After two years away from Formula 1 trying -and winning- other disciplines such as world resistance or the Dakar, Fernando Alonso returned to the category that saw him crowned world champion with Renault in 2005 and 2006.
His first season at the hands of Alpine It was for training, but as he has stated this 2022, and despite the continuous reliability failures that has suffered, has returned to its maximum level.
Now, facing 2023 and hand in hand with Aston Martinthe Spaniard dreams of fighting again for the upper area of the grid, and His statements leave no doubt about it..
“I think last year maybe I wasn’t 100% happy with the performance and how the season went. This year I’ve been happier with the car and now I am much more prepared for the next challenge“, he explained in statements collected by ‘Motorsport.com’.
“So, return to sport cannot be underestimated. You need a few races or even a full season to feel 100% again and that’s what happened to me, but I’m happy now that I feel at a very good level,” she added.
Of course, when he left the Formula 1 in 2018, he always knew he was coming back… and so he dropped it with a almost imperceptible detail in which not many fell.
“In 2018, on my front wing, it was written ‘see you later’ and not a ‘goodbye’”Alonso stated in the aforementioned interview.
“I had different challenges in my head at the time, I wanted to race in Daytona, the Dakar, Le Mans… He wanted to fight for a World Endurance Championship“, Explain.
The regulatory change, scheduled for 2021 but postponed to 2022 due to the coronavirus, changed everything: “I had different things and Formula 1 was not my priority, but I love her and I felt that 2021 could be a good opportunity with the new rules. So I ticked all my boxes in those years away from Formula 1 and watched the races from home.”
Looking at the cases of Michael Schumacher or Kimi Raikkonenthe double champion was not entirely sure, but he was clear that he did not want to be left without knowing if he would have been capable.
“Returning to the sport is never a guarantee that you will be well and competitive, or that you will enjoy Formula 1. So I had some concerns when I tested in Abu Dhabi in 2020.“, has settled.