An expired contract and a closed market
Fernando Alonso spoke to reporters this week and cleared up nothing. The Aston Martin driver is 45, racing on a contract that has run out, and every seat worth taking has already gone elsewhere. Retirement sits on the table by default.
He spent most of the conversation on the engine rules he has attacked all year.
“Unfortunately, this is what it is,” Alonso said. “This is not the Formula 1 we grew up with. This is not the Formula 1 that we all want, drivers, spectators. So, we must change a few things; it will not happen immediately. It will happen for the future. But I hope I can contribute somehow for the next set of regulations and we can go back to the real Formula 1.”
Try it for $0.99.
The car improved and it changed nothing
Aston Martin have found something over the last two weekends. A Honda engine upgrade lifted the team, and Alonso took his first points of the season at the Dutch Grand Prix with ninth place. He drew a line under any suggestion that the recovery affects his thinking.
“For my decision it is not really about the car,” Alonso said. “I will be professional and working at my 100%, fighting for P15 or fighting for a podium. But for me it is more about the regulations.”
That distinction matters. A driver unhappy with his machinery can be bought back with a faster one. A driver unhappy with the rulebook cannot.
Budapest was the turning point
Alonso pointed to the work done since the Hungarian Grand Prix as the reason the car finally responded at Zandvoort.
“It was a nice boost for everyone knowing that at least the direction that we are taking is the right one,” he said. “Because we changed a lot of things in the car since Budapest. And obviously we know, we feel that in the corners we are getting in a much better place.”
The Spaniard won his two world titles in 2005 and 2006 and has raced across three decades since. He has said before that he would keep going as long as the sport still looked like the one he joined. That condition is now doing the deciding.
Discover the rest of our F1 news on MathODDS!
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply