Alonso: ‘I’m going to stay with Hamilton until I’m 80’

Fernando Alonso has always defended that ‘age is just a number’ and that it’s the ‘clock’ that counts. This is the only factor the team must consider when evaluating pilots. He then addressed the Spanish press at the Italian F1 Grand Prix, referring to Lewis Hamilton’s renewal, reminding him: The pilot from Asturias already knew last year that Alpine was debating whether to renew his contract because of his age, and that made him look no further than his passport at a team. It was an opportunity to transfer to a certain Aston Martin. He has always criticized that line of thinking, and when asked by Hamilton, who has renewed his contract with Mercedes until 2025, when he turns 40, the Spaniard said continuing a champion like Lewis at his age would be a motivator. I thought not. In this case, Mercedes prioritizes the experience of a driver of his own height over his greed and hunger when the young talent reaches F1.

“No. I think they pick the time, as it has always been the pick in motorsport. I have never seen a MotoGP or F1 team choose the slowest of the two drivers. That is It’s still the same now, if I were the boss team now and I was ‘Hamilton, the youngest on the grid or a promising F2 driver, I’m 80. I’ll be with Hamilton until then, until someone shows he’s faster than Hamilton.”

“Because no one has shown it to me so far, my concerns are outside of Formula 1 as I realize my age is an issue, my motivation is down, my performance and concentration is not 100%. It can happen with age and because of travel and life, but with Hamilton it is, he continues to perform at 100% and his life and interests are Only in F1, and it applies to me too, I’ll tell you if someone comes faster, but at the moment Hamilton is faster than anyone. ”

In this sense, he referred to the fact that champions like Verstappen, Hamilton and himself, who are in the top four of the current World Cup standings, are among the three drivers who impress the most fans. “It’s a little bit of the same thing that happens in any sport. There’s a little bit of personality there and the guys who’ve been champions always have a little bit of a public appeal. It just so happens that the world champions are at the top. It’s true that (generally Verstappen is)’, Alonso and Hamilton) But as I say, as long as you’re motivated and want to do it, speed matters. And even if we’re older or older, we’re still fast and that’s what the team wants,” he said at Monza.

Exhibition in Zandvoort

“I am happy with our performance at Zandvoort on Sunday. The whole weekend was good, but Sunday was also very good. Fighting for the fastest lap and the level of competitiveness we gave, probably Hungary, Spa , and in the final race it was unthinkable.” That is good news and we will continue to look at all the data and hope to see it here in Monza and Singapore, but these two pretty unique circuits and , should continue to evaluate. ”

Everyone thought he was going to drive Verstappen at Zandvoort

“And I… (laughs).”

superstition of the end

“[Attacking Verstappen]was on my mind. As I said at Zandvoort, I thought I still had a chance. The first thing that came to my mind was if the start stopped, I had a chance. “If I get thrown, I’m going to try to hit a lot. I remember the first 60 laps, my helmet was really wet from the rain, sweat, etc. And I already had another new helmet. “Reboot. And I tried to put on a new helmet, but I said ‘No.’ It should be this helmet today. Because so far everything is going well. If you put on a new helmet now, something might go wrong. “Thinking about all these things, I thought, ‘This is the helmet that I can win.’ I think we had a pace of 1,000, and he said, “There will be lions behind you and it will always be difficult to keep them. But…in Monaco we were one stop away from winning. We had problems and we would have faced similar problems.” At Zandvoort we were almost one stop away from the start. It gives me hope that there will be another chance. ”

Options to beat Verstappen

“There could be some distraction, some problem, some mechanical problem… It happened to ‘Czech’ a few times, but not to him. Here in Monza sometimes, the curb “You lose performance when you turn. Leclerc went to the gravel for a moment at Zandvoort and suddenly the car loses a second of performance. I ran briefly in Q1 in Barcelona. But he destroyed the background and lost about seven tenths.One day he did something.”This happened to Verstappen and suddenly the possibility of victory opened up. Next on the list (by natural order in the race) is ‘Czech’, and next on the list to see who will be who every weekend… but this weekend it’s not on the list yet ( lol) and keep winning. ”

Singapore and other circuits, big opportunities

“Still, on paper Singapore could be a good opportunity too. But I think Austin has a good feeling that the car will be quick there, and Aston Martins were quick there. Why Mexico? I think.” “It’s not just Singapore. You can’t just think about Singapore. I think there are more opportunities.”

Monza

“I came here without a specific purpose. I just want to get out on track and see how the car behaves. At the beginning of the year Monza would have been on the calendar as a worrisome circuit because Aston Martin is very “The car was slow in the corners and slow on the straights. That was a big drawback for us. And it’s true that we changed a lot of things on the car. It would be nice if the top speed was better, but still. It’s the circuit that we fear ‘how. ”