The two-time world champion returned to Formula 1 last year with Alpine after spending two seasons out of the category to explore other forms of motorsport, such as IndyCar, the WEC or the Dakar.
Alonso got his first podium since Hungary 2014 at the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix, but luck has not smiled at this start of the course with the new rules, where for example he aspired to fight for pole in Australia when his car failed.
At 40 years old , the Spaniard is the oldest driver on the grid, but has indicated that he will seek to prolong his stay in the Great Circus until after this course, when his contract with the Enstone team expires.
After a hydraulic failure in Melbourne left him out of qualifying early, Alonso’s difficult run continued at Imola, when a slight clash with Mick Schumacher left him without options due to irreparable damage to the pontoons of his A522 .
But Alonso showed no signs that the frustrating 2022 would make him rethink his future in Formula 1. Asked why it was that motivated him to continue despite his bad luck, he replied: “Because I feel better than others”.
“When someone comes along and sees that he beats me in sheer skill, when I’m no longer good at starts, when I’m no longer good at setting up the car, or when someone across the garage is a second faster than me and I’m not can match those times, maybe raise your hand and say, ‘this is the time to think about something else,'” Alonso acknowledged.
“But now, I feel the opposite, I love racing,” said the Spaniard, who has only scored two points so far for the 20 that his Alpine teammate Esteban Ocon, who has a contract until the end of 2024 , has.
The two-time world champion admitted that this is a “painful” difference in points given his bad luck at specific times. The team has the reserve driver Oscar Piastri , the young protégé and winner of the last edition of Formula 2, who seeks to gain a foothold in the French team by growing from the shadows that is the role of reserve driver.
Alpine have already indicated that they want to place the Australian in a team next year, and are open to negotiations if they can get him back in the future, although the priority now is the renewal of Fernando Alonso.
The Spaniard said at the beginning of April that he would seek to start talks with the Gauls about his future “probably in the summer”, so we will have to wait to find out the resolution of this unknown.
