Alonso reveals ‘biggest dream’ in life

Fernando Alonso may have won F1 titles and grands prix but he has still yet to achieve his main goal in his life

Fernando Alonso may have won F1 titles and grands prix but he has still yet to achieve the main goal in his life

Fernando Alonso has opened up on the one box he feels he has yet to tick in a remarkable life that has seen him accomplish so much throughout his motorsport career.

Alonso is a two-time F1 champion still chasing a third title after he won his second now 17 years ago, and a 32nd grand prix win a decade on from the last time he stood atop a podium.

During his hiatus away from F1, the 41-year-old has also won the World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans – twice.

In the third season of his F1 comeback campaign with Aston Martin, Alonso is arguably driving better than ever.

But for Red Bull’s dominance this year, it is almost certain he would have ended his long wait for a long-overdue 33rd GP win.

Naturally, after achieving more so far this season with Aston Martin than he anticipated after agreeing to join the team last summer, scoring four third-place finishes in the opening five grands prix, he is far from sated.

He knew that when he left F1 at the end of 2018, he had so much more to achieve.

“When I finished, it was on a low, and I didn’t want that because my performance, my competitiveness, was as high as ever back then, but people didn’t see it,” said Alonso, speaking to this writer in an interview for The New York Times.

“Now, I’m proving I’m still fast, at whatever age – that’s part of the comeback story. Winning the 33rd grand prix or fighting for a championship would add even more drama to the story.”

Alonso’s F1 career is some way from ending

When he is performing as he is at present, he concedes he does not know when he will next decide to call it a day.

“I don’t have a clear date to say bye bye, but at the moment I feel fast, I feel motivated, and I feel fresh,” he said.

“Eventually one day I will stop. I’m not sure if it’s going to be because of the performance on track or, with all the travelling, all the grands prix, that maybe I will want an easier life or whatever.
“But at the moment, not even in the short term, that’s not yet. I’m just happy driving and performing well.
“I’m aware of my age, and I know I will not be here for the next 10 years, or whatever.
“So because of that I want to enjoy giving my maximum every day in the car, I want to give my best to the team.”
What he has achieved so far with Aston Martin has opened his eyes as to what might be possible. “Winning a championship would be a perfect thing,” said Alonso, when asked what he still wanted to accomplish in the time he has left in F1.
“If I win another championship all these years since my previous one, that would be unprecedented, that kind of distance between two championships. That is my goal at the moment.
“Or the legacy that I want to leave in this sport, of someone who loves it so much that I kept racing for many years, keeping the level as high as possible. That would prove a point, something that was a part of my comeback.”

Friendships and family key for Alonso

Despite all the trophies, the fame, and the adulation, there is something far more important for Alonso, beyond motor racing, that he has yet to attain, an area of his life that remains unfulfilled.

When Alonso does retire for a second time, he concedes he needs “to spend more time” with his friends, and to “recover some of the friendships that I gave up in Spain when I dedicated my life to Formula 1”.

Beyond that, however, he added: “And I want to have a family. This is my biggest dream in life, to have kids, to have a family, and I’ve still not succeeded in that because of my way of living.

“That’s something that when I stop racing, I will find my happiness, in becoming a father, of having a family.”

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