08 November 2023 , 06:00
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Fernando Alonso declared "it's not time to retire yet" as he credited his old rival Lewis Hamilton with helping to motivate him a the grand young age of 42.
Alonso is the oldest driver on the grid but remains one of the most enthusiastic. The passion and love he currently holds for Formula 1 are no doubt boosted by the fact he has had a largely competitive car this season.
His move to from Alpine – a comfortable mid-table team – to Aston Martin was doubtless a risk. But eight podiums this season, including on Sunday after a blockbuster finish to the Brazilian Grand Prix, mean the Spaniard tends to walk around with a big beaming smile these days.
He seems to be a calmer, more measured person than he was at the height of his powers. So much so that he can admit that his fierce old rival Hamilton, with whom things turned ugly in 2008 when the were McLaren team-mates, is now a great source of inspiration for him.
"We have different personalities and motivations," he told British GQ of the seven-time world champion. "Lewis always did really well to stay focused and competitive in the periods of his life when he didn't have a competitive package.
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"Those periods weren't many, but he was always performing to a high level. Now he's not having the best car, Red Bull is dominating, but he's still fighting always. He's chasing [Sergio] Perez in P2 and he's never giving up. It motivates all of us to see how Lewis keeps the motivation after winning so many titles.
The Spaniard is himself fighting for a top-four finish in this year's championship. And even if he slips to sixth by the end of the year – Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz are hot on his heels – it will still be his best result since rejoining the grid after two seasons away.
Alonso's career is often told as a tale of what might have been. He is a double world champion but the most recent of those successes came in 2006. Since then he has come close on many occasions, but quite often he simply moved to the wrong teams at the wrong times.
Now settled at Aston Martin, he knows he made the right call. Alonso said: "We were thinking in 2023 we'd be consistently fighting in the top ten, and maybe a podium or two would be possible, and then in 2024 be a regular contender for the podium.
"We found ourselves regularly fighting for podiums in the first half of this season, and that was definitely a surprise, so I was happy. As you say, after some disappointing years and moves in Formula 1 it was very nice to feel that a change of teams this time really paid off."
And of his personal ambitions, he said: "I would love to make that 33rd [career win] happen. There's been a lot of talk about it on social media, 33 is a number I see everywhere, and I would love to have it. I feel fresh, I feel fast, and I'm enjoying the journey with Aston Martin. I feel motivated. It's not the time to retire yet."