F1 News: Fernando Alonso hopes for Aston Martin victories in "two, three years"
Fernando Alonso admits he does not have "an eternity" to continue in Formula 1 but believes that Aston Martin can climb to the front of the grid.
The Spaniard has become notorious for poor career decisions, narrowly missing out on several Championships and spending multiple seasons in uncompetitive machinery.
Alonso has impressed much of the paddock with his performances since returning to F1 in 2021, defying the expectations that age would negatively impact his results.
With that said, at least for now, fighting for race victories is generally unattainable for drivers outside of the top three teams.
Having signed a new contract agreement with Aston Martin, Alonso told Nextgen-Auto is hopeful that the Silverstone-based squad is on the right trajectory:
"I love what I do. Of course, I would like to have a car that can fight for the title, but there is no space for me there.
"Considering what there was in the market, Aston martin is one of the teams who can achieve this in two, three years.
"It's important at my age. I don't have eternity ahead of me.
"If we end up being World Champions, I will also be satisfied because I can say that I contributed to the construction of this title...
"I'm happy to embark on a new project and make it a success as soon as possible."
There have been talks of Alonso's interest management role at Aston Martin after his F1 retirement, although there is plenty of time before this scenario unfolds.
Regardless, having failed to provide Sebastian Vettel with front-running machinery, there will be pressure on Aston Martin to avoid repeating this with Fernando Alonso.
The Double World Champion's drive to succeed and win is as strong as ever, so the British squad must capitalise on this window of opportunity and close the gap to the front.