At 44 years old, Fernando Alonso continues to make headlines and impress both new and old generations of Formula 1 fans. The Spanish driver, despite winning only two world championships, has often been considered the best driver on the grid. Even when he wasn’t the outright fastest, he was always among the top competitors.
Perhaps not the absolute quickest, Fernando Alonso has consistently stood out for his ability to push the car to its limits, even when the machinery itself was lacking. He has always been distinguished by his exceptional racecraft, his talent for reading races and situations better than almost anyone else on the grid.
Alonso continues to impress Piquet: “he still believes he can win the title”
Nelson Piquet Jr., Fernando Alonso’s former teammate at Renault during the infamous Crashgate period in 2008, expressed on the podcast ‘Pela Pistas’ just how impressed he remains with Alonso’s performances behind the wheel. Even at his age, Fernando Alonso continues to astonish. “He doesn’t care what his ID says. His only thought is winning. The fire he has inside is incredible. He left F1 to race in the Dakar Rally, then the Indianapolis 500, and even the World Rally Championship. He returned to F1 and is still competitive. That he is a special driver is evident. You see it in his eyes, in his body language. He wants to win as if it’s his first day in Formula 1. He still believes he can become world champion next year,” Piquet said, as reported by Marca.com.
Inspired by these observations, Piquet shared an anecdote that also serves as a subtle critique of younger drivers, who constantly train on simulators whenever possible. Alonso never needed to do this. As Piquet recalls, Fernando Alonso could perform naturally and instinctively without spending endless hours on data analysis. “He can do everything with incredible ease. He is pure talent. When we shared the garage, I never saw him spend much time analyzing data. He just wanted to drive. He didn’t obsess over sitting at a computer for hours, he was never a nerd,” Piquet concluded.
As the 2026 technical revolution approaches, the contrast between Fernando Alonso’s old-school “instinct-first” approach and the data-driven methodology of younger rivals remains one of the most fascinating dynamics in the sport. Whether his raw talent will be enough to guide Aston Martin to the front of the grid in this new era remains to be seen, but according to Piquet, the hunger for success is as strong as it was two decades ago.
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