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Fernando Alonso says he can’t offer any guarantees that he is returning to Formula 1 as competitive as he was when he was last on the grid in 2018.
The Alpine signing remained active in motorsport while outside F1 – winning the Le Mans 24 Hours and World Endurance Championship, contesting the Dakar Rally and Indianapolis 500, and also testing with McLaren.
He also had a number of tests in older Renault F1 machinery after sealing his deal to return to F1 as well as running driving the 2020 car in last December’s ‘young driver’ test.
The 39-year-old feels he has done his utmost to ensure his two seasons out of F1 are not costly.
“You just have your own confidence, trying to deliver what the team expects from you,” said Alonso.
“But there are no guarantees that I will be as in 2018.
“But I hope so. When I decided to be back, I was trying to focus on the preparation, not only physically but also technically being with the team last year in the second part of the season, and trying to be up to speed in the F1 language, let’s say, where it’s a little bit more technical than some other categories.”
How good was 2018-spec Alonso?
– Edd Straw
On paper, Fernando Alonso’s 2018 Formula 1 season was a modest one. He finished 11th in the championship with just 50 points and a best result of sixth. For a driver used to winning races and championships, you might assume that to be an off year.
But the on-track reality was completely different. This was the year of McLaren’s rude awakening when the panacea of switching from Honda to Renault revealed just how far behind it was in terms of the chassis. The McLaren MCL33 was a poor car with a fundamental rear-end instability problem that was, on average, only the ninth-fastest of the 10 cars competing.
Alpine would be delighted to have Alonso producing at a similar level in 2021 – hopefully in a stronger car
Alonso obliterated Stoffel Vandoorne, outqualifying him on all 21 weekends. It wasn’t that Vandoorne, a driver of genuine ability, was a disaster, merely that he was constrained by the limitations of the car that Alonso could hustle his way round to mitigate.
While Alonso pitched it into the corner, using all of his car control to keep the rear under control and the nose pointing in the right direction despite the need for corrections, Vandoorne simply couldn’t. Alonso was at his livewire best, doing things that most drivers could not pull off and a lot wouldn’t even dare try.
Alonso’s first half of the year was particularly strong, notably finishing seventh at Baku in a car heavily damaged on the first lap. That was the highlight of a season in which he usually defied the odds.
The only real criticism is that, as the season went on, he appeared to become a little less interested and occasionally his frustrations overflowed on track. But by then he was heading away from F1 and already had his Toyota sportscar programme up and running – and the magic was still there most of the time.
Alpine would be delighted to have Alonso producing at a similar level in 2021 – hopefully in a stronger car. And given he’s stayed sharp and competitive elsewhere, there’s no reason why Alonso can’t do that.
Alonso admitted he was “not 100% yet” when asked about his own form, though he said that was a similar case to any driver changing teams – and even just adapting to a new season’s car and rules – rather than specific to his absence from F1.
“You will feel always more comfortable after five or six races,” he said.
“For me it’s no different. I’m happy where we are now but I think in a couple of races I will feel more comfortable, even in the cockpit, the seat, we’re still making small modifications like pedal position, there are things that we need to keep adjusting.”
He said he had no deadline by which he wanted to win in F1 again. His last victory came with Ferrari at the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix.
“Formula 1, or the sport in general, is not exactly mathematics where you can plan things ahead,” said Alonso, whose Alpine deal is for two years.
“You’re just trying to make it as fun as possible and your journey as enjoyable as possible at the same time that you are working hard to deliver the results and to get those dreams that you have in your head.
“It’s no different to me, trying to make this comeback a good shot on trying to win races or trying to be as competitive as possible, but not with a clear target or clear time set.
“But so far I’m enjoying it.
“I know that the repeated question is my age and my comeback but I’m a little bit surprised because I’m not that old.
“The world champion and the guy dominating the sport is 36. It’s not that I’m 20 years older or something to [need to] have the repeated question every time.
“I don’t have a clear target on what I want to achieve in this comeback. a target in terms of results.
“What I want to do is test myself and try to help the team in this important moment of this transition from Renault to Alpine, and the great future that I think this team has for the coming years and the new set of regulations.
“I’m here to help the team with experience, with the knowledge that I may accumulate in the years. And try to build a momentum into the team that carries on from 2022 and the future.
“We all love to win, but there is only one that can do that every Sunday and at the end of the year, only one becomes champion.
“That’s a very difficult target to set.
“I will be happy and I will consider it a success if we grow up together, the team and myself, in the coming years and we are contenders sooner than later.”
