Alonso signed a new contract with Aston Martin final spring that may preserve him with the group till he’s transferring into the second half of his 40s – he’ll flip 45 in July 2026.
He doesn’t like to speak about this, and has stated plenty of occasions he feels it is not related – that extra downforce on an F1 automobile is a way more necessary impact on its lap time than age.
In fact, he would say that. However it’s price speaking about. He’s doing one thing that has not been completed because the Fifties – driving an F1 automobile competitively into his mid-40s.
It’s, by the very definition of the phrase, extraordinary, and but the extraordinary factor is he would not appear recognise it as such.
“No, I do not,” he says. “I am not pondering an excessive amount of on that. Media jogs my memory sometimes among the stats and among the numbers however for me I really feel like I used to be 25 or 30 and I preserve racing in F1.
“I do not really feel it. I really feel motivated, I really feel recent, I really feel match to drive and to do the identical coaching I used to be doing for 20 years now, as a result of it’s the similar routine roughly.”
So why does he suppose he has been ready to do that, and no-one else, but, has been ready, or provided the chance, to do the identical?
“I feel as a result of my self-discipline of working and coaching and dedicating myself to F1 has been fairly excessive,” Alonso says, “and the outcomes possibly are paying off.
“I’ve by no means been lacking any check session or any debrief or any manufacturing facility time or coaching. I’ve by no means been out or partying an excessive amount of.
“Perhaps the outcomes are coming now in my 40s, however the start line was at 20s or 30s, when it’s worthwhile to dedicate your self to F1 for an extended time period to attain some outcomes afterward.”
As drivers age, what usually slows them down is that they lose the will to do it. It ceases to matter a lot.
Time passes and the significance of shaving the final milliseconds off a lap time – of driving round in circles, as Niki Lauda famously put it when he retired for the primary time mid-race weekend in 1979 – diminishes. So too does the will to make the various required sacrifices, when it comes to bodily dedication, when it comes to time away from household.
With Alonso, although, the flame of affection and need remains to be burning sturdy. Why?
“As a result of I by no means had a superb automobile that I might dominate one thing, aside from my season with the world endurance championship with Toyota [in 2019-20].
“That season I realised how great it might be to have a dominating automobile in F1 as properly, since you might obtain so many outcomes and drive as you want.
“All my profession I’ve been driving vehicles that have been possibly not the most effective in that second, even my two World Championships. In 2005, the McLaren was the quickest automobile however their reliability was dangerous so we compensated with that and gained the championship.
“After which in 2006, they have been very comparable however the Ferrari and Michael [Schumacher] had a little bit bit too many DNFs, particularly in Japan on the finish of the 12 months, and I gained the championship.
“I preserve delivering and motivated and I’m not [feeling like I am] driving in circles as a result of yearly I nonetheless have the hope that would be the season I might have a quick automobile.”
Does he fear different folks may take a look at his age and lose religion he can do the job earlier than he does?
“Not fear,” he says. “I do know it’s occurring and it’ll occur. There’s a youthful era of followers and followers who’re simply into F1 and they do not know a lot about me they usually by no means noticed me successful a race or they go simply by the outcomes.
“However I nonetheless have the hope I can show them improper and have a quick automobile in 2026.”
