As the chequered flag dropped on one of the most controversial season finales in the history of Formula 1 last year, Fernando Alonso’s mind was already on 2022.
Driving back to the pits, he sent a clear message to his Alpine team: “It’s only the beginning,” he told race engineer Karel Loos.
“Sexy boys and girls, the best is just to come next year. I promise. This was a warm-up, like the boxers. They do a game just before the big fight, this was the 2021 for us.”
Alonso returned to Formula 1 in 2021 after a two-year break from the championship during which he opted to explore endurance racing in WEC and IMSA, pursued victory in the Indianapolis 500 and went off-road rallying in the Dakar. But the heightened level of competition in Formula 1, and the opportunity to reunite with his former team Renault under their new branding of Alpine, proved too appealing to turn down.
Signing just a month after the pandemic-delayed 2020 season began, the 39-year-old twice-champion put himself back in the frame to fight at the top in the pinnacle of motorsport.
“Right now, I think especially after the pandemic, it’s a series that is more capable to produce a good show and to produce a good competition,” he told media including RaceFans after beginning his comeback last year.
“In 2018, when I left the sport, I was very honest with everybody, saying that I had better feelings or ideas elsewhere than Formula 1 and I had more attractive challenges in WEC or in Indy or in Dakar than what Formula 1 offered me at the time.
“Now it’s exactly the same point; in 2020 when I made the decision to come back, there were other series on the table and I thought that Formula 1 was the best challenge in that moment and the best competition.”
This weekend Alonso returns to his home circuit, where he scored his last grand prix victory nine years ago. He remains committed to fight for a third world title, but he hasn’t had the best…