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Fernando Alonso put together another of his vintage performances on his return to the big stage in Bahrain. The two-time world champion's return to Formula 1 made it appear as if he had never left the sport.
Typical punching above the car's weight in qualifying, fighting tooth and nail to extract the most from the race, and while doing all this, completely overshadowing his teammate. This was what Fernando Alonso has done throughout his career.
However, the results were not entirely reflective of the Spaniard's performance as his race was cut short due to reliability issues caused by a sandwich wrapper. The Spaniard and his team left Bahrain with no points next to their name and a car that doesn't seem capable of challenging the top midfield teams.
Fernando Alonso, however, has a pragmatic mindset about this as he himself concedes he doesn't see a path to victory this season.
“I don’t have a road map to win again this season,” Fernando Alonso revealed when talking to SkyF1. "In 2018, I was already conscious that maybe with the new regulations in 2021 I could come back. The Endurance Championship and Daytona went well."
“Then with the coronavirus, the new regulations have been delayed to 2022 and I found myself not knowing what to do this year. But I knew I wanted to come back because I’m motivated and feel very lucky because when I decided to switch teams I could just do that, and now I’ve decided to come back in Formula 1 I did that."
It's a privilege to fight against such talented drivers: Fernando Alonso
Speaking about the upside of returning to the sport, Alonso revealed that he felt it was a privilege to drive in an era with talents such as Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo, Charles Leclerc, and Lando Norris on the grid. He believes it is a place where he can truly compete with some of the best drivers in the world and showcase his own skills.
Fernando Alonso further revealed that no team would be sure what to expect from their cars in the next set of regulations and it's nothing but a hope that the respective teams can get things right in 2022.
“This is a great privilege because there are talented drivers that have never had even the possibility to drive a Formula 1 car," Fernando Alonso said. “Everyone wants to win. Winning the Championship next year is a dream we all have, but we have to wait and see. Let’s cross our fingers.”
It's always interesting to get a view into the mind of Fernando Alonso. The former world champion knows he won't have a car to win this season. It would be interesting to see if Alpine can put together a car capable of winning in 2022. If it does, it would be a treat to see Fernando Alonso fight it out with the best on the grid.
