Fernando Alonso has explained why he doesn’t “care too much” about what newer Formula 1 fans might think about certain aspects of the sport that concern him.
The Spaniard is currently in his 22nd season of F1, having made his debut for Minardi back in 2001, a year that predates the birth of six drivers on the current grid.
Alonso is now in his third campaign with Aston Martin, and has already set his sights on next year, and has many reasons to be confident.
The sport will introduce its new set of regulations, giving teams a blank slate in terms of competition, plus Aston can boast the talents of Adrian Newey on the design front.
With Alonso, therefore, able to target race wins next year, by which time he will have turned 45, the topic could naturally turn to the veteran seeing success at such an age.
When asked before the Belgian Grand Prix if Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg, who took his first F1 podium this year at age 38, could see themselves developing before the new, Netflix-age fans, Alonso, speaking to media including Motorsport Week, was politely dismissive, saying there is no “straightforward answer.”
“Actually, I don’t think Nico… or think we both don’t care too much about what the next-generation fans think,” he said.
“We only try to win races, try to work with our team the best we can, and deliver the performance.”
Alonso: ‘We love the fans’ but they ‘don’t have the full picture’
Alonso explained the logic behind what laypeople may perceive as a dismissive take on the issue, saying that, naturally, fans will not know how drivers work behind the scenes.
“The fans and the people outside watching TV, they don’t have the full picture of what is going on and the difference in performance between the cars,” he said.
“So, if next year Nico and myself have a winning car and we win eight consecutive races and fight for the championship, then they will think that we ate something different in winter or had a different training programme and we learned how to drive in the winter.
“This is not really the reality. We train every day, eat every day, travel every day, go to the simulator every day. We try to be better and better every day with our teams.”
Alonso concluded by saying that he, like all drivers, wish to give the fans the opportunity to share in their successes, but in the midst of competition, it’s not at the forefront of their minds.
“When we achieve the result, we just try to share it with them and our fans around the world — but they are not in our priority,” he added.
“And it cannot sound rude to anyone — we love the fans — but we don’t think about of if they realise how good or bad we drive.
“That is more for the team and the technical aspect of the sport, I think.”
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