Fernando Alonso back in Formula 1, at 40: "I will do anything to win"

When you are almost 40 years old, when you are a Formula 1 driver, when you risk your life every Saturday in the four corners of the world for 20 years, when you have above all won everything and amassed millions of dollars, you can think of take it easy at the edge of a swimming pool.

Except when your name is Fernando Alonso.

“For me, that's not the good life.

Driving is my life.

I drive every day, I drive every week.

I want my life to be like this, for a long time to come, ”the pilot told us a few months ago.

The Spaniard is back in F1 after three years away from the track.

And he's not coming back to prove anything.

Double world champion with Renault in 2005 and 2006, the man has competed in 312 Grand Prix in his life and won 32.

He has driven… 83,882 km on the F1 circuits since his debut 20 years ago, in March 2001.

“When I quit F1 in 2018, my friends told me:

It's great, now you can do whatever you want!

I realized that all I want in my life is to drive, to drive a car.

I really love it and can't do without it.

And since F1 is the best of the best in my sport, that's why I'm coming back.

"

Ticking the important boxes ahead of next week's season debut: official photos done ✅ # CountdownToBahrain pic.twitter.com/IvFNG28tkZ

- Alpine F1 Team (@ AlpineF1Team) March 15, 2021

The new Alpine rider, who is about to get back into a bucket this weekend in Bahrain, a little over a month after a serious ... cycling accident, has tried palliatives to wean his passion off.

He raced the 24 Hours of Le Mans which he won in 2018 and 2019, then the 24 Hours of Daytona (won in 2019).

He tried with less success at the Indianapolis 500 miles and a year ago and he finished thirteenth in the Dakar.

“But nothing can replace F1,” he concludes.

At 39, it seemed like the right time to come back, ”he told us again in September, when the Amazon platform posted a nice document about him.

“I find F1 a bit monotonous, with the domination of one team (Mercedes).

I want to play my role to make that change.

"

Hamilton is untouchable

Barring a miracle, the Spaniard will not be world champion for the third time at the end of this season.

As long as Lewis Hamilton is on the starting grid, the competition has little or no chance: “I am a professional athlete and I am ambitious by nature, confirms Alonso.

Everything I do is a mission and I will do whatever I can to win.

Maybe not as early as 2021, but as soon as possible.

I am full of energy.

I'm ready !

"

For his Alpine team, which succeeds Renault, the return of the double world champion is a great opportunity.

“Fernando is one of the greatest talents in Formula 1,” says Davide Brivio, the team's competition director.

He will bring his experience and expertise to the team.

He left to live other experiences for two years, but now he wants to return to F1.

This underlines his irrepressible desire to succeed and to sign good results.

He could have had a golden career in other disciplines, but he wanted to find the most competitive environment to face the hopes of tomorrow.

"

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The executive director of the brand, Marcin Budkowski, confirms: “Fernando has the professionalism of an experienced pilot combined with the hunger of a young wolf.

"The new big boss of the team, Laurent Rossi, confirms this with ever more flattering words:" He also looks incredibly young and is so in good shape ... It's as if he had never left the team. Formula 1. "

"A privilege to be associated with him"

For his teammate Esteban Ocon, it's a chance but also a big challenge.

Learning alongside such an experienced pilot can be overwhelmingly nerve-racking.

For an F1 driver, the error is banished when we rub shoulders with the demanding Alonso in the paddock.

"It's great to see a double Formula 1 world champion at work and it's a privilege to be associated with him," slips the Normand.

It's going very well for the moment and I want to believe that it will last throughout the season.

It will be a real challenge, anyway, to confront me with him.

I'm sure Fernando will respond right away.

It will be a hell of an opponent.

I will have to take up the challenge.

"

Far from the great circus of F1 jostled in recent months by the pandemic, the native of Oviedo will have to resume his marks.

During his absence, even if the hierarchy of pilots remains the same, the cars and the regulations have changed little, before a new development planned for 2022. The competition did not wait for it.

“During this absence, I became a more complete driver.

You are always learning when you seek new limits or when you are outside your comfort zone.

I am without a doubt a more seasoned pilot than two years ago.

"