Fernando Alonso’s fountain of youth in F1
At 43, he doesn’t feel it and even had the audacity to compare most of his colleagues to zombies from *The Walking Dead* after the Abu Dhabi GP that wrapped up the 2024 season. This is not just Fernando Alonso being Fernando Alonso—perfectly embodying the character fans have come to know over more than 20 years in F1—but also a champion who is never satisfied and always seeking new challenges. In an extensive interview with *BBC Sport*, the two-time world champion addressed the topic of age, explaining why, unlike many of his peers, both past and present, he doesn’t seem to be struggling with the relentless passage of time.
Age doesn’t matter
“Age? I don’t think about it much,” Fernando Alonso said. “Even though the media occasionally reminds me of certain statistics and numbers about me. But as far as I’m concerned, I feel like I’m 25 or 30 and still racing. I don’t feel my age; I’m still motivated, fresh, and trained to drive in F1 and do the same workouts I did 20 years ago because the routine is pretty much the same.”
“I think it comes down to my discipline in work and training,” he added, “and my dedication to Formula 1, which is quite extreme. But the results are evident. I’ve never missed a test session, a debriefing with engineers, or a meeting at the factory. I’ve never been particularly fond of partying. Maybe the results are showing now that I’m over 40, but it all started when I was 20 or 30. That’s the period when you really have to dedicate yourself to F1 to be able to reap the rewards later.” – the Spaniard pointed out.
Fernando Alonso and the secret of hunger
Beyond physical fitness, there’s also the hunger for new challenges: “Maybe it’s because I’ve never had such a good car that I could dominate anything, except for my WEC season with Toyota. There, I realized how amazing it would be to have a dominant car in F1 because I could have achieved all the results I dreamed of. Instead, throughout my career, I’ve always driven cars that weren’t the best, even in the years of my two titles. In 2005, McLaren was faster but had terrible reliability, while in 2006, we were very similar to Ferrari, but Michael [Schumacher] had too many retirements.” – the former Ferrari and McLaren driver added.
“I’m still motivated,” Fernando Alonso concluded, “and I don’t feel like I’m going in circles because every year, I hope to have a fast car. Aging? It doesn’t worry me. I know it’s happening and will happen, that there’s a generation of young fans who don’t know much about me and have never seen me win a race. But I hope to prove them wrong with a fast car in 2026.”
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