“I think I needed different challenges at that time in my career”– Fernando Alonso claims he never felt out of love with F1

Fernando Alonso left Formula 1 at the end of the 2018 season, only to return to the sport two years later. He thinks that a break was needed.

Fernando Alonso, a veteran of F1, left the sport after his last spell with McLaren got over. However, he has always been open about leaving F1 at that point.

But many thought it to be Alonso falling out of love with F1. Now, busting that rumour, the Spaniard claims that he never fell out of love with F1 but wanted new challenges.

“No, no, I think I needed different challenges at that time in my career,” he said on the Beyond the Grid podcast when asked about his F1 exit.

“I was tempted by Le Mans, I did the Indy 500 in 2017 one year before I stopped. I had all these challenges in my head about competing in different categories.”

“And challenging myself against some other top drivers in other disciplines in motorsport – and challenge myself if I could do well in different types of motorsport.”

Also read: Fernando Alonso recalls times when he had the fastest F1 car

Fernando Alonso thought he was losing time

Alonso was spurred by the thought of getting a triple crown in the world of motorsport- winning F1’s Monaco Grand Prix, the Le Mans 24 Hours, and the Indy 500.

He is yet to win the last thing out of all. But had he won it? He would have been the only contemporary driver to win it. While Alonso had a successful career in F1, he thought he was losing time in F1 and could only aim for everything at that time.

“It was not that I was not in love with Formula 1, but I felt that I was losing time in my career in that moment in Formula 1,” he explained. “I didn’t have the chance to fight for wins, to fight for podiums.”

“But I felt that I have this possibility and this appealing challenge of trying something different. So I thought that it was the right time in 2018, or even before that. If I look back at my career, maybe 2015 or ’16 was even better.”

“You don’t have the crystal ball, and you know what is going to happen in ’17 or ’18, so you still always hope that you get a chance to fight for bigger things.”

“But I was convinced that, in ’18, it was the right moment to try something different. Even if I still love Formula 1, I had other things in my head at that time.”

Also read: Fernando Alonso points out key differences between all Ferrari and McLaren