Fernando Alonso will return to Formula 1 in 2021 with Renault, the team with which he proclaimed himself world champion in 2005 and 2006. The Asturian driver, about to turn 39, has signed a contract for the next two seasons and will focus his efforts in the 2022 World Cup, when he aspires to fight for victories again.

Almost 20 months after his last F1 career, at the wheel of a McLaren, Alonso confirmed his return through a telematic press conference organized by Renault. The closure to negotiations that had been formally started last November at the Abu Dhabi GP.

Alonso will fill the vacant position of Daniel Ricciardo , McLaren driver from 2021, and will share a garage with the 23-year-old Frenchman Esteban Ocon . The magnetism of an entire two-time world champion is a tremendous boost for the team led by Cyril Abiteboul . It also represents a great marketing commitment for the parent company, plunged in recent months in a terrible crisis of results.

It will be Fernando's third stage with Renault, where in 2002 he had arrived as a tester. After that first triumphant period, followed by a year plagued by turmoil at McLaren, he returned to Flavio Briatore in 2008.

Regulatory revolution

Renault, fifth in the last Constructors' World Championship, has focused its eyes on the 2022 championship, when a technical regulation totally different from the current one will come into force. The rhombus brand intends to make then a winning car, capable of competing with Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull, the absolute dominators of the grid in recent years.

Pending the decision of Kimi Raikkonen , who ends his contract with Alfa Romeo and has not yet decided to continue in the category, Alonso could become the most veteran driver on the grid in 2021. Already entered quarantine, he could match the records of Nigel Mansell , Mario Andretti or Michael Schumacher , other champions who held out in the elite beyond the age of 41.

In case of fulfilling his two-year agreement with Renault, Alonso would complete 19 seasons in the highest engine category. In this way he would equal the record of Rubens Barrichello (1993-2011) and Michael Schumacher (1991-2012), the two most experienced drivers in F1 history.

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  • Michael Schumacher
  • Kimi raikkonen
  • Fernando Alonso
  • Daniel Ricciardo
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