The Spaniard turned 40 last July and, along with his now-retired contemporary Kimi Raikkonen, is the oldest driver in this year’s grid ahead of 37-year-old Lewis Hamilton.
Alonso made his Grand Prix debut with Minardi in 2001. He missed the 2002 season while serving as Renault test driver and took a break from F1 after his final season with McLaren in 2018 before joining last year Alpine returned.
As a concrete example of the benefits of his extended career, he cited the knowledge of low profile racing tires acquired in the World Endurance Championship with Toyota in 2019 and 2020.
“In terms of age I feel good, frankly I feel at an advantage,” he said when asked by Autosport about his new position as Formula 1’s senior driver.
“When I come to a track, I know the tracks. Now everyone is testing this 18 inch tire and I know these tires very well from the WEC.
“The tires have exactly the same behavior and you have to drive the tires the same way, which is very different. So all the things I face are live for other people for the first time, and for me it’s a second or third time. So that’s good.”
© Autosport.com
Fernando Alonso, Alpine A521
Fernando Alonso, Alpine A521
Photo by: Alpine
Alonso acknowledged that it takes some sacrifices to keep racing at the highest level, especially given the current era’s busy calendar. The 2022 season, his 18th as an F1 racer, will see a record 23 events.
“The only problem with being older is you have to have the motivation to go into a season where you’re going to be gone 300 days a year,” he said. “You have to have that desire, you have to have that lifestyle that allows you to devote yourself to this sport.
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“Apart from that, all other things are advantages. As I’m at a moment in life where I want to dedicate my moment to F1, this is fantastic. I think I only see benefits.
“And then I think today’s cars aren’t very physically demanding. I think 2004-5, maybe age was a limitation.”
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