Spaniard to drive for Alpine in 2022.
Ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix, two-time world champion Fernando Alonso has been handed a contract boost as Alpine have announced that the Spaniard will stay and race with the team in 2022. Team boss Laurent Rossi has stated that Alonso’s dedication, focus and teamwork have impressed the French team and they hope that Alonso goes from strength to strength in the next season too.
Alonso, who had retired at the end of 2018, returned to Formula One this season with Alpine after two years away from the sport, during which he followed his other racing passions of Le Mans and Dakar Rally. Even though there were quite a few critics initially talking about the sport being a young man’s game, Alonso has returned to form and shown the world why he still is one of the best in the business.
In 2020, Alonso had signed a one-year contract with Alpine, a team who he had previously raced for twice, quite successfully under the Renault guise from 2003-2006 and then 2008-2009. He even won both his championships, in 2005 and 2006, with Renault and joined the team in hopes of progressing back to the front of the field after four extremely frustrating and miserable years with McLaren from 2015 to 2018.
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The Spaniard, who was slow to get off the blocks on his return, had questions asked of him after his teammate had the better of him in the opening few races, but he has bounced back strongly since then. Alonso currently is on a six-race scoring streak and has showcased his skill and talent during a defensive masterclass at the Hungarian Grand Prix to help his teammate, Esteban Ocon, win the race and hand Alpine their maiden victory too, which also helped him finish P4, his best finish since 2014.
Speaking about the extension, Alonso said, “I’m very happy to confirm the contract extension with Alpine F1 Team into 2022. I felt at home the moment I returned to this team and have been welcomed back with open arms. It is a pleasure to work again with some of the brightest minds in our sport at Enstone and Viry-Chatillon. It’s been a tricky season for everyone, but we’ve shown progress as a team and the result in Hungary serves as a good example of this progression. We’re targeting more positive memories for the rest of this season but also crucially from next year onwards with the new regulation changes coming into Formula 1. I have been a big supporter of the need for a level playing field and change in the sport and the 2022 season will be a great opportunity for that. I am looking forward to the rest of this year and racing alongside Esteban in 2022 for Alpine.”
CEO Laurent Rossi spoke highly about the Spaniard’s performances this season and what he brings to the table, “We are very pleased to confirm Fernando for next season, partnering with Esteban. For us it is a perfect driver line-up, amongst the strongest on the grid. It works in a hugely complementary way, with both offering raw talent and speed, yet impeccable team spirit that delivered our first win in Hungary. Fernando has impressed us all since he returned to the sport at the beginning of this year. His dedication, teamwork and focus to extract the maximum from the team is incredible to be a part of and certainly special to witness. His performance in Hungary was another example of his racing pedigree and reminded everyone how skilled a driver he is. I am convinced we can benefit strongly from Fernando’s insight and experience as we enter the final development and optimization phase of the 2022 chassis and power unit. He is just as hungry as we are for success and is putting in every effort to translate it to performance. For now, however, we need to focus on delivering a strong second half of the year, extract the maximum at every race and ensure we finish as high up in the constructors’ standings as possible. This will put us in a golden position for next year and the significant opportunity it brings.”
Alonso’s teammate Esteban Ocon had signed a three year deal with Alpine yearly in the season and with their driver line-up secured, Alpine will have their full focus on the 2022 regulations and if they can bring a competitive car to the track, you would want no one other than Fernando Alonso behind the wheel, to take it to the top step of the podium.
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