Fernando Alonso, by far, is the oldest driver on the grid at the age of 41. Recently, the Spaniard had an incredible start to the season when he secured a podium with Aston Martin in the Bahrain Grand Prix.
Now, ahead of the race in Saudi Arabia, he is going into the field with a unit that’s absolutely confident about its capabilities. Meanwhile, many have started to believe again that even in his 40s, he is among the best drivers on the grid.
But Aston Martin was the one since the beginning to keep faith in Alonso, who at this age was expected to be out of his peak. But they assigned him to take them to become a championship fighting side.
With their development over the last season, the trajectory seems promising. Meanwhile, Alonso, even after racing for almost two decades, is ready to give several years more to F1.
Fernando Alonso could end up staying in F1 for seven years
The Aston Martin star got an unlikely revival to his F1 career in 2020 when Alpine appointed him to replace Daniel Ricciardo. Since then, he has only proved that he hasn’t washed away.
But even at that stage, maintaining his performance won’t be easy. He claims to be making several sacrifices in the process and feels that now he can even give seven more years to the sport.
“When I came back to Formula 1, for sure, I decided that I had to sacrifice other things in life and dedicate myself for another period of time, maybe three, maybe five, maybe seven years to the sport,” said Alonso.
The Spaniard feels that his body can go that long if the right work is put into it. It would be incredible if Alonso goes on to tolerate those G forces even at 47.
He is afraid of post-retirement life
Alonso may have taken a break from F1 in between. However, he never took one from his motorsport career. During his absence from the sport, he plied his trade in other series and even tried his hand at rally racing.
Former Red Bull driver Mark Webber believes Alonso won’t be comfortable leaving the treacherous work schedule around F1 and sitting at home. In Webber’s words, he is worried about the boring retired life.
Earlier this year, Alonso also claimed that once his F1 career is over, he could try another shot at Indy500 or Dakar Rally. But as of now, 2023 seems to be an exciting year for him.
