The advantage ‘super strong’ Alonso will have in F1 2022

Following Kimi Raikkonen’s retirement at the end of 2021, Alonso, who turned 40 last July, will become the oldest driver on the F1 grid this season. Next up is 37-year-old Lewis Hamilton.

The two-time world champion returned to F1 last season after a two-year hiatus and scored a podium finish in Qatar to cap off a strong comeback season in which he helped Alpine clinch fifth place in the constructors’ standings. 

Alonso insists he has no problem with being the oldest F1 driver and reckons his experience racing in the World Endurance Championship could hand him the edge in one particular area. 

“On the age, I feel good, honestly I feel an advantage,” Alonso said. “When I come to a circuit, I know the circuits. Now everyone is testing this 18-inch tyre and I know very well these tyres from the WEC. 

“There is exactly the same behaviour on the tyres and the same way you have to drive the tyre, which is very different. So all the things I am facing, for other people are live for the first time, and for me this is the second or third time. This is good.”

Alonso said the biggest challenge facing modern-day F1 drivers is the dedication required to spend most of the year travelling, as the world championship continues to expand its calendar. 

The upcoming 2022 campaign is set to be F1’s longest-ever season, consisting of a record-breaking 23 rounds. But for Alonso, this is not an issue. 

“The only problem to be older is that you have to have the motivation to go into a season that you will be 300 days per year away,” he explained. 

“You have to have that desire, you have to have that lifestyle that allows you to dedicate yourself to this sport.

“Apart from that, all the other things are advantages. So because I'm in a moment in life that I want to dedicate my moment in time to F1, it’s fantastic. I think I only see advantages.

“And then, physically, I think the cars of today are not very demanding. I think 2004-05, maybe the age was a limitation.”

Alonso’s preparations for his F1 comeback where hampered by a cycling accident while training early last year that left him with a broken jaw and needing to have titanium plates fitted. 

Earlier this month, Alonso underwent a successful second operation to have the plates removed. After a small recovery period, he will resume training ahead of the new season. 

Asked if he was planning any special preparation this winter for 2022, Alonso quipped: “I don’t need. I’m super strong, I’m ready. I can start the season next week in Bahrain! 

“No, I was planning to have a different preparation next year, not because the cars will be different, but just because this winter [2021] I couldn’t do a proper preparation because of the bike accident.

“I was just counting the days to go to Bahrain and it was just on time to go to Bahrain but not with a proper physical programme. This winter I want to do it a little bit more.

"Obviously, I don’t train the same now that I will be 40 than when I was 23,” he added. 

“You have to train more, you have to stretch more, you have to have a different food routine. You have to do many, many other things to be at the same shape and with the same strength. 

“I am ready to do so, that’s why I came back as well. There are more sacrifices to do but that is the plan for this winter. 

“I will be as strong as I can and I will know I will have to train and I will have to do more than other drivers because I am older than them.”