The difficulty of making a successful Formula 1 comeback should not be "underestimated," according to Fernando Alonso.
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After leaving McLaren at the end of 2018, the two-time world champion took a two-season break from grand prix racing before returning at the start of 2021. While he acknowledged that the first few races after his return were challenging for him since he was still getting used to the cars, tyres, and controls, he made significant progress in the second part of that season. Alonso has also secured a long-term contract to compete for Aston Martin starting in 2023 as a result of some strong performances in 2022. The Spaniard acknowledges that it has not been an easy road to get there, despite the fact that he now appears to be back in top form and claims to be driving better than ever. He specifically claims that after his first circuits back in an F1 car towards the end of 2020, even he had concerns about his ability to succeed.
It’s never a guarantee that you’ll be fine and competitive and still enjoy everything about Formula 1 to return to the sport, he said. So when I performed the demo [in Abu Dhabi] two years ago in preparation for the young driver test in 2020, I definitely had some reservations. “And I believe that last season, I wasn’t quite satisfied with the play and the way the season turned out. This year, I’m much happier with the car and the performance in general, and I feel much more prepared for the upcoming challenge. “Therefore, you cannot undervalue returning to the sport. But in order to feel 100 % again, you need to wait a few races or maybe an entire season. This is what happened to me. However, I’m glad that my level of happiness has improved.
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While Alonso claims to have enjoyed his time away from Formula One, he claims that when plans for a new era of rules were put into place, he began to consider a comeback. It was scrawled “see you later” on the front wing for him in 2018, he added, “I don’t know whether you noticed.” “It wasn’t goodbye. So in a way, the 2021 regulations were always an opportunity for me to return, in my head. “At that time, I was contemplating a variety of difficulties. I yearned to compete in races at Daytona, Dakar, and Le Mans. I desired a World Endurance Championship match. I don’t know if I wasn’t paying attention to Formula 1 or if I was busy with other things
“But I love Formula 1. And I felt that in 2021 it could be an opportunity with the new rules and maybe everything re-shuffles a little bit, in terms of how the teams are, or the competitiveness of them. So I fulfil all my boxes in those years away from Formula 1, and I still watch the races at home. And yeah, the rules. They postponed the rules one year for 2022. But I came in 2021 anyway.”
