Fernando Alonso Wants To Stay In F1 Beyond 2022

Fernando Alonso has revealed in the F1 Beyond The Grid podcast that he intends to stay in F1 beyond the 2022 season. The podcast which is hosted by Tom Clarkson revealed that Alonso would stay in F1 even if he is not given a championship-winning car by Alpine next year. Alonso left formula 1 at the end of the 2018 season after spending four years at a highly uncompetitive McLaren Honda which was unreliable and also for the most part the slowest car on the grid in his four stints. His return to Alpine which formerly was called Renault has been very impressive where he has outscored the younger Esteban Ocon and also now achieved his first podium finish in 7 years with his P3 at the Qatar GP. 

''Oh yes I will be, and even if the car is not so good. Yes, my plan is to stay at least two or three years more'', concludes the two-time world champion who won his first two titles in 2005 and 2006. He was a runner-up in 2010 and 2012 as well when the title fight went all the way up to the wire till the last race of the season. 

Some of his most memorable performances include his duel with Lewis Hamilton in Hungary where he prevented the defending world champion a dozen laps in a much slower car to enable his teammate to take the race win. His performance at Monaco and the Silverstone sprint race was also impressive. In Russia had the rain not arrived at the end of the race, he would've probably taken another podium finish. 

Fernando Alonso Cycling Instagram
Photo Credit: Instagram

Alonso's goal has always been to be at least a 3-time world champion. He is considered by many the greatest driver in F1 since Schumacher but has often found himself in uncompetitive cars which has resulted in Hamilton and Vettel winning more titles than him. 

''I'm really looking forward to the third championship and I will do what is in my hands and even more in the next coming years. It will mean a lot in terms of maybe a legacy after my career finishes in Formula 1. It's not [that] I'm desperate to get it and that will change, you know, my whole career, or it will change my way of seeing the sport. I'm a competitive person as we touched before, you know? In everything I do,'' Alonso said on F1's official channel podcast.

''It doesn't matter if you are 19 or if you are 42 or 43, it's a way of living and full dedication to the sport. That probably is the biggest thing if I win the third championship - that kind of legacy and message for future generations," he added. 

Next year, with the retirement of Raikkonen, will be the oldest driver on the grid, but if he goes through with his plan of staying on for 3-4 years, he will most certainly break Raikkonen's record of being the most experienced F1 driver on the grid.