“Don’t Write Fernando Alonso Off”: Aston Martin Star Backed to Defy the Odds Like a Veteran 3X Champ With Honda’s Return

Published 05/26/2023, 6:30 AM EDT

Do you recall how Juan Manuel Fangio won the 1957 World Championship? The Argentine was 46 years old when he won the title. F1 drivers have, time and again, proved that age is just a number. As Honda makes a return to F1, an F1 Journalist favors Fernando Alonso to defy the odds by giving an example of a legendary 3X world champion. Who was this legendary driver?

Aston Martin recently announced their partnership with Honda starting in 2026. This means that the Silverstone-based team will now become a works team and will have to borrow components from other teams. Lawrence Stroll suggested that it was the missing piece of the puzzle in Aston Martin’s dream of winning the world championship. With the new factory now online and the wind tunnel on its way, the trajectory looks super positive.

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However, Aston Martin is not the only one dreaming of winning a championship. Their star driver, Fernando Alonso is also in the pursuit of the “El Plan” as he looks forward to winning a 3rd Title. Despite Fernando Alonso already being 41, he seems to only be getting better. Peter Windsor silenced the age critics as he suggested how Alonso will be 44 in 2026 when Honda joins. Then he gave the example of Jack Brabham, who was challenged for the 1970 title at the age of 44 and narrowly missed because of reliability issues.

According to the video uploaded on Peter Windsor’s YouTube channel, he said, “Obviously 2026 is quite a long time away. I think he will be 44 in 2026, which is not a bad thing. Bear in mind Jack Brabham was 44 in 1970 when he took the World Championship to Jochen Rindt. And it was only a couple of very unfortunate retirements and obviously that incident in Monaco. But if none of that would’ve happened then Jack would’ve been World Champion in 1970 at the age of 44. So don’t write Fernando Alonso off. He’s super fit, super keen, super motivated.”

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Speculations of Alonso also winning another championship are plenty. Whether Honda wanted the Spaniard to race for them was still questioned because of Alonso’s previous remarks about the Honda engine during his McLaren days. However, the Honda Racing President cleared the doubts.

Does Honda have any objections against Fernando Alonso racing with Aston Martin?

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Koji Watanabe seems to have forgiven Fernando Alonso for the “GP2 Engine” and other comments made by him regarding the Honda engines. He recently suggested that Honda is more than happy to team up with the 41-year-old and doesn’t have any objections against him. He further added that it’s the decision of the team who decides which drivers to select and put in the cars.

According to Motorsport.com, Honda Racing Corporation president Koji Watanabe said, “If we are to team up with Alonso again, as our driver, we have no objections whatsoever in him driving. Our stance remains unchanged and I think the selection of race drivers is fully up to the team, and not something that a power unit supplier like us is supposed to be making. We will be leaving the driver selection to the team.”

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Watch this Story: How Aston Martin F1 Turned Around From a Struggling Mid-Field Team to Being the 2nd Fastest in 2023

What do you make of Peter Windsor’s comments? Is the El Plan going to materialize?

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Written by:

Pranay Bhagi is an F1 writer at EssentiallySports, who has always been passionate about sports and writing. With a degree from a prestigious institute, he has channeled his enthusiasm into sports journalism, particularly F1, a sport that has captivated him for over a decade. Pranay's deep-rooted love for the sport began during the Sebastian Vettel era, and he has been following it religiously ever since.

Edited by:

Varunkumaar Chelladurai

“Don’t Write Fernando Alonso Off”: Aston Martin Star Backed to Defy the Odds Like a Veteran 3X Champ With Honda’s Return

Does Honda have any objections against Fernando Alonso racing with Aston Martin?

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