Dec.9 (GMM) Fernando Alonso waited until after the chequered flag waved at the end of the final race of the season to reveal that he has been racing with an injury.
The 43-year-old pulled down the top corner of his Aston Martin overalls in the Abu Dhabi paddock to show he was wearing pink athletic tape on his shoulder.
When asked if it had been a particularly difficult year in Formula 1, Alonso answered: “It depends a bit on what car you had.
“If you had a McLaren, a Ferrari or a Mercedes, it’s much less tough because the car doesn’t jump, the car is fast. And if you have our car, you injure your shoulder and have an injured shoulder for six races.”
It is believed Alonso aggravated an already-developing injury on the particularly bumpy new surface recently in Brazil – where he suggested to his team that he was close to needing to retire from the race due to pain.
“Well, you take a pill for the pain and go again,” the Spaniard said.
“And it has nothing to do with age. When I’m physically unwell, people immediately think ‘well, he’s 43’. But another time, parc ferme was like The Walking Dead and I was fine, much more fit than them.
“So it’s a bit about the small injuries you get, especially if the car doesn’t allow you to sit peacefully in your seat.”
Aston Martin has been feverishly developing the team this year, installing state-of-the-art facilities and even wooing Adrian Newey from Red Bull.
On track, though, Alonso has been repeating for months that the 2024 Aston Martin is either the slowest or second-slowest car on the grid. When asked if the team’s off-track efforts give him confidence, Alonso said on Sunday: “I don’t need more confidence.
“I know that when I have a normal car I will be as high up as possible. We’ve known for a few months now what we’ve done wrong this year. Now we have to apply those lessons to next year’s car.
“But 2026 is still the big news for many teams, apart from McLaren and Ferrari, who have superior cars. It will be difficult to close those gaps for everyone. I think the rest of us have few options for 2025. We have to think a little bit further ahead.
“Even today, Williams was far superior to us, Haas was in another category, Alpine – another category. RB should have been in front of us too. So we were only better than the Saubers.”
Many observers are stunned that, more than 20 seasons into his F1 career, Alonso is still motivated despite a current lack of results. “I always give my all,” he said, “even in these last races where we did not have any big objectives at the end.
“It seems that from the outside they are always waiting for me to get older, but that day never comes for now. When I start 14th, I think I will finish in the points. When I start eighth, I think I will finish on the podium. I am always hungry.”
But even Alonso admits he is still learning, especially at the end of the longest season in Formula 1 history.
“We’ve all learned lessons this year about how to travel,” he said. “Like this triple of Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi, one place to another, and then an event in Saudi Arabia between the races. Next year I will try to go home even if it is for 48 or 72 hours.
“So, small adjustments to arrive in better shape next year.”
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