Nearing the end of his rookie season with Aston Martin, 42-year-old Fernando Alonso had a great start, but in recent months, consistent performance has become more elusive.
At the ripe age of 42, Fernando Alonso declared, “It’s not time to retire yet,” attributing his motivation to his longtime rival Lewis Hamilton.
Despite being the oldest driver on the grid, Alonso is still among the most passionate. His car has been largely competitive this season, which has undoubtedly increased his love and passion for Formula 1.
It was undoubtedly a risk for him to transfer from Alpine, a stable mid-table team, to Aston Martin. However, eight podiums this season—including Sunday following an exciting Brazilian Grand Prix finish—mean that the Spaniard is usually grinning broadly these days.
Compared to when he was most powerful, he appears to be a more composed and collected individual. So much so that he is willing to acknowledge that one of his biggest inspirations these days is his bitter old rival Hamilton, with whom he had a tense relationship in 2008 while they were teammates at McLaren.
He said of the seven-time world champion, “We have different personalities and motivations,” to British GQ. “During the times in his life when he lacked a competitive package, Lewis always performed incredibly well at maintaining his focus and competitiveness.
“There weren’t many of those times, but he was always giving his best. Red Bull is winning, and he doesn’t have the greatest car right now, but he never gives up. He’s relentlessly pursuing [Sergio] Perez in P2. The fact that Lewis maintains his motivation despite winning so many titles inspires us all.
The Spaniard is himself fighting for a top-four finish in this year’s championship. And even if he slips to sixth by the end of the year – Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz are hot on his heels – it will still be his best result since rejoining the grid after two seasons away.
Alonso’s career is often told as a tale of what might have been. He is a double world champion but the most recent of those successes came in 2006. Since then he has come close on many occasions, but quite often he simply moved to the wrong teams at the wrong times.
Now settled at Aston Martin, he knows he made the right call. Alonso said: “We were thinking in 2023 we’d be consistently fighting in the top ten, and maybe a podium or two would be possible, and then in 2024 be a regular contender for the podium.
“In the first half of this season, we found ourselves consistently battling for podiums, which was unexpected, so I was pleased. It was nice to feel that a change of teams this time around in Formula 1 really paid off, as you say, after a few disappointing years and moves.”
Regarding his individual goals, he expressed, “I would adore achieving that 33rd [career victory].” Social media has been buzzing with talk about it, and 33 is a number I see a lot and would really like to own. I’m loving the ride with Aston Martin and I feel fast and fresh. I have motivation. Retirement is not yet appropriate.”
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