Fernando Alonso arrives in Austria after scoring points in the last two races of the season, in Spain and Canada, with a ninth and seventh place finish. Aston Martin and the Asturian driver are enjoying the best moment of the season.
Fernando Alonso remains motivated at a special moment in his career
This is especially true considering the disastrous start to the championship. After four races in which there has been a notable improvement, particularly for the Oviedo native, he now faces a circuit where the goal is to finish in the points, but it will not be an easy task.
Even so, the Asturian is confident of getting something positive out of it and is hopeful about the improvements planned by the Silverstone team. So, after this weekend’s race in Austria, the team will take a new package of aerodynamic upgrades for the AMR25 to the British Grand Prix.
All this is aimed at addressing the car’s performance issues, particularly in terms of top speed and tire degradation. The package focuses on improving aerodynamics and will be evaluated during practice, using one car with the new specification and the other with the existing one to compare performance.
Alonso is at his best, at his highest level
With all this in mind, the Spaniard knows that, even though he has not yet achieved the success that a driver of his talent deserves, he is aware of where he stands and, above all, where he wants to take the next step with his Aston Martin team.
That is why, however, as he revealed in an interview with Mundo Deportivo, he is at his best, at his highest level. More so than when he won his championships in the Renault era, or when he was immersed in the fight for the World Championship with Ferrari between 2010 and 2012.
“I think you have different feelings. There are moments when I feel free, and there are moments when you really need to concentrate and have a very strong ability, like in Monaco,” he said, when Alonso did a lap to remember and sent that message over the radio saying “I love driving.”
The feeling and adrenaline that a Formula 1 car gives him is not found “in anything else I do.”
“The feeling in qualifying in Monaco is one of concentration and demanding the maximum from myself mentally, in terms of precision and risk. You can’t get that in anything else. I can’t go to any activity in my daily life where there’s a danger level of 100 and I want to be at 99.9 or 100 all the time for a minute and a half,” Alonso said.
“I can’t do that diving, I can’t do it cycling, I can’t do it skiing,” he said in the interview, revealing that his driving skills are at a very high level, but also his strength and desire to continue competing and keep finding that extra tenth of a second. In short, being the best in a Formula 1 car is something he finds no equal in any other sport or in any other field.
“I can’t get that feeling or that adrenaline or that satisfaction in anything else I do,” said the Asturian, emphasizing that driving an F1 car is unlike anything he has ever done before in his life.
Likewise, as he also revealed in another interview, the Fernando Alonso of today is at a different stage in his life than he was during his last spell at McLaren, when he decided to retire for the first time in 2018.
“I’m more relaxed, and I don’t mind waiting a little longer, even if that means years. 2023 was also a good boost for me, coming to Aston Martin and having some success as well, and being recognized,” Fernando Alonso said in a recent interview with Motorsport-Week.
“It’s a race with yourself in search of your best version.”
Like the rest of the teams, Aston Martin is pinning a lot of its hopes on the 2026 season, when the major rule change we have been talking about for years will be implemented. In theory, all teams will start from scratch and whoever gets it right could dominate the next five years. That’s why Silverstone signed Adrian Newey, Alonso’s dream man. “Now, in 2026 with the new regulations and Adrian on board, this waiting period we’re going through this year feels very different,” he said.
His words echo those he spoke in 2022, when he explained that he was performing at the best level of his career. “I’ve already enjoyed fighting for victories or podiums [in F1] here, but I’m also enjoying it now because it’s a race against yourself in search of your best version,” said Alonso.
“I can say that I am finally 100% since I came back and I am enjoying it (…) I am at the highest level I have ever been in my career and that makes me very proud of my comeback. I can achieve performance that was not expected and that kind of thing,” he said.