Alonso: I predict that I will talk about my age again

Statistics say that in his 19 seasons in Formula 1, Fernando Alonso started in 345 Grands Prix, won 32, a total of 98 podium finishes, 22 pole positions and 38 front row starts.

Including his car was in second place on the grid for the Canadian Grand Prix and that was very important for the two-time world champion, who will turn 41 at the end of July. But the Spanish motorsport veteran is still in shape, hungry for new successes and doing a good job with the Alpine F1 team.

“People know who I am, but they wonder, ‘What does he give to Formula 1?’ I think after weekends like I was in Canada, they feel like I can still do something. This was the second half of last year.

I understand that the front row is not a thrill yet, but it means a lot to me because if you decide to return to the championship, you have to put a lot of things in your life in the background – family, friends and fully focus on work, training, psychological preparation, etc.

You feel that pressure again because you are Fernando Alonso and when you perform well, everyone pays attention to you. There have been a few instances in the past where riders came back, think Kimi Raikkonen or Michael Schumacher, but we probably felt like they weren’t in the form they were before. And when I returned to Formula 1, I wanted to avoid it.

I think I have achieved this to some extent. I am the same as before, and this is important to me. But even if it seems so to me, it has to be proven from time to time, and a weekend like I had in Canada helps to keep this feeling.

I’m aware of what’s going on, I’m aware of what people might think of me. In an interview I was asked hundreds of times how I feel in my 40s, and what do I want to achieve now? Am I just racing for fun or do I really feel like I’m still fast?

It’s not that it bothers me… But I definitely feel like my speed hasn’t gone anywhere, otherwise I wouldn’t come back.

I’m ready to admit that I was still not quite in shape in the first half of last season, it took me time to get back into the Formula 1 rhythm and recover all my skills. But already in the second half of the year and this season, the sensations are much more normal. And in Hungary I will be 41 years old and I already have a feeling that the conversations about my age will start again! (laughs)

I understand it all. Let’s say there’s already a new generation of fans that grew up who didn’t watch the races in 2006 when I won the championship, and didn’t watch Formula 1 in 2012, when I drove for Ferrari and fought for the title.

I’m still a fighter who doesn’t give up easily and always strives to give his best – in training, qualifying, in races, in all conditions and no matter what position you have to fight for. It could be a win, or it could be 12th place. It’s important to me that people understand: I love racing and I love this sport.”

This season, Alonso should break Kimi Raikkonen’s record for number of Grand Prix starts. The Finn has 349, Fernando has 345, but he still has 11 races before the end of the championship.