On the Eve of His 40th Birthday, Fernando Alonso Explains Why He Still Has a Lot to Give to F1

El Matador has returned to the circuits and is as legendary as ever. Alonso’s return was initially questioned- would his age slow him down? But the veteran has silenced his critics with an outstanding season so far.

Fernando Alonso will celebrate his 40th birthday soon. When asked about it in a recent interview, he said, “It’s just that I don’t feel it.

“Maybe one day I wake up and I’m sad for my birthday or my age, but right now I don’t think it matters too much.” [translated using Google Translate]

Age is a growing topic in F1. He commented, “Fortunately, in my sport, the clock is the boss and physically you have to be acceptable. Because if you are sick or have vision problems… 

“None of that has happened to me until now and I don’t think it will.” Alonso is confident that we will continue to see him on the track.

This confidence stems from the fact that Alonso believes he hasn’t reached the point of retirement yet; he still feels very young. “When I shave and look in the mirror, I still look very young.”

And he will continue to feel young till the day the track deems him old. “Until my body calls me in Formula 1 and I have fun and am competitive.” 

A triumphant return for Fernando Alonso

After a relatively tough start to the season, Fernando Alonso seemed to improve after the French GP. He initially found it difficult to fit into his form. This led to a lot of nay-saying on his return.

The media associated his name with words like ‘older’ and ‘rusty’. In the interview, Alonso said he counted it as a blessing when people put down his performance.

“I knew it was a matter of time. Criticisms or those comments… Not that I liked them, but I saw them as a blessing.” When asked why, he explained that because of the underperformance in the earlier races, people eventually started appreciating his recent races more.

Read More: WATCH: Lewis Hamilton & Lando Norris’ Off-Track F1 Bromance Continues at Silverstone

“Because it was only a matter of time that if now it was a tenth, it would be valued because if I was always ahead of Ocon or if I was always in the points, it would be said as it has always been said in my career… that I did not give more.” He adds, “I knew that whatever happened in the future was going to be valued much more.”

After battling with the Spaniard in the recent sprint qualifying Daniel Ricciardo mentioned how it shows that age doesn’t play a factor in F1. “Is age a factor?… If you’ve still got a passion and a real drive for it, you can keep doing it at a very high level.”

The recent races have only shown Alonso’s upward ascent to being back to where he was. His overtaking, accompanied by relentless driving, has reminded the young ones on the grid that his experience is unmatched.

Watch this story: F1 Drivers Fighting on Track.