Alonso critical of ‘political’ F1: “It is less pure”

The two-time world champion quit F1 at the end of 2018 to pursue other interests in motorsport, including taking part in the Indy 500, Le Mans 24 Hours and Dakar Rally. 

Following a two-year hiatus, Alonso returned to F1 in 2021 with Alpine, before moving to Aston Martin last year, as he continues his pursuit of an elusive third world title. 

Asked whether he still thinks F1 is less pure than other series, Alonso said: “I think I’ve always thought about F1 in the same way, even when I was in the younger categories. 

“After discovering other series, I still think the same, yes.

“Here is a little bit different to elsewhere. More politics involved. The importance of the package, the car, the input of the driver is limited in the performance of your own car.

“You need to work in a different way. It is a little less pure.”

A sensational transformation over the winter enabled Aston Martin to start this season as Red Bull’s nearest challengers, but the team have fallen behind the likes of Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren in recent races. 

“It was unexpected, in a way, how competitive the team was from the first race,” Alonso said. 

“We found ourselves in a very strong position, so we maximised every opportunity in the first few races.

“In the last few events, we were maybe not as competitive as the first part of the year, but we still scored points in every single weekend. 

“Now in the second part of the year, I think we want to go back to a more competitive position. I think everything is so tight now behind Red Bull with Mercedes, Ferrari, Aston Martin, McLaren – so we want to be in that fight until Abu Dhabi. And that’s the aim.”

Alonso compared Aston Martin’s current competitive position to “playing in the Champions League”. 

“I think it was a surprise for us that the car was fast, but I think the team was outstanding over the winter, understanding what the problems were last year,” he added. “I think reliability, strategy – everything – we did things really good in most of the races to get those results.

“It’s not only the pace of the car, you need to master everything in the weekend from free practice one until Sunday. I think we are like playing in the Champions League at the moment and we are finding ourselves with the very top teams, trying to develop as well as off track. This is going to be the biggest challenge for Aston Martin now.” 

Aston Martin are introducing a significant upgrade at this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix as they look to wrestle back second place in the constructors’ championship from Mercedes.