Fernando Alonso is famous for his various attempts at different forms of racing during his career, proving his worth not only in Formula 1, but also in endurance racing and IndyCar’s fabled 500-mile race at Indianapolis – but the Spaniard, who won two F1 titles in succession with Renault in 2005 and 2006, has revealed that his only focus and “priority” right now is to win another championship in F1.
Fresh from signing a new two-year extension with Aston Martin earlier this year, that will keep him in the car until at least the end of 2026, with the possibility of extending and getting an ambassadorial role afterwards, Alonso will again be reunited with the Honda power units, and perhaps most importantly, will finally team up with the great Adrian Newey, who recently signed with the Silverstone-based squad and will start work early next year on Aston’s 2026 challenger under the new regulations.
With all those factors combining, the Spaniard isn’t seriously considering a return to the Indy 500 for the foreseeable future, and instead will focus solely on trying to achieve a remarkable third world title, over 20 years after his first triumph:
“I attempted Indy 500 three times and didn’t succeed. It’s the only one missing [from the triple crown]. But at the moment, it’s not in my plan,” Alonso admitted.
“I’m very, very focused [on] Formula 1 now. For the next two or three years, I want to win the third world title. This is my first and only priority at the moment.
“After that, because I will be 45, 46, I think the commitment that it will require to go to the Indy 500, the amount of learning that I will have to redo again… it will be a little bit too much. Or it’s what I think now, I cannot say 100%.”
The 43-year-old isn’t ruling out a return to the famous Dakar rally after his F1 career, as he believes it would be the next “biggest challenge” of his career to prove he can be competitive in such different categories and cars, as the ultimate validation of his status of one of the most versatile racing drivers ever.
He even recalled his first outing in Dakar in 2020, and explained how it was important for hi to be humble and learn from the professional rally drivers in order to improve:
“I think my next biggest challenge will be the Dakar,” he said. “If I can win Dakar, I think it will be hugely rewarding for me personally because I can win in Formula 1, I can win in endurance racing, win in Le Mans and Daytona, and if I can win in rally as well, it will mean a lot for me as a driver.
“You cannot drive a Formula 1 car the same way as a Le Mans car that has to do 24 hours to win the race, or the Dakar rally, where you have to go through the dunes and the gravel around Saudi. So, I had to learn and start from zero in many of those categories and surround myself with the best drivers in the world specifically on that series, and learn from them, and be humble.
“There is no problem to accept that I had no idea how to drive a rally car, but [was] day-by-day improving and learning from them until I was able to compete in the toughest rally in the world.”
