“Anger Is What Drives Him”: Fernando Alonso’s Biggest Regret Deemed to Fuel His F1 Renaissance

Fernando Alonso has seen it all, from failing for years to retiring, then coming back, failing again, and having a remarkable resurgence. The move to Aston Martin was always going to be a gamble but he played a hand that paid off well. When he takes to the track, it looks like the Alonso of yesteryear, and that hunger is still alive. But is that really hunger? Or is it anger?

Alpine was on an upward trajectory when Alonso made the switch to Aston Martin. Many saw the move as a shocking one as the Silverstone-based team was in absolute shambles back then. But results proved doubters wrong and are continuing to do so as the season goes on. The newfound success seems to have put him in a good mood as well, at least that’s what the impression he gives. Moreover, he is getting along really well with his new teammate, something that has seldom happened in his career.

Fernando Alonso’s failure dubbed as his biggest motivator

Winning an F1 world championship is no mean feat. And to do that twice in a row is just a ball game altogether. But then you look at a talent like Fernando and you think, did he not deserve more of those? The reason it did not happen was because of some bizarre career choices, which, to be fair, even the move to Aston Martin could have turned out to be.

Reflecting on his newfound motivation, David Coulthard, on a recent episode of the Formula For Success podcast said, “the second reason why I think Fernando is so strong is- he’s angry. He’s angry that he’s only won two world championships and that anger is what drives him to still have the need and that’s the key thing. When I said earlier, ‘you don’t lose the speed, you lose the need’, he still has the need.”

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David’s co-host and former F1 team manager Eddie Jordan agreed with Coulthard. However, Eddie felt it wasn’t the healthiest of sources to seek motivation from.

Why Fernando Alonso only has himself to blame for his failures

Coming back to Alonso’s questionable career choices, Jordan feels he always chose money over success. For that, he believes he must introspect and discuss with his manager, Flavio Briatore.

Eddie said, “You can never look backwards, and he has to ask himself and he has to ask Flavio. [They] have to remember that Fernando Alonso chased the money. He went to teams where he was getting more money than what he would have got in another team that probably had a better chance to win the world title.”

“And he probably now regrets that because he’s got so much money. Sometimes, when you look back, you think that was a mistake, and if I was to say to Fernando if he was sitting there ups with me, I think, Fernando, you made a mistake, you still got a great legacy. Twice world champion, but you in your heart know it could have been easy five or six.”

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Alonso is 41 now and despite a quick car this season is nowhere near to challenging the Red Bull boys for the championship win. How long do you think this anger inside him can keep him motivated enough to keep fighting year after year?