Fernando Alonso finished the final Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in sixth place, once again ending the race as the so-called “best of the rest”. The Spanish driver closed the season with his trademark aggression, despite a year that offered limited satisfaction in terms of results. His focus is now firmly on the future, with hopes pinned on the arrival of Adrian Newey and on the 2026 Formula 1 season, which could represent a decisive moment in his career.
That season could offer Fernando Alonso one last realistic opportunity to fight for the long-awaited third world championship title, or at the very least to finally secure his 33rd career victory in Formula 1. It would be a remarkable achievement for a driver who will turn 45 next season, but Fernando Alonso has never been one to shy away from difficult challenges. Over the course of his long career, he has faced many defining moments, including his return to the grid in 2021 after stepping away from Formula 1 during the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
The Spanish driver opens up
Alonso himself reflected on that experience in an interview with DAZN Spain, offering a deeply personal insight into the psychological demands of competing at the highest level without the right car to win. “When you don’t win for a while and you don’t have the right car to do so, as has happened to me in recent years, you have to talk to yourself many times,” he explained. “At home, you have to get up and go training on your own. You talk to yourself for many hours, you look at your scars and videos from the past and you tell yourself that you are still that person, not the one you are right now who cannot achieve the result you need.”
The two-time world champion stressed that ego can become a major obstacle in such moments. “You cannot have ego, because it will slow you down and it will not help you at all, but you need a lot of self-esteem and confidence in yourself. When things go well or badly, that confidence has to be bulletproof. It is difficult to find a balance between ego and confidence,” Alonso admitted, highlighting the fine mental line elite drivers must walk throughout their careers.
Fernando Alonso then went on to describe the specific difficulties he encountered upon returning to Formula 1 after his break. “When I came back to F1,” he added, “in the first tests I thought I had the same performance as when I left. But the lap times said the opposite, they showed that I was a few tenths slower. I didn’t know how to recover those tenths, because I was already pushing to the limit of my abilities.”
According to Fernando Alonso, the issue went beyond simple fitness or motivation. “It’s the cognitive system, something innate that we have and that develops with practice, which resets every time you take a slightly longer break. It’s like getting back on a bicycle and having to put the stabilisers back on because you’ve lost your balance. These things look easy from the outside, because if you have talent you get back in the car and go fast. But your body, your brain, your senses always need a bit of time to wake up again.”
Alonso’s candid description reveals the profound mental and neurological effort required even for a driver of his caliber to fully recalibrate for the extreme speeds of Formula 1 after a short absence. His ability to openly discuss the necessary self-talk to maintain “bulletproof” confidence, while simultaneously fearing the slowing effects of ego, provides a rare glimpse into the psychological resilience of an F1 champion. Do you think Fernando Alonso’s sustained confidence and self-awareness will be enough to finally clinch his 33rd win or even a third title with Aston Martin and Adrian Newey in 2026? Share your thoughts below!
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