Juan Manuel Fangio was 46 years old when he won his 1957 Formula 1 title. Still remembered as one of the greatest drivers to ever set foot on the track, probably is the inspiration behind the current old man on track, Fernando Alonso. Talk about any metric from most laps raced, to most GP starts to most years active in F1, Alonso comes out at the top as the most experienced man. And also, sadly, a man who is after his third title for the past 16 years may have run out of patience.
Going to Aston Martin is probably the defining move of Fernando’s career. Where he saw a drought in F1 glory for the past decade, he now stands on a 2/2 podium score in the 2023 campaign so far. And the man who can now rightly aim for a 33rd victory to begin with and even his third title won’t ever get tired of driving, but probably everything else that comes with it. While he says he feels better than ever, he has also hinted at the ridiculous calendar of F1 requires a huge amount of traveling.
As quoted by Daily Mail, He said, “And, with a third title achieved or otherwise, then what? ‘I will think about my future after that. I don’t imagine I will be tired of driving but the demands of travelling across such a long season can be draining.”
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While he highlights the number of years he has given to first-class racing, he also highlights that this is the best version of the Samurai that we are witnessing. “I may have had enough of that after 23 or 24 years doing it. But for now, with my experience, I’d like to believe I’m better than ever.”
And while the oldie himself doesn’t want to believe he is any less, he is quick to call Lewis Hamilton an old man.
The oldest man on the grid, Fernando Alonso, calls his arch-rival Lewis Hamilton “old”
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Fernando’s favorite pastime is perhaps to take digs at Hamilton. Considering when the latter was a rookie, he outperformed the reigning champion Alonso on many occasions. The latest occasion has been when he came ahead to contradict the Red Bulls being the fastest car ever claim of the 7x champion.
Alonso countered his ex-McLaren teammate by saying, “Last week [in Saudi Arabia] I finished 20 seconds behind Checo and Max [Verstappen]. He and [Nico] Rosberg were a minute ahead in 2014 and 2015… He has a short memory, he’s getting old!”
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Do you think Nando can claim his third title with Aston Martin?