Fernando Alonso had admitted that when he returned to the sport in 2021, the \u201cstopwatch said I was a few tenths slower\u201d.<\/p>\n
But believing in himself, who knows, next season in the all-new Aston Martin designed by the legendary Adrian Newey, he could be a World Champion.<\/p>\n
Fernando Alonso: \u2018The stopwatch said I was a few tenths slower\u2019<\/p>\n
Having contested his first full season in Formula 1 in 2001, before going on to win the 2005 and \u201906 titles with Renault, Alonso\u2019s career was one of ups, downs and controversies that included stints at Ferrari and McLaren before he took a break after the 2018 season.<\/p>\n
Out of the sport for 2019 and 2020, during which he tackled the Indianapolis 500 and the Dakar, Alonso<\/a> returned to the grid in 2021 with Alpine, formerly known as Renault.<\/p>\n It was not the comeback he had dreamed of, as he finished his two seasons with the team with 81 points apiece, just inside the top ten, before swapping to Aston Martin, where he was an impressive P4 with eight podiums in 2023.<\/p>\n But even that didn\u2019t last long as the team, building for the future, dropped down the order with one eye on F1 2026 and its all-new regulatory set.<\/p>\n For Alonso, though, it was more than just the team and the car, it was his own ability that initially came into question for the Spaniard.<\/p>\n Back on track in 2021, he admits the stopwatch made it clear that he\u2019d lost a tenth and that it took him a bit of time to find it.<\/p>\n Formula 1\u2019s season of change: F1 2026 explained<\/p>\n F1 2026 tech analysed: The future of overtaking and biggest car advantage identified<\/a><\/p>\n F1 2026 driver line-up: Lewis Hamilton and other drivers already confirmed for 2026<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWhen I returned to F1, I thought I was at the same level as when I\u2019d left two years earlier, but the stopwatch didn\u2019t say that,\u201d he admitted to DAZN.<\/p>\n \u201cThe stopwatch said I was a few tenths slower.<\/p>\n \u201cI also had no answers on how to find those tenths; I was already at my limit.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it\u2019s the cognitive system, something innate that we have and that you develop with practice, that when you have a break, you do a \u2018reset\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t have an ego because that\u2019ll slow you down and won\u2019t help you at all, but you do need a lot of self-esteem and confidence in yourself. That confidence has to be bulletproof. It\u2019s hard to balance confidence and ego on a scale.\u201d<\/p>\n With that self-confidence and belief back, Alonso heads into the F1 2026 already billed as one of the potential favourites as he\u2019ll be driving a Honda-powered car designed by Adrian Newey. Honda has won four of the last five Drivers\u2019 titles with Red Bull, while Newey was the designer behind those Red Bull-winning cars.<\/p>\n Alonso\u2019s interview with DAZN came as 2019 World Champion Jenson Button praised the 44-year-old for managing to compete at the highest level at this stage of his career, but while urging him to pass the torch to the next generation \u2013 maybe even of Alonsos.<\/p>\n