Abu Dhabi will be a Grand Prix of many goodbyes; a four-time champion like Sebastian Vettel says goodbye to Formula 1, Nicholas Latifi also says goodbye to the ‘Great Circus’, Daniel Ricciardo Y Mick Schumacher they will not continue in 2023 but they dream of returning in 2024… and Fernando Alonso will say goodbye to Alpine to switch to the garage Aston Martin.
At a press conference, analyzing what this year has brought him with the Enstone team, the Asturian could not have been more clear.
“Reliability has been our weakest pointso we’ll see if we can end the campaign in good shape, with a great result, and how competitive we can be, we can repeat what we did in Brazil,” he said.
“I don’t think we’re above the top threebut I do hope that ahead of the midfield, which is the goal to enjoy on Sunday”, he added.
Taking stock of these last two years after returning to F1, Alonso has acknowledged that he never thought it would be easy after two years trying other motorsport disciplines.
“When you return, you are never guaranteed to be strong and competitiveyou still enjoy everything in Formula 1,” he says.
For this reason, in the first tests, he felt “concern”: “I got a little worried when I did the demo two years ago here in Abu Dhabi and with the 2020 tests. I think last year I was not 100%I wasn’t happy with my performance and how the season was going, but this season I was much better with the car and with my performances.”
“I think I was more up for the challenge, you can never underestimate a return to F1you need a few races or a complete campaign to feel 100% prepared, which is what has happened to me to reach a good level”, he added.
Of course, now he already feels 100% and promises war next year at Aston Martin: “This year I am much happier with the car, with the performance and I think I’m much more prepared for the next challenge“.