Across any sport, 41 is a difficult age to compete at the very top level. But that’s not the case with Fernando Alonso! The veteran driver seems still at the top of his game and wants to keep competing with the drivers on the grid.

Despite being the oldest driver on the grid, Alonso has had an impressive season with Alpine this year. Out of 13 tries, he has finished inside the top 10 an impressive nine times. However, this year, we have seen a different version of the Spaniard as he explains how the break of two years helped him comeback to the sport stronger.

Alonso’s attention to detail to get even the infinitesimal advantage has perhaps stood out of them all. For example, in the Austrian GP, the Spaniard spent time near his grid slot in the practice session, hoping his actions would give him a better start.

In an interview with Motorsport.com, the Alpine driver stated: “I need to make 100% of my thing, and I need to kill whatever strengths other people have. But this I do in everything I practice, when I play anything.  

The 2-time title winner also shares how he feels his time away from Formula 1 helped him rejuvenate his will to drive and if the time-out felt like a negative thing. He said, “In terms of the downsides, it’s difficult to say anything because I don’t feel that I’m missing anything that I had when I was younger.”  

“Now I feel okay. So I don’t know if it is just those two years that helped me out. Or it’s just a different approach that I have now.” 

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The Spaniard also explains how marketing and traveling got the better of him in 2018. He explains how he has returned with “A different approach” and helped him become mature as a person.

How did Fernando Alonso become a better version of himself?

Sitting on the sidelines, especially if you are someone with Fernando’s observation ability, can help you develop a different perspective. The break for Alonso helped him understand different philosophies of racing and different driving techniques.

He added, “It’s not that they are applicable to an F1 car, but when you lose the car, you have an oversteer, maybe my hands and my feet are doing something that I didn’t know before, because I was just driving F1 cars.”

The former Ferrari and McLaren driver never looked out of the game and looks in perfect control of what he is doing. If you need proof of the same, just watch him defend against Lewis Hamilton in last year’s Hungarian GP.

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Fernando Alonso might be the oldest driver on the grid, but his competitiveness is still the same as it was a decade ago. Moreover, his sabbatical from the sport helped him understand the bigger picture of F1.