Fernando Alonso doesn’t think he will feel slow to move away from F1 anytime soon, but the demanding calendar may drain his batteries.
When Alonso signed his deal with McLaren, he thought that was his last F1 contract but its been 16 years since and he is still in the sport which includes a sabbatical. The Spaniard is the oldest on the grid and his motivation is still strong to continue.
Even though it is based on results, Alonso notes that his stay in F1 will not be about his own performance in the races. Because he thinks he will not be slow anytime considering that he has extreme self-confidence on himself.
But what could push him to move it will be the demanding F1 calendar which keeps on growing and can drain his energy as it gets the best of the people. “100%, I think the motivation comes with results,” started Alonso. “This you cannot hide, this is fact, even if you are very motivated, even if you are very determined to achieve things, either results are not coming in a medium-longterm, it is impossible to keep up always.
“To be competitive, to feel the spirit again, to arrive to the weekends knowing that you need to do everything perfect because there is a podium possibility, even a race win possibility, that obviously gives a very different approach and a very different love for the things what you do and dedication, so it was an incredible season. I’ve said many times, even before 2018, the day I stop racing is not because I feel not motivated for driving or I feel slow.
“If I feel slow one day, I think it will be noticeable and I will not be happy with my performance and I will be the first to raise my hand and say it’s time. But I don’t think that time will arrive honestly in terms of feeling slow, I have extreme self-confidence in my performance. But it could be with the calendar and the demanding schedule and things like this one day, I will feel it this time because you know there are other things in life. It’s been a very demanding season only with 22 races, with two cancellations.
“In 2024, with 24 races – the proper calendar, we will have to see how it feels. Even Las Vegas, I saw it’s a triple header, I don’t know why, I thought Vegas was alone in 2024 and then Qatar and Abu Dhabi together. I found out that it was three races together, these kinds of things will drain my battery, not my driving.
“I feel the same way as Max but you never know. I thought that way as well in 2006, 2007, I remember signing for McLaren in 2007 and it was like three years contract and I thought at that time that, it was my last contract. Here we are and so I cannot say anything for the future now,” summed up Alonso.
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