A 42-year-old, Fernando Alonso has become the flag bearer for breaking the age barrier in the modern-day motorsports realm. His impressive performances have left even the best and the brightest of F1 in awe of what he continues to achieve in the sport. However, the Spaniard is far from done with motorsport racing. Alonso admitted to the High Performance YouTube channel he wants to continue racing for one more decade in hopes of achieving the one title that has eluded him all his life.
Alonso made his Dakar rally debut in 2019 alongside Marc Coma in Toyota Gazoo Racing colors. Although hopes were high, Alonso could not deliver the promised land as he finished 13th overall in the rally series.
Given his less-than-impressive first stint with off-road racing, the two-time F1 world champion is eager to return to the sport in hopes of picking up some silverware. Many might think Alonso is too old to think about winning a title in rally car racing, but with the example of Carlos Sainz Sr. by his side, the Asturias-born driver has enough support to back his claim. Sainz Sr. won his last Dakar rally title in 2020, when he was 61, and is still an active participant in the sport.
Fernando Alonso keen on racing for another 10 years to win an elusive title
During an interview with the YouTube channel High Performance, Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso expressed his desire to continue his association with motorsport racing. Having won a multitude of titles apart from the F1 world title, only the Dakar rally title eludes the Spaniard, and he aims to prioritize winning it in the next 8-10 years before he can finally retire from motorsports.
“I will try, 99%, Dakar again, which if one day, and that’s something that is it is not that the third world title is less of a priority. It is a priority. But winning the Dakar one day, it is a high priority for me as well. I will maybe have to attempt that race eight, ten years or whatever.”
But before going to Dakar again, Alonso will be spending some time in F1 as he previously claimed that he aims to continue racing in the F1 circuit for another two years. Interestingly, if he were to continue in Dakar for a further eight years, he would be 52 by the time he considers retirement.
Alonso is inspiring his team to keep winning
After a two-year hiatus from F1, Alonso returned to the sport as a 40-year-old. While most people wrote him off for his age, the Spaniard took everyone by surprise with his performances. He has become a beacon that signifies teams can trust older drivers and not write them off completely. Moreover, he has helped Aston Martin climb to third in the constructor’s championship while sitting in the same spot in the driver’s rankings.
🗣️ Fernando Alonso 🗣️
“The last decision which for everyone’s opinion was the worst one, to go for Aston Martin. It was the best one, arguably of my career. So that just shows the difficulty of choosing teams, and lack of knowledge that everyone has at home.”
Thoughts? ↓ pic.twitter.com/oisiGIQEXE
— el F1 (@elFormulaOne) August 21, 2023
Given what he has already achieved in the sport, winning a third title is less of a priority for Alonso as opposed to helping his team become the best on the grid. With Alonso on their side, even Aston Martin is relieved and believes they can improve each day and be able to challenge for the title soon.
