Fernando Alonso explains his latest retirement, reflects on 20 years since his 2005 world championship title, and talks about luck, bad luck, and the nature of Formula 1.
Fernando Alonso had to cope with another bitter retirement at Monza. Aston Martin has since confirmed the cause: a stone kicked up damaged the suspension—no driving error.
“Not really reassuring,” Alonso comments dryly in Baku. “It was simply a defective suspension. If it wasn’t due to production or quality control, that’s better, but in the end, it’s just bad luck. A stone—a part of the car wasn’t reinforced there. Unfortunately, bad luck again, points lost again.“
Alonso also makes it clear that it is almost impossible to prevent: ”That happens maybe once in ten million races. Let’s hope it takes another 20 years.”
20 years after the first title: More technology, more dependence
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Alonso’s first world championship title. The Spaniard, who achieved the decisive triumph in Brazil in 2005, is himself amazed at how much time has passed. “Honestly, no, I didn’t think I’d still be here 20 years later.”
He sees the biggest difference in the development of the sport: “The technology has changed, the power units, the way we prepare for races. Everything has become much more extreme. Today, it’s the cars that decide everything. That’s why 22 lost points may not sound like much, but when you have a car that can only score one or two points per weekend, that’s a huge amount.”
Bad luck has also been with him for years. Even in 2022 at Alpine, he frequently retired, often from top positions. “Back then, the team scored around 55 or 60 points. This year, it’s already 22. When we’re slow, everything runs smoothly to the finish line. When we’re good, something always gets in the way. That’s the way the sport is.”
Luck and bad luck: “Everything balances out”
When asked about his record over two decades, Alonso replies soberly: “50:50. In over 400 races, you have a lot of luck and a lot of bad luck. In the end, everything balances out.” He recalled Le Mans: “In our second victory, we were two minutes behind with an hour to go. Then the other Toyota had a flat tire, plus a problem during the pit stop—and suddenly we won. That was pure luck on our side.”
At the same time, the long dry spell in Formula 1 seems almost surreal. “More than ten years without a win—that just sounds wrong,” says Alonso. And many Formula 1 experts also repeatedly emphasize that, purely in terms of talent, the Spaniard could easily have four or five world championship titles to his name.
Verstappen’s respect: He’s still there—unbelievable
World champion Max Verstappen was also asked about Alonso’s anniversary and did not hold back with his praise. “It’s crazy that he’s still driving. I really admire how he’s still so motivated at his age.”
Verstappen particularly appreciates Alonso’s versatility: “He’s done endurance racing, even Dakar. That shows how passionate he is about racing, no matter what car he’s in.“ Verstappen doesn’t see Alonso’s lack of victories in recent years as a flaw: ”That’s Formula 1.“
”Many could have or should have won. Sometimes the right opportunities just aren’t there. But that doesn’t mean he’s gotten slower—it’s just that the car doesn’t allow it.”
