Will Fernando Alonso be prepared to work hard to become F1 world champion again?

And by repeating his 2005 success in 2006, beating a resurgent and ultimately highly competitive Michael Schumacher into the bargain, he became one of the very few drivers to win back to back titles. What does the immediate future hold for this precociously talented star and there any lessons that he can learn from the man he replaced as champion?

Alonso close to joining a very exclusive club

In the modern era of Formula one - say from 1960 when the first rear-engined cars appeared - the only drivers to win the World Championship in successive seasons have been Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher, Mika Hakkinen and now Alonso. The top of the F1 all time podium also includes those drivers who never quite achieved back-to-back wins (Jim Clark, Jackie Stewart and Nelson Piquet). So what does the young Spaniard need to do to claim a place alongside these truly great drivers? He could well benefit from looking back at Michael Schumacher's extraordinary career to get some pointers.

Schumacher was so much more than just a racer

When Michael Schumacher won his first world title in 1994 by one point from Damon Hill he did so in a car from a team, Benetton, that broke the rather predictable hegemony of McLaren and Williams who between them had won the championship in the previous ten seasons. Schumacher won the title again in 1995 and then decamped to Ferrari who had not won a title for seventeen years. The McLaren/Williams domination returned for four long seasons before Schumacher won Ferrari their much yearned for championship in 2000. He then won the title four more times in succession - an unparalleled run of success. Whilst the major contribution that Schumacher made to Ferrari was, of course, his exceptional driving skills he was so much more than just a racer. I have been privileged to see Schumacher with his Ferrari team-mates at Maranello and I saw for myself how he was not (just) an elite driver but genuinely one of the team. Ask Jean Todt or Ross Brawn what they will miss now that Schumi has retired and they will talk about how he worked painstakingly long hours to help the designers and engineers created a winning car. It took four years, but they got there in the end, and then they stayed at the top - again with the help of Schumacher's unique feedback.

Alonso faces a huge challenge at McLaren

The parallel between Alonso and Schumacher at similar stages in their careers is striking. Schumi was 26 when he left Benetton as a double world champion at the end of the 1995 season. Alonso is 25 and also a double champion as he leaves Renault for McLaren. And McLaren are as hungry for a return to success as Ferrari was ten years ago. Will Alonso be as patient as Schumacher was at Ferrari and will he establish himself as an integral part of the Woking team's set up in the same way that Schumacher did with the Scuderia? They don't like prima donnas at McLaren and they certainly don't like drivers who don't get their hands dirty. When Nigel Mansell joined McLaren in 1995 it was an unmitigated disaster as although he was a very experienced driver he wasn't interested in helping the engineers develop the car - he just wanted to turn up on race day and drive a perfect car. Mansell walked away when this didn't happen and left it to Mika Hakkinen to work hard with the team - an effort that ultimately paid off when the Finn eventually won the championship in 1998 and 1999.

Alonso must build a bond with Ron Dennis

There are no more experienced or successful team bosses around than McLaren's Ron Dennis, and no one knows better than Dennis how to work with great drivers like Nike Lauda, Prost, Senna and Hakkinen. But Dennis won't tolerate the sort of arrogance that he saw with Mansell (and to a lesser extent this year with Juan Pablo Montoya) and although Fernando Alonso will have the number 1 on his car next season that won't secure him any special favours from the tough McLaren boss. If Alonso is patient, if he works hard to help McLaren develop a competitive car and if he builds a real partnership with Dennis all will be well. From what I have seen of Alonso he is probably smart enough to do just this - but it will be one of the most interesting features of the 2007 to see how this all works out!