Fernando Alonso does not doubt that he will be competitive … or he will leave Formula 1

Fernando Alonso has no doubt that he will be competitive. This is what he assures every time he is questioned about it, while pointing out that Alpine’s great goal is 2022, the year in which the long-awaited change of regulation will come into force. The Asturian driver signed with the French team until 2022 with the option of one more season, but it will not be an obstacle for the team. If he is not competitive, he will leave Formula 1. It should be noted that drivers who have changed teams are at a disadvantage compared to their new teammates, especially since they have only had a day and a half of preseason. Alpine pointed out that this handicap would be greater in the case of Fernando Alonso since he had been out of Formula 1 for two years. Even so, the Spaniard was confident in his possibilities. He even declared: “This year I will be close to my best season.” However, the start has not been as expected, “Normally I think that each driver on the grid needs three or four races to optimize everything in a new car” , commented Fernando Alonso. Now the speech of the two-time champion has changed since, after the Monaco Grand Prix, he has asked for a deadline until the seventh race of the World Championship to return to being competitive: “From France I hope a new championship begins for me,” he said. On the reason why it has not been competitive so far, Fernando Alonso added: “The start of the season is not the best possible schedule for a rider who is new. I had Imola and Portugal, two circuits that I haven’t driven on for years or never, like in Portimao, and the others drove four months ago and then two city circuits, so the first six races are very challenging to adapt ”.Alonso wants a ‘less modern’ car Heading into the French Grand Prix, the Spaniard hopes that Alpine will modify his car to be more similar to the one he drove during his previous stage in Formula 1. “It’s more for my comfort, there are some things for me. This car is different in terms of the approach to the power steering, I want it to be more similar to how I have had it before to improve my feeling. It’s just on my side of the garage and I hope it’s easier for me. This car has a different approach to its behavior. Looking ahead to 2022 it makes no sense to change the philosophy of the car and it is up to me to adapt between now and the end of the year. I hope to do better and I think I will succeed ”, advanced Fernando Alonso. So the Asturian wants a different car than Esteban Ocon this season in order to score the highest number of points for Alpine. Still the priority is next season and this was stressed by Fernando Alonso before the Monaco Grand Prix: “We are working, we are trying to help the team as much as we can in preparation for 2022 as well. We are not going to win the Championship this year, that is guaranteed, so in the meantime we are making the team stronger and analyzing all areas. Weekends like these will make us stronger as a team. We are understanding many things thanks to the difficulties, so I am not worried. “The goal is 2022 On the importance of the next season, in which the change of regulation will come into force, the Spaniard noted:” The car that is born well, leads the decade of that regulation. We saw it with Red Bull and with Mercedes. If you’re in those cars, you win four or five titles. In the past you won one and the next one was a flip ”.Precisely thinking about next season Alpine has hired Fernando Alonso. “In 2021 we will not improve much, but we will improve in 2022. In this phase, having an expert person like Fernando is very good for us on a technical and organizational level,” said Luca de Meo. The president of the Renault Group justified his signing: “I want to use his experience to help us all grow. He has a different role than he did 15 years ago. He is the godfather of all. The only thing I ask of him is to help us become a leading team. ”Alonso understands that Ocon is ahead Despite the fact that Fernando Alonso’s performance is in question, it should be noted that he already predicted what Alpine’s fight would be before the start of the season: “We can fight for a sixth or seventh on the grid, but also for a fifteenth very easily. Our goal is to fight for the top-10 ”. However, if the two-time champion is being questioned, it is because Esteban Ocon is doing better than him with the same car. This is something that Fernando Alonso has also explained: “I remember that in the first races, when Carlos joined Renault, he was not as fast as Hulkenberg. And you could say that Daniel was slower than Nico in 2019, and then he was very good in 2020, his second year. At the same time, Esteban was suffering last year with Daniel and now he is well in his second year, so it seems that it is a team that is a little different from the others and needs a greater adaptation. ”Fernando Alonso has explanations for everything but the new regulations will equalize the teams in 2022. For that season, the Spaniard must claim as team leader. Otherwise, he and Alpine might part ways.As we have said, Fernando Alonso will only extend his contract if he is competitive.