Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso is not feeling well ahead of his big anniversary and will therefore not be present at the media day before the Mexican Grand Prix.
Fernando Alonso is canceling his planned appearances around Media Day in advance of the Mexican Grand Prix. This was announced by the Aston Martin team on Thursday morning (local time). The reason for the Spaniard’s absence from the paddock at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez is that he is “unwell”.
“Fernando Alonso is feeling unwell and will therefore not attend the media day at the Mexico City Grand Prix,” his team said in an official statement. “Fernando is focused on feeling 100 percent again for Friday to contest the second free practice session in the AMR24.”
Alonso would not have driven in the first free practice session on Friday morning anyway. Aston Martin will field test and reserve driver Felipe Drugovich, a 24-year-old Brazilian who won Formula 2 in 2022 and has been waiting in vain for a chance as a regular Formula 1 driver ever since.
Alonso’s most important appointment on Thursday would have been his appearance at the FIA press conference, alongside Charles Leclerc and Guanyu Zhou in the second segment of the day. There, among other things, he should have taken stock of his Formula 1 career, which will reach another high point next weekend with the 400th Grand Prix.
However, the 43-year-old will not actually reach his 400th Grand Prix start until November 23 in Las Vegas, because he did not compete in two races (USA 2005 and Russia 2017). Nevertheless, he is the lonely frontrunner in the list of record participants in Formula 1 weekends, ahead of Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Räikkönen with 350 Grand Prix participations each.
Reaching the 400 milestone is “nice,” says Alonso: “World championships and victories are what matter most to us race drivers. But at the same time, this number shows my love for the sport and the discipline I have shown for more than 20 years to be able to race at the highest level.”
“I have achieved what every racing driver dreams of and that is to be a world champion. And I have raced at the greatest circuits in the world against the best drivers. I don’t think I will add another 400 Grands Prix, but I hope to add at least 40 or 50 more in the next few years,” he says.
The two races that Alonso did not compete in despite being present were USA 2005 and Russia 2017. In Indianapolis, he was one of the Michelin drivers who were not allowed to compete in the race for safety reasons after severe tire problems in training. And in Russia, he was unable to drive again after technical problems with his McLaren at the second start.