - lap times - are they still consistent, errors - are there more/less/same, PR events more/less/same, etc.? It'll need someone to delve in and pull out some numbers. I'd be interested to see it actually. Even a small 'fade' proven in stats would be a boon to Vettel and Co.

[jamsbong]

I find journalists these days just need to write something. It is almost as if they are paid by the number of words published.
They also know that most of us will only remember the last few bits of gossip and news from a few days ago. I think it is a normal human condition to have some level of short term memory. That means they can say whatever they want now, it will be a different story in weeks to come. It does not matter since no one will remember this article anyway.

[Pierce89]

Alonso certainly isn't in decline, but he's definitely been pretty average this year. In an arguably best car he's only 3rd in standings, alternating bad races with good ones. Vettel and Kimi are doing a much better job than him, all things considered. Alonso needs to up his game and stop making mistakes.

While Alonso screwed up in Malaysia, both Bahrain(DRS) and Monaco(Plastic bag in FW/Car debris jammed under floor) had circumstances out of his control that hurt him. Aside from that, I'd hardly call winning 33% of races(and 1st or 2nd in 50%) "pretty average".What on Earth does a driver have to do to be above average. Alonso was peerless in China and Bahrain.

[Overdriving]

Alonso certainly isn't in decline, but he's definitely been pretty average this year. In an arguably best car he's only 3rd in standings, alternating bad races with good ones. Vettel and Kimi are doing a much better job than him, all things considered. Alonso needs to up his game and stop making mistakes.

While Alonso screwed up in Malaysia, both Bahrain(DRS) and Monaco(Plastic bag in FW/Car debris jammed under floor) had circumstances out of his control that hurt him. Aside from that, I'd hardly call winning 33% of races(and 1st or 2nd in 50%) "pretty average".What on Earth does a driver have to do to be above average. Alonso was peerless in China and Bahrain.

Sure. But take his car into account. He has the car that was capable of winning all races except Monaco. Having only 2 wins out of 6 in the best car is nothing impressive. The mere fact that he has almost the same number of points as he had last season, while his car is a lot better, says a lot. The fact that even Massa has about 30-40 points more than he had last year at this point, and considering that Massa hasn't exactly had trouble-free races either, speaks for itself. The car is great. Alonso isn't. His qualifying is very weak this year, as well.

[Richard]

Alonso has 3 races without mechanical problems or car damage. He got 2 wins and a second in those 3 races. That's the sign of a driver in decline?