Alonso on his 2021 plans: “More or less set. Hopefully everyone will know soon”
On his run to the Triple Crown, Fernando Alonso claims his near future to be “more or less” set, as he looks all around for new motorsport challenges.
Ever since he left the Circus at the end of 2018, the two-times world champion has tried to achieve the victory in every major motorsport series possible. Having secured both the Le Mans 24 hours (twice) and the World Endurance Championship driving for Toyota alongside Kazuki Nakajima and Sebastien Buemi, -added to his previous F1 Championships and Monaco triumphs- two of the pieces of the prestigious Triple Crown have been collected. Along the way, Alonso even managed to win the Daytona 24 Hours and to give a go to the off-road competitions, with a decent debut at the infamous Dakar Rally earlier this year. But for a natural born champion victories are just a thirst that can’t be quenched: in 2020 Alonso will also compete for McLaren at the legendary Brickyard for his third Indy 500 attempt, after a catastrophic (for the team) fail to qualify last year. Clinching that win would project him once for all among the motorsport legends: at the moment, the only Triple Crown ever conquered in history belongs to Graham Hill.
“When I stopped Formula 1 –Fernando revealed in an interview on Instagram- I was thinking about what to do next, and obviously winning the WEC championship and being World Endurance champion and Formula 1 champion, what if one day I’m IndyCar champion? Not only the 500, trying to win the championship in general.That would be unique. That would not be the second man in history, that would be the first man in history, and that was always very appealing.”
But the enthusiasm for this record attempt was soon cut short: “The commitment to do that will be too high, at this part of my life. I think a few years ago, maybe that was a possibility, but right now, to do 16 or 17 races, to know all the circuits, I will require a level of preparation or commitment that maybe at this time in life I’m not happy to take. The Indy 500 is already a nice commitment and a long preparation for one race, so I cannot imagine for the whole championship. That would be full dedication.”
If a over-sea full time commitment does not appear on Alonso’s to-do list, a world wide one could actually be: even before he gave farewell to Formula 1, the Spaniard never fully gave up the chance of a return to the sport. In the last years Alonso showed up here and there to a number of F1 GPs and never hid his will for a comeback, for one last real fight after years of uncompetitiveness.
“I always said in 2021 there are new rules in Formula 1, I may come [back], because maybe there is more interest and the cars are more balanced, and maybe I’m hungry for travelling again or putting myself in contention. F1 now delayed the rules to 2022. That’s bad news in a way for the sport, because I think they need to balance the cars and need these new rules as soon as possible. But it’s a choice that is understandable, because with the current situation, it was not possible to develop the cars for next year.”
Another valuable option on the Spaniard’s table is another journey in the WEC series, with upcoming Hypercar class being very appealing to him: “I think the Hypercar is a nice project, together with the different solutions that I know the Endurance Championship is going through a good process now with IMSA [there will be] a lot of things in the future that will probably boost a little bit endurance, and I want to be part of that. I don’t know when. Obviously my experience with Le Mans is at the moment 100% love, with two participations and two wins. I want to try a third, for sure.”
Despite this plethora of different possibilities, Fernando during the interview confirmed to have clear enough ideas in mind: “I know more or less what I’m doing for next year –Alonso said- and hopefully many of you will know soon”.
Imaginemos..
— Fernando Alonso (@alo_oficial) April 28, 2020
Let’s imagine..
