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Two-time F1 world champion Fernando Alonso has been seen giving a tour of the Alpine garage to karting sensation Nikola Tsolov. They were spotted at the Young Driver Test currently underway in Abu Dhabi.
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The 15-year-old Bulgarian won the national title in racing in 2017. He has been racing for Alonso’s MD Racing Team in international karting competitions since 2020.
Nicknamed the “Bulgarian Lion”, Tsolov has been a sensation in the international karting scene. He has consistently racked up wins by beating drivers much older than him.
Fernando Alonso has taken a special interest in Tsolov and has previously posted pictures of them training together on the simulator.
In December 2019, before the teenage sensation was drafted into Alonso’s karting team, he was invited to Alonso’s own' karting track in Spain. Media reports have confirmed that the duo participated in private karting sessions there.
Meanwhile, Alonso is participating in the 24-Hour karting race at Dubai Kartdrome, alongside Tsolov, former F1 driver Pedro de la Rosa, and Angel Burgueño.
Fernando Alonso set to undergo surgery during the off-season
Fernando Alonso has revealed that he is scheduled to undergo surgery to have his facial plates removed, during the off-season. He sustained serious injuries to his lower jaw when he crashed while cycling in Switzerland earlier in February this year.
In an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Mundo Deportivo, Alonso said:
“My destination in winter is going to be to go to the hospital. It will be to remove the plates from my face and jaw from the accident in February.”
Fernando Alonso returned to F1 with the Alpine-Renault team this season after a two-year sabbatical. During that time, Alonso tried his hand at different categories of racing, with varying levels of success.
His two-year stint at the World Endurance Championship with Toyota was an overwhelming success. It earned him a WEC title and two top-category Le Mans wins.
Meanwhile, his foray into the grueling Dakar rally was a marginal success. He would have been in the top five in the overall standings if not for a major crash in one of the last stages. He ended the race in the 13th position.
Similar to other drivers who switched teams for the 2021 season, Alonso took some time to get used to his Alpine F1 car. However, during the second half of the season, he put in consistent performances to help Alpine beat Alpha Tauri to P5 in the standings.
The highlight of his 2021 season came at the Hungarian Grand Prix. He held up Hamilton's Mercedes (a much faster car) with some smart defensive driving.
