"Fernando still has three or four years inside him" - Fernando Alonso's former teammate claims his compatriot 'is fit and has desire' to continue in F1

Fernando Alonso's former teammate Pedro Martínez de la Rosa, who worked at McLaren as a test and spare driver during Alonso's term there, recently revealed that he expects his compatriot to continue racing in F1 for at least another three or four years, given his phenomenal performances in recent races with Alpine.

As reported by SoyMotor, de la Rosa revealed that as of right now, nothing brings Fernando Alonso more joy than racing, indicating his intent to go on in the sport for a little while longer.

"I would be very surprised – if it was Alonso’s last year in Formula 1 – because he is 40 years old, but physically he is impeccable. I think he is having the best races of his career. He's in shape and he's hungry. Fernando still has three or four years inside him."

He went on to add:

"In the end, what retires you in Formula 1 is not age, but it depends on whether you've had accidents, whether you've taken care of yourself. Talking to him, 24 hours a day, he thinks only of Formula 1, karting or four wheels...We have fabric for many years."

Currently the oldest driver on the grid, Alonso had previously retired at the end of the 2018 season, but made a comeback to race for the French constructor in 2021. After a long 105-race wait, he secured his first podium finish in seven years at the inaugural Qatar Grand Prix last season.

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"It was my mistake" - Fernando Alonso accepts fault in the incident with Pierre Gasly at the Miami GP

Fernando Alonso caused a lot of drama at the Miami Grand Prix last weekend. At the end of the race, the two-time world champion admitted his mistake while making a move on Pierre Gasly and making contact with the AlphaTauri that cost the Frenchman his race.

As quoted by The Race, Alonso said:

"I closed the gap and was very optimistic on the move with him. I touched with Gasly again, got a penalty of five seconds. I deserved it. I braked too late. We were ready to give back the position but he was in the pits at that time, so I had to pay those five seconds. It was my mistake, it happens to me sometimes. Mick [Schumacher] spun in Imola and destroyed my race. Today, I destroyed Pierre’s race so it was my mistake. I feel sorry for him because I know how he feels and it was not his fault.”

While Alonso had finished the race inside the points, he was handed a second five-second penalty for the incident and gaining an advantage off-track, which eventually dropped him to 11th place and outside the points.