Spaniard Fernando Alonso has acknowledged on Monday that he had not abandoned all hope of return to Formula 1 at 38 years of age, while the name of the double world champion is often cited for occupying the seat of the Australian Daniel Ricciardo, who will be free at Renault, in 2021.
“From a physical point of view and at the level of the motivation, I’m at the top, so I would like to be able to concentrate on a major championship, whether it be the return of the F1, the world endurance Championship or the IndyCar,” said Alonso during a virtual conference, organized by the school of Real Madrid-Universidad Europea.
Since he retired from F1 at the end of the season 2018, Alonso was crowned champion of the world 2018-2019 endurance, has failed to qualify for a second participation in the prestigious Indianapolis 500 in 2019 and has discovered the Dakar Rally in 2020, ending at the 13th place.
But the spaniard does not see its return to the Dakar next year.
“100% of my abilities”
” I tried the game to see how I could express myself at the wheel of a car as different. It was a positive experience that I will surely repeat it, ” he said.
” But I think my next challenge is going to be at the highest level, because I have the feeling that I am always 100 % of my abilities “, pointed out Alonso, who switched to the F1, in particular by Renault (2003-2006 and 2008-2009), Ferrari (2010-2014) and McLaren (2007 and 2015-2018).
Renault, with whom he won his two world titles in 2005 and 2006, is looking for a driver to succeed in 2021 to Ricciardo, who will join McLaren, replacing Carlos Sainz, recruited by Ferrari.
Alonso, who has to his record 32 victories in the premier class, the last in may 2013, would hold the rope to reconnect with the renault brand, even if the quadruple world champion German Sebastian Vettel, as Ferrari did not want to keep, will be on the market.
The Italian Flavio Briatore, who led Renault, is believed capable of returning to the premier class, even after a hiatus of two seasons.
“Fernando is motivated, it was good to be away from the F1, Fernando is detoxified, I see it more serene now and he is ready to return,” he told the newspaper Italian sports La Gazzetta dello Sport.
