When Fernando Alonso joined Aston Martin in 2023, not many foresaw what would happen. Alonso became one of the frontrunners with the Silverstone-based team, regularly competing for podiums. Looking back on the time, the two-time world champion feels youngsters would have taken note of it and ‘woken up’.
Aston Martin was struggling to get into the points the year before Alonso joined. But with strong development, and Alonso’s experience (and talent), they rubbed shoulders with the grid’s best. The Spanish driver finished in the top three eight times.
“Last year was a wake-up call for that younger generation,” said Alonso to Aston Martin’s website. “Suddenly it was like, ‘Wow, you know, this Fernando Alonso guy is still here, still competitive, and I want to support him. What my parents said about him has to be true.'”
Just look at how much that podium means to Fernando Alonso pic.twitter.com/uOJRJxQ5NM
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) November 5, 2023
When Alonso started racing in F1 in 2001, many young drivers on the current grid had not even started with karts, and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri was not even born. At 41 years old, he showed that he was still on the top of his game, which meant that no one could take him lightly.
What this also did was increase his fanbase. Alonso claimed that previously, most of his supporters were from an older generation. “There are people who followed me in the 2000s, who saw me win those World Championships and now their kids, their sons, their daughters, are also watching Formula One and supporting me,” he added.
Alonso is not done
Alonso is the most experienced driver on the grid, and in F1 history. He has taken part in 398 race weekends (395 starts) and later this season, will become the first to touch the 400 mark.
However, he is far from being satisfied. Despite being 43 years old, Alonso signed a contract extension with Aston Martin that will keep him on the team until at least 2026. Plus, his aim is not to linger around the circuit for the sake of it; Alonso wants to compete for race wins and win the World Championship.
Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll shares that ambition, and has invested heavily in the team, roping in top engineers like Adrian Newey.
As such, Alonso is excited about the future, and is not thinking about quitting F1 anytime soon.
