The two-time world champion returned to Formula 1 with Alpine this season after a two-year absence and extended his contract with the team until 2022, when the revolution in sports rules kicks in.
Alonso started his comeback slowly, but has finished six points in the last seven races, including his best-ever result of fourth in Hungary, where his superb defense against Lewis Hamilton played a vital role in helping team-mate Esteban Ocon. played seal a shock victory.
A key factor in the 40-year-old’s return to the F1 field has been the forthcoming revision of the regulations, which it is hoped will help improve the playing field and increase competition between teams.
“Well, hopefully next year we have a package with which we can fight for competitive positions, one step better than this year, that’s the goal,” said Alonso.
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“We had some expectations this year, after Renault podiums last year, that we could fight for three or four podiums this season, and we probably didn’t think so.
“I think Ferrari has improved a lot, AlphaTauri has improved, McLaren has taken a step forward with the Mercedes engine.
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“So we are between eighth and twelfth place and we want to improve that next year, that will be the goal that will probably encourage me to continue after that.”
With Kimi Raikkonen’s retirement at the end of the season, Alonso will become the oldest rider in the field next year, but the two-time world champion believes he is on the verge of being at the top of his game after a period of getting used to it.
“For my part, I have to keep improving,” he added. “As I’ve said many times, I’m probably not there 100 percent yet, and days like that [qualifying in Belgium] shows me that I need to improve in some areas.
“If I see some progress next year and keep improving and still having fun, why not keep going?
“If I see that I’m not up to date or I’m not doing a good job, I’ll be the first to raise my hand and say that a makeover might be better for the team, but I hope not.
“I hope I can raise my hand and say that I am ready for the challenge in 2023.”
Alpine boss Laurent Rossi admitted that his team owes Alonso “a car that matches his talent” and assumes that the Spaniard will continue to race until he is “not fit for F1”.
“We have to give him a better car so that we can get better results,” said Rossi.
“The results that we have are not where we want to be in four years and I’m sure he doesn’t want to be there in a year. It is only one step along the way.
“We discuss that, he and I, quite a bit and the idea is to stay together as long as we perform together and we’ll play it by ear. By the end of next year we will decide what to do together, but the goal is to keep going as much as possible.
“As long as Fernando works at his level, he should be an alpine rider. If he’s not fit for Formula 1, he’ll leave Formula 1 completely and we owe him a car that matches his talent.
“This is the deal we have together.”
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