Fernando Alonso's 'strange underdog element' explained by F1 pundit 

F1 pundit Edd Straw has said that two-time world champion Fernando Alonso still has the desire to prove to everyone about his abilities behind the wheel, which explains why he's still in the sport.

The Aston Martin man will turn 42 this year and recently became the driver with the most starts in the sport. He has stood on the podium four times in five races in 2023 and is closer to the top after a decade languishing in midfield.

On The Race podcast, Straw said that Fernando Alonso still thinks of himself as an underdog:

"There is also something in Alonso. I mean not only does he think that he's the best, there is a real need in him to prove how good he is to people. It's one of the things that I think which I have mentioned before on the podcasts, for someone as good he's very keen to prove to everyone he's good, mostly people who already know that."

He continued:

"I think there is a strange constant underdog element. It's been suggested to me that he's from Asturias, Oviedo, supposedly that's outside and a little bit of an underdog region. And there is kind of a stereotypical character of need to prove themselves, and they have to fight."

---

"The timeout helped me, maybe not so much in the driving style, but on the mentality" - Fernando Alonso

The Spaniard said that two years away from the sport helped him recharge his batteries and also work on his mentality and approach.

Speaking to the media, including RacingNews365, Fernando Alonso said:

"The timeout helped me, maybe not so much in the driving style, but I think on the mentality and in the approach and on the motivation. I think when you are in Formula One for 18 years, it's not that you lose motivation - I always have motivation - but I was tired of travelling. I was tired of the routine and repeating the same things. The two years out of the sport were very refreshing."

Alonso added:

"I was just charging my batteries and, maybe the driving is similar, but mentally I'm much fresher. I'm happy to work and happy to come to the circuit early, happy to keep chatting with the engineers, PR staff, event sponsors, all of these things. I have full batteries now, while in 2018, I was empty, so it (the break) did help."

It will be fascinating to see if Fernando Alonso can win a race with Aston Martin this season.