"I need to kill whatever strengths other people have"- Fernando Alonso on taking inspiration from tennis to beat his opponents in F1

Fernando Alonso has revealed that he is driven by the need to maximize his own strengths while exploiting the weaknesses of his rivals.

The Spaniard's competitive spirit is so compulsive, he deploys this strategy in every sport he plays, no matter how unorthodox it may be.

The 41-year-old is the oldest driver on the grid and shows no signs of slowing down just yet after inking a multi-year deal with Aston Martin starting in 2023. Fernando Alonso caught Alpine off-guard with his announcement one day after the 2022 F1 Hungarian GP.

Speaking in an interview with Motorsport ahead of the race weekend at the Hungaroring, the two-time world champion was asked to share insight into how he trains to improve despite his age. Alonso said:

“Yeah, I mean, I’m that type of guy. I need to make 100% of my thing, and I need to kill whatever strengths other people have. But this I do in everything I practice, when I play anything. I used to play tennis, and when I play with someone good, I would put the ball very high. Because, like this, you stop the rhythm of them because they are used to hitting the ball very hard.”

The Spaniard went on to elaborate on his philosophy, saying:

“Playing with professionals, the ball arrives very strong for them so they are used to that kind of shot. But when you put the ball high, they make mistakes, because the ball arrives very soft. So I can play better tennis when putting the ball high. Putting the ball high is my only chance to beat them. So I do that automatically. It’s not only on racing, I just need to destroy the strengths of the others, and try to maximize mine.”

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Fernando Alonso agrees with Alpine boss' claims that a 30-year-old female could be a better driver than him

Fernando Alonso is in agreement with Alpine F1 CEO Laurent Rossi about the possibility of an athletic and fit woman at 30 being better than him in his present condition.

The Spaniard began his F1 career back in 2001 and since then has gone on to become a two-time world champion with 32 wins and 98 podiums. Following the 2022 F1 British GP, Alonso overtook Kimi Raikkonen for the most distance driven in the history of the sport.

Earlier this season, Alpine launched an initiative to try and get more women into motorsport and subsequently in F1. In a subsequent interview, Rossi pointed out that women are jet fighter pilots and astronauts, before suggesting that a perfectly fit woman at 30 could perform better than their veteran driver.

When asked to weigh in on the Frenchman's comments in the pre-race press conference at Silverstone this season, Fernando Alonso said:

“Probably they do! Yeah, there should not be any reason why not. I feel okay to drive Formula 1 cars, but I’m probably not the strongest man in the world. And yeah, I think the team is doing a lot of initiatives in the last few years, to be more inclusive.’’

Alonso went on to add, saying:

“Now, in Alpine road company, 12% of the company are women; in the Formula 1 team is 10%. So still a long way to go. But definitely things are moving in the right direction. So yeah, I’m proud of all these initiatives and about the comments: yeah, probably he’s right.”

The 41-year-old has to finish the remaining nine races in the 2022 F1 calendar before he can move on to his next challenge while Alpine still try and find his replacement for 2023.