Alonso: 'Returning to F1 is no guarantee you will be competitive'

Alonso returned to the F1 grid in 2021 after a two-year absence. That comeback went well for the Spaniard and he proved he was still very driven and competitive. "Coming back to the sport is never a guarantee that you will be okay and competitive and you still enjoy everything in Formula 1," he told GPblog and other media during the Grand Prix weekend in Abu Dhabi.

Consequently, the two-time world champion did not enter the Young Driver Test in late 2020 unconcerned. He also admits that he was not fully satisfied with how the season went in 2021, but in 2022 he saw a big improvement. Alonso also has a piece of advice for Sebastian Vettel, should he decide to make a comeback one day after all.

Alonso: 'Can't underestimate return to F1'

"You cannot underestimate coming back to the sport – in case Seb wants some advice – but you need a few races or even one full season to feel 100 per cent again and is what happened to me but I'm happy now that I'm I feel a very good level," Alonso said.

Alonso has now completed his first kilometres in the Aston Martin car and, in his own words, was "pleasantly surprised". Prior to the test, he did worry about the mileage the Mercedes engine already had on the clock, but there were no reliability issues - unlike his last year at Alpine.