Fernando Alonso names his No1 attribute as an F1 driver
Aston Martin driver retains key trait at 43 years old
Fernando Alonso has pointed out his key skill as a Formula 1 driver.
The oldest driver on the F1 grid again, Alonso is 43 as the 2025 season gets ready to begin.
He is still seeking the elusive 33rd grand prix victory of his career, a winless run which stretches back to 2013, but he remains one of the most formidable drivers around.
"Strengths? The starts, performing under pressure and getting the most out of any car, whether it's good or less good," Alonso assessed himself for DAZN.
"There is always room for improvement, cars are never stable.
“The driving you had in the 2000s you didn't have with the V8s in the 2010s, you don't have it now with turbo engines."
Fernando Alonso discusses his key traits
Alonso continued: "Then other categories that I tried such as endurance, the Dakar, the Indianapolis 500, I felt that I did not have the knowledge of my rivals and it was exciting to learn again, to learn new driving techniques from scratch.
"Even though I've been behind the wheel for almost 40 years, I still have a lot of things to learn, for sure.”
Pedro de la Rose weighed in on what makes Alonso special.
"Strength... I would say a very incredible thing,” de la Rosa explained.
“His ability to change the behavior of the car in curves using the brakes, which is something that makes him different.
"Weakness? I haven't found it, but I'm still looking, I'll keep looking for it.
"Fernando is always pressuring you to make a mistake.
"When he overtakes and makes a mistake, he goes to page 2, on the counterattack.”
Alonso will line up with teammate Lance Stroll at Aston Martin for a third season.
He threatened a long-awaited grand prix victory in the opening rounds of 2023, but last year the competitiveness of his Aston Martin fell away.
Adrian Newey starts work with the Formula 1 team this year and can influence their 2026 car, when the regulations significantly change.
It adds further intrigue to Alonso’s latter years of a career which has brought him two F1 drivers’ titles.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
