“Terminator of F1” Fernando Alonso Receives Much Needed Support After Leaving Alpine on a Sour Note: “I Never Had a Problem…”

Fernando Alonso’s stint with Alpine has finally come to an end. After two years of a bitter-sweet relationship, the Spaniard has finally said goodbye to the French team. As Alonso left the team on a sour note, he received much-needed support from a man he previously worked with.

Talking about Alonso, Mark Slade, an engineer with McLaren in 2007, conveyed to Motorlat, “Working with Fernando was great. He is the terminator of Formula One, isn’t he? He just never gives up, and he’s just super fast.”

“You just knew that you were working with someone who was trying desperately to win every race he entered, so that was fantastic,” said Slade. The engineer further conveyed, “I never had a problem with Fernando himself. I thoroughly enjoyed working with him.”

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Mark Slade was the former race engineer for Alonso. Slade worked with the Spaniard during his stint with McLaren. He operated with the two-time world champion after Alonso joined the Woking-based team from Renault in 2007.

Fernando Alonso and Alpine, a sweet relationship that turned sour

Alpine, formerly Renault, brought back Fernando Alonso in 2021. Partnering with Frenchman Esteban Ocon, the Spanish driver finished the season in P10 with 81 points. Whereas his teammate finished a place behind him with 74 points. Together they helped Alpine defend P5 against AlphaTauri.

However, problems started to arise in 2022. After F1 put down new regulations on the car, Alonso encountered numerous reliability issues right from the start of the season to the very last race of the season.

At times he had to retire, the other times he had to finish outside points. Moreover, the tension between him and his teammate also reached a boiling point.

In the end, Alonso finished the 2022 season with 81 points and in P9. Whereas Ocon had a better finish in P8 with 92 points. Alpine, however, finished in P4 after defeating McLaren. All in all, it wasn’t a very good season for Fernando Alonso in Alpine.

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After the season-ending race in Abu Dhabi, the Spaniard joined Aston Martin for the next season. He will race alongside Lance Stroll and have replaced retired Sebastian Vettel in the process.