Fernando Alonso Racing with Less - Adapting with More

Alonso: A Career Defined by Overcoming Inferior Equipment

19/01/2025

Fernando Alonso reflects on a career shaped by challenges, overcoming limitations, and adapting to lesser equipment throughout his racing journey.

Fernando Alonso stated that finding himself with “inferior” equipment has been “the story of his life.”

This remark comes after the two-time world champion admitted he would likely retire from Formula 1 at the end of the 2026 season if Aston Martin fails to show promising competitiveness under the new regulations.

The 2025 season will mark the 20th anniversary of Alonso’s first title with Renault, with a third world championship eluding the Spaniard for two decades. He also remains without a win since his penultimate season with Ferrari in 2013.

“When I was a child, I only had a modest kart. In Asturias, it rains a lot, and when it rained, all the kids would use wet-weather tires, but I raced on slicks because we couldn’t afford wet tires.”

“And that continues even today.”

“Here, we have all the resources for wet-weather tires, but we don’t have the wings Ferrari has, or the floors McLaren has, or anything like that.”

“It’s been the story of my life—racing with slightly inferior tools compared to others and adapting to what I could.”

Even today, Alonso claims to have “just as much hunger for success,” with the goal of at least returning to victory, something he hopes to achieve with Aston Martin and Adrian Newey.

“Even after twenty years without a title, if I do karting and check the timing board, and I’m second, one-tenth or half a tenth behind the leader, I feel the same inner rage, the same frustration, the same anger—and I might even skip dinner that night.”

“In F1, I don’t get into that same state because so much depends on the machine you have. But my hunger for success remains the same.”

Fernando Alonso: “Racing with Less – Adapting with More” Fernando Alonso: “Racing with Less – Adapting with More”

Full 2025 F1 testing results

Carlos Sainz
1
CARLOS
SAINZ
Leader
Lewis Hamilton
2
LEWIS
HAMILTON
+0.031s
Charles Leclerc
3
CHARLES
LECLERC
+0.083s
George Russell
4
GEORGE
RUSSELL
+0.197s
Max Verstappen
5
MAX
VERSTAPPEN
+0.218s
Alex Albon
6
ALEX
ALBON
+0.302s
Kimi Antonelli
7
KIMI
ANTONELLI
+0.436s
Oscar Piastri
8
OSCAR
PIASTRI
+0.592s
Pierre Gasly
9
PIERRE
GASLY
+0.692s
Lance Stroll
10
LANCE
STROLL
+0.881s
Liam Lawson
11
LIAM
LAWSON
+0.904s
Jack Doohan
12
JACK
DOOHAN
+1.020s
Yuki Tsunoda
13
YUKI
TSUNODA
+1.149s
Isack Hadjar
14
ISACK
HADJAR
+1.327s
Fernando Alonso
15
FERNANDO
ALONSO
+1.352s
Esteban Ocon
16
ESTEBAN
OCON
+1.380s
Lando Norris
17
LANDO
NORRIS
+1.534s
Gabriel Bortoleto
18
GABRIEL
BORTOLETO
+1.709s
Nico Hulkenberg
19
NICO
HULKENBERG
+2.109s
Oliver Bearman
20
OLIVER
BEARMAN
+3.013s

Testing Total Distance Covered by Team

1
Mercedes
458
2
Haas
457
3
Racing Bulls
454
4
Alpine
405
5
Williams
395
6
Ferrari
382
7
McLaren
381
8
Sauber
354
9
Aston Martin
306
10
Red Bull
304
Race Center
Australia Flag
Australian GP
13 Mar - 16 Mar
FP1
14 MAR 01:30
FP2
14 MAR 05:00
FP3
15 MAR 01:30
QU
15 MAR 05:00
RACE
16 MAR 04:00
F1 CALENDAR 2025
Race
Date
Australian Flag
Australian
Albert Park
16 Mar
Chinese Flag
Chinese
Shanghai International
23 Mar
Japanese Flag
Japanese
Suzuka Circuit
6 Apr
Bahrain Flag
Bahrain
Sakhir desert
13 Apr
Saudi Arabia Flag
Saudi Arabia
Jeddah Street
20 Apr
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