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2021 World Cup Verstappen, eight points ahead
The turns at the Hungaroring, the scene of the last race before the holidays, cannot bring better omens for
Fernando Alonso
, who today celebrates his 40th birthday at the circuit where he added his first victory in Formula 1. It will be a very special Thursday at Alpine , which will not only remember, during the traditional asphalt reconnaissance, that 2003 milestone with Renault.
There will also be cake and surprises for the project leader, a 40-year-old who has known how to adapt his driving to the new times.
Reconciling intelligence and instinct, Alonso has proven his worth to continue competing with the best and accumulates merits for a more powerful car where he can pour all his talent.
"Like I'm 25"
"I feel like I'm 25 years old. Whatever the passport says, I don't feel like 40," Alonso explained after his spectacular weekend at Silverstone. On a grid where 12 of the 20 drivers are under the age of 27, Alonso is only younger than
Kimi Raikkonen
. However, his moment of form, both physical and mental, seems far superior not only to that of the Finn, but to other illustrious thirty-somethings, such as
Valtteri Bottas
,
Daniel Ricciardo
or
Sebastian Vettel
.
Since February 11, when all the preparation suffered a serious setback due to a bicycle accident in Lugano, Alonso has had to swim against the current.
Hand in hand with his faithful
Edoardo Bendinelli he
worked on the recovery of the jaw and shoulder.
"Now I feel super fit and 200%," he admitted just a few days ago.
Learning period
"The first two races of the year were like a fresh start. I took a lot of precautions trying not to make mistakes for the team."
In Bahrain, his highlight after the
safety car
was bad and in Imola, his putting into action in second gear, on a soggy asphalt, even worse.
Not only did he hit the wall at Tosa during the formation lap, he was overtaken by a Haas and an Alfa Romeo.
Since then, the adaptation of his driving to the A521 has been constant and the increase in confidence has been transferred to the time table.
The car's new power steering, released in early June, has allowed it to express its more aggressive style.
From Baku he has linked five consecutive races in points, the best streak of the entire grid, surpassed only by
Lando Norris
.
Brain and fang
Once the rust was removed, with enough confidence for instinct to emerge, Alonso gave a couple of recitals to the finest palates. The highlight of Baku, where in the last two laps he gained four positions, followed the sprint race at Silverstone, which even earned him the praise of
Toto Wolff
. "It is a pleasure to see Fernando: inside, outside, inside, outside. As if he were everywhere", the boss of Mercedes.
This ability to go to the limit, without bad arts and leaving space for the adversary, added to his consistency to take the car to the finish in quite adverse conditions, have consolidated him as one of the best
racers in
the championship.
At the level of
Lewis Hamilton
.
Alpine CEO
Marcin Budkowski put it
all together quite graphically.
"He is a bit of a fox and knows how to take advantage of every opportunity that comes his way. We know that his racing skills are second to none," the Pole stressed.
Salary and renewal
Alonso's specific weight in F1 is best understood in light of what
Forbes
published this week
, which has placed him as the third highest paid driver on the grid. The 21 million euros per year, at the level of
Max Verstappen
and only behind Hamilton, does not seem to matter too much to Alpine, which is getting closer to executing its renovation.
Laurent Rossi
, CEO of Alpine, already speaks of this matter as if it were a mere formality. "He is doing everything possible for me to exercise that option," admitted the Frenchman during a recent interview with the BBC.
The "one plus one" contract, which the team must execute by 2022, seems like a fact.
In Enstone, however,
Esteban Ocon's
pothole continues with concern
, with almost half the points (14-26) and with an unfavorable balance on Saturdays (4-5).
After a promising start, the young Frenchman finds himself with a certain complex in front of what happens in the garage next door.
Alonso, for his part, is increasingly inspired by the starts and already connects seven races, gaining positions (or maintaining position) during the first lap.
Two milestones for 2022
The farewell to Raikkonen, who next season would be replaced at Alfa Romeo by
Valtteri Bottas
, is almost certain in the
paddock
. So in 2022, Alonso will resist as the oldest on the grid, where he is almost twice the age of
Yuki Tsunoda
or
Lando Norris
, both 21 years old. Perhaps this is your time to tackle two milestones in recent motorsports history.
In modern F1, only
Nigel Mansell
was able to win a race over 40. It was at the 1994 Australian GP, when the Briton, at the wheel of a Williams, was 41 years and three months old.
In terms of podiums,
Michael Schumacher was
able to climb the third step of the 2012 European GP, aged 43 years and five months, defending the colors of Mercedes.
Alpine's step forward, thanks to the regulatory revolution, completed by Alonso's hands promise strong emotions for 2022.
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Max verstappen
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