"I was just charging my batteries": Fernando Alonso reflects on his return from sabbatical in F1

Fernando Alonso left F1 at the end of the 2018 season, ending his disastrous spell with McLaren. Spending two years on the sidelines racing in other series, he decided to return to the pinnacle of motorsports with Alpine, where he had won two championships.

The following two years with Alpine, saw the Spaniard fall out with the French team, as he quickly grabbed the opportunity to race for Aston Martin in 2023. Although the move was seen as a sideways step last year, the 41-year-old has proved the critics wrong.

Driving for Aston Martin, Alonso appears to be revitalized, stealing the limelight on and off the track. The two-time world champion credits his two-year sabbatical for a reset in mindset and approach, which is now bearing results on the track.

Alonso told the media in a recent interview (via RacingNews365):

"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."

He 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."

Fernando Alonso in the Miami GP

Fernando Alonso believes that his current form is better than his championship-winning years in the mid-2000s.

The 41-year-old continued:

"I have full batteries now, while in 2018 I was empty, so it did help. And then if I compare my driving, or try comparing myself to 2005 and 2006, I'm much better now. One hundred percent."

Fernando Alonso fighting at the front is a sight for sore eyes after being mired in the midfield in the past decade, hauling uncompetitive cars to stunning results.

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Fernando Alonso speaks about his chances of winning a race in 2023

Fernando Alonso remains pragmatic about his chances of winning a race this season. The Spaniard admits he doesn't have the car to challenge Red Bull, but adds that he has an outside chance to win a race.

Fernando Alonso said:

"I hope so, but there are no guarantees. If you see over the last few years, Gasly won in Monza, Ocon won in Hungary, so an opportunity to win a race is always there, and the closer you are to the top, the better your chance is. So yes, why not?"

"We will have an opportunity. But at the moment, we need some help from the others, and it's going to be because of a mistake for somebody else, not an opportunity to win because we are better."