Alonso is back!
Two time World Champion Fernando Alonso will return to F1 in 2021 with Renault
Alonso, 39 later this month, left Formula 1 at the end of 2018 but always kept the door open for a potential comeback.
He will be returning with the team for whom he won his two titles in 2005-6.
“It’s an extremely happy day for me coming back to F1 first but also to the team with which I had the best experience in the category,” Alonso said.
Alonso said in the team’s announcement that he was convinced by the plan Renault had for its F1 programme moving forward.
Fernando announced it to the world with this video on twitter:-
Renault’s progress back to the front stalled last year, when they slipped from fourth to fifth in the constructors’ championship.
“The signing of Fernando Alonso is part of Renault’s plan to continue its commitment to F1 and to return to the top of the field,” insisted team boss Cyril Abiteboul.
The return of an F1 icon – and a boost for Renault
Alonso left McLaren at the end of 2018 after four disappointing and often-turbulent seasons. He then pursued other racing disciplines, including the Indianapolis 500 and World Endurance Championship – where he became a world champion again, with Toyota.
The Spaniard is making a third attempt at Indy with McLaren’s new full-time team at the rescheduled Brickyard race in August. A win at Indianapolis would mean Alonso becomes just the second driver after Graham Hill to claim the ‘Triple Crown’ of victories at the Monaco GP, Le Mans 24 Hours and Indy 500.
Can Alonso win at 40?
Alonso is the sixth most successful driver in F1 history in terms of wins with 32, and is regarded as one of the greatest racing drivers in the history of the sport. This is in addition to his two world titles.
“The stopwatch is the only thing that matters, not the age,” Alonso said.
“I feel ready and I feel I’m at 100% in terms of driving.
Alonso has kept himself busy since he left F1 at the end of 2018.
He has become a two-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours, adding victory in 2019 to his first win in 2018, won the world endurance championship and also competed in this year’s Dakar Rally.
He has set himself the target of winning motorsport’s so-called triple crown. For this he needs to add only the Indy 500. The Monaco Grand Prix and Le Mans victories he has already achieved.
Alonso starred on his debut at Indy in 2017, driving a McLaren-branded car run by Andretti Autosport.
But a second attempt last year with a newly established McLaren team ended in embarrassment. Unfortunately he failed to qualify.
Alonso is returning to America’s biggest race this year with McLaren, on his delayed date in August.
Fernando is “100% committed” to Indianapolis in August. Would “start the serious job” with Renault in September.
Fernando Alonso picks a car up and carries it, and so is very exciting to watch. He does turn 39 on the 29th of this month. We’ve got a lot of young kids in there at the moment in their early 20s getting the job done. We thought there was a changing of the guard, and we were losing the older drivers