Alonso’s dilemma
Fernando Alonso has put on the table a condition to continue in Formula 1: that the cars be fun to drive again. The two-time champion, who will turn 45 next week, signed a contract extension “for several years” in 2024 and assures that he has a link with Aston Martin until 2027.
However, its future is not guaranteed. Alonso and the British team have suffered with a slow and unreliable car, the first designed under the direction of Adrian Newey. So far, the only point of the season was achieved in Monaco.
“For me, I am calm. As I have said many times, I am thinking. I need to know what I do next year and in the following years. I feel fresh, I feel motivated, I feel fast, but I also need to enjoy what I do,” he declared before the Hungarian GP.
Alonso was critical of recent races in Britain and Belgium, where cars ran out of battery power on long straights. “I think it’s not fun to watch, it’s not fun to drive, and we’ve been repeating the same thing every Grand Prix,” he said. “It’s not the same adrenaline I used to get driving a Formula 1 car. That’s something I need to put on the table. It’s simply a question of whether F1 gives me the adrenaline I need to live.”
Aston Martin will bring a significant package of improvements to Hungary, a slow and twisty circuit that could compensate for the lack of power. Additionally, an engine upgrade from Honda is expected later. Alonso is confident that Newey and Honda will deliver a winning car. “I think I have a pretty clear picture of the team, that we are going to solve all the problems. They take time, but I have no doubts, zero doubts, that Adrian will provide the best car on the grid sooner or later,” he said. “I would like to see the first step with this package… and I think there will be more to come next year, that’s for sure, and in the years after.”
Alonso’s decision will depend on whether F1 brings back the emotion behind the wheel. For now, the Spaniard awaits improvements and analyzes his future.
