Fernando Alonso may be the oldest driver in Formula 1, but he hasn’t lost any of his punch – That’s why he can still keep up
With his surprise departure from Alpine, Fernando Alonso has shaken up the driver market in Formula 1. The Spaniard will join Aston Martin for the 2023 season and take over the cockpit from Sebastian Vettel, who will hang up his helmet. Although Alonso is the oldest driver in the field at 41, he is one of the most sought-after drivers.
But what actually makes the two-time Formula 1 world champion, who is regarded as a natural talent and hard worker, tick? “I’m just that kind of guy,” “I always get one hundred per cent out of it and try to eliminate the strengths of the competition. But I do that in all areas.”
Alonso loves to compete with other people and play to their strengths against them. He explains, “When I play tennis against a good player, I play very high balls, because that way I can throw him off his rhythm, as he is used to hitting the ball very hard. Professionals expect hard balls, which they are used to. “
This is how you beat a strong opponent
And that’s the trick: “When I play the ball high, they make mistakes because it comes in very slack. So if he ball flies high through the air, I can play better tennis.” That, Alonso says, is the only chance of beating a tennis player who is better on paper. So it’s all about forcing the competition out of their comfort zone and into mistakes.
“I simply try to eliminate my competitors’ strengths and at the same time maximise my own,” stresses the Spaniard, who has claimed 32 victories in 346 Formula One starts so far in his career. Experience plays an important role here: the 2005 and 2006 world champion knows almost every situation in the premier class and always has the right tool in his toolbox to react adequately.
“The start, anticipation of situation, tyre management, pit stops, all that is important,” says Alonso. “The approach to a race weekend is also part of it, the free practice and how important or sometimes unimportant it is.” Young drivers, according to Alonso, look at every single lap they are behind. In doing so, the Spaniard said, some talented drivers drive in free practice as if it were the last lap of the championship.
Experience a key to success
Alonso himself looks at the big picture and tries to minimise his mistakes in the early laps of a race, even if that means giving up tenths. However, a driver has to make mistakes himself first to understand what the right approach is in a race, the Spaniard said of Formula 1’s young guns.
Although Alonso, at 41, is the oldest iron in the fire of the premier class, he still feels as if he is a young racer. “I don’t feel any difference, but maybe in 2018 I was a bit mentally burnt out because of the marketing appointments and all the travelling. That’s when I needed the two-year break.” The Spaniard feels fit again today and is ready to give it his all with his changed approach.
The two-year Formula 1 break and discovering the US IndyCar series and World Endurance Championship (WEC) have made Alonso a better driver. Still, he has followed Formula 1 as an outsider, which has not always been easy. Nevertheless, he says it has given him a better overview of how a “race is developing” because he has had all the drivers in focus and not just himself.
Experience in the IndyCar car and in the WEC prototype also helped sharpen Alonso’s skills and gave him more tools that give him an advantage in Formula 1 today. “I feel like I have everything much more under control,” reveals the Spaniard, who now knows all the tricks and, for example, already leaves rubber in certain places during free practice or cleans up his grid position.
