KARUN CHANDHOK "Alonso is still fit enough to deliver at the top level"
Motor Sport Magazine|June 2024
We’ve had two grands prix since my last column, including the first Sprint race weekend in China.
KARUN CHANDHOK "Alonso is still fit enough to deliver at the top level"

As you may have read last month, I focused on Carlos Sainz and the position he’s in when it comes to the 2025 driver market. We now know that one of the options in the 2025 driver market jigsaw puzzle has gone into place with Fernando Alonso committing to a fresh two-year deal at Aston Martin.

The prospect of a driver racing well into their forties is really something that we haven’t thought about in modern F1, but Fernando isn’t just any driver. Fernando lives and breathes for driving more than anyone else I know. He hasn’t got a wife or young family to draw him away from the paddock as Sebastian Vettel had, but he also arrived into the sport in 2001 by which point Michael Schumacher had well and truly raised the bar in terms of driver fitness for the likes of Fernando to emulate. This means that even though he will be 45 when this agreements ends, he is still fit enough and mentally focused enough to deliver at the highest level. It’s hugely admirable to see any human being in any type of work seem so motivated after over two decades and I still love watching the onboard videos of Fernando’s opening laps that are filled with the aggression and energy of a 21-year-old.

This story is from the June 2024 edition of Motor Sport Magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the June 2024 edition of Motor Sport Magazine.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM MOTOR SPORT MAGAZINEView All
Everything Wrong - Max Verstappen laid into his team after a disappointing Austrian GP but Mark Hughes can see the logic behind Red Bull's thinking
Motor Sport Magazine

Everything Wrong - Max Verstappen laid into his team after a disappointing Austrian GP but Mark Hughes can see the logic behind Red Bull's thinking

Max Verstappen laid into his team after a disappointing Austrian GP but Mark Hughes can see the logic behind Red Bull’s thinking

time-read
3 mins  |
August 2024
GRAND PRIX CROWN JEWEL
Motor Sport Magazine

GRAND PRIX CROWN JEWEL

Of all the racing cars made during the 100-year history of Motor Sport, the 49 is the true diamond. Karun Chandhok takes Graham Hill's chassis R10 out for a few laps at Lotus's sacred space – Hethel -

time-read
5 mins  |
August 2024
The civil side of savage
Motor Sport Magazine

The civil side of savage

The new AMG GT 63 is performance engineering with everyday practicalities in mind. Andrew Frankel likes what he sees

time-read
5 mins  |
August 2024
Mercedes' first GP comeback
Motor Sport Magazine

Mercedes' first GP comeback

Extraordinary tales from the Motor Sport digital archive

time-read
1 min  |
August 2024
KARUN CHANDHOK
Motor Sport Magazine

KARUN CHANDHOK

\"We've missed this feeling - there's a buzz\"

time-read
3 mins  |
August 2024
CAN MERC BOUNCE BACK?
Motor Sport Magazine

CAN MERC BOUNCE BACK?

The team that once utterly dominated Formula 1 has had a torrid two years. Now, finally, it appears to have refound its mojo. But why has it taken so long? Andrew Benson investigates what went wrong

time-read
10+ mins  |
August 2024
CANON BLAST
Motor Sport Magazine

CANON BLAST

It started in the pub with Richard Lloyd stating an interest in racing a customer Porsche 956. With the assistance of the original RLR team, Adam Towler tells the giant-killing tale of the modified '106B2'

time-read
9 mins  |
August 2024
Tony Stewart
Motor Sport Magazine

Tony Stewart

'Smoke', one of America's most-decorated drivers, on swapping seats with Lewis Hamilton, shunning the media spotlight and tackling the dragstrip

time-read
10+ mins  |
August 2024
ALWAYS MEET YOUR HEROES...
Motor Sport Magazine

ALWAYS MEET YOUR HEROES...

It's 40 years since Senna arrived in F1. James Elson joins Pierre Gasly as the Alpine driver takes Ayrton's first Toleman on the track

time-read
8 mins  |
August 2024
Mercedes returns as a frontrunner
Motor Sport Magazine

Mercedes returns as a frontrunner

What a difference a month makes. Mark Hughes takes us through the laps at Canada, Spain and Austria as a fourth team joins this season's winners list

time-read
10 mins  |
August 2024