Tired of being asked if his return to Formula 1 was for fun or to continue performing at the highest level, Fernando Alonso confesses the fears he had on his return and what he has left to prove.
The statistics are devastating: no pilot who has overcome the barrier of the 300 grand prizes in Formula 1 he has once again achieved a single victory to add to his personal track record.
Lewis Hamilton joined this select club in Francea club made up of Jenson Button, Micahel Schumacher, Rubens Barrichello, Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen, in ascending order of races to their name, a circle that adds up to 18 world titles in total.
Alonso’s main goal on his return to Formula 1 was to become world champion for the third time in his sports career, a goal that seems distant and difficult to achieve, although the first stage has already been far exceeded.
initial fears
In the first half of 2021, the year of his return to the premier class of motorsport, the #14 acknowledged that he was not 100%, stating that he needed time to “find the rhythm again in Formula 1 things: the pitstopsthe starts, the starts, all the steering wheel changes and stuff like that.”
While “this year, or in this second half of the year, I feel much more normal», referring to a 2022 in which he has immersed himself after a podium last year as the best result, performances like the one that made him worthy of starting 2nd at the Canadian GP mean a lot to him.
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I know what to get a front line is not the end of the worldI’ve already been in that position a few times, but it meant a lot, because when you decide to come back, you have to put things aside in life again, family and friends,” Alonso explained.
«Having a full dedication to the work you do, the trips, physically, mentally… everything. Y the pressure that falls on your shoulders, because you are Fernando Alonso, and everyone will notice if you do well», he added admitting his concern.
Dangerous precedents
Delving into what it has meant for him to try to live up to it again as far as possible, Alonso used the example of the last returns to the ‘Great Circus’ that touch him more closely.
“I know there were a couple of examples in the past of drivers coming back, Kimi or Michaelthat maybe… we all had the feeling that they were not the same as beforeand I did not want that on my return, “said the Asturian.
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“I think more or less I’m getting it: I’m the same as before, and that was important to me. Although inside I felt that I was the same, I had to show it from time to time, and weekends like the one in Canada help to have that feeling in the paddock», he continued.
The constant questions about his physical form have been the most tedious for him. “You are aware of things and perhaps of the opinion of the people, and you have to do hundreds of interviews in which they ask you how you feel at 40 years old and if you are exactly the same as before,” he detailed.
«It’s not that you get angry… but of course, I feel fast. Otherwise, I would never have come back.”
«What is the ambition now? Now that you’re back in your 40s, is it just for fun or do you really feel fast? Not that you get mad… but sure, I feel fast. Otherwise, I would never have come back, “said Alonso before concluding, aware that Friday in Hungary will once again be the focus of attention.
“Now, as I will be 41 years old in Hungary, it will be the talk in Hungary! I don’t feel any different there than I did last year at 39, but I’m aware of it.”
Font: The Race