Two-time Formula 1 World Champion Fernando Alonso is certainly an icon of not just the pinnacle of motorsport, but racing in general.
Alonso has been victorious in multiple championships, most notably F1 and the World Endurance Championship.
As well as being a two-time F1 World Champion, the Aston Martin driver is also a two times Le Mans 24 Hours winner, highlighting his immense talent.
Despite being 41 years old, there are absolutely no signs that the Spaniard is getting any slower, especially based on his performance last weekend at the Canadian Grand Prix.
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Alonso claimed his sixth podium of the 2023 season last Sunday, after beating former McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton to second place.
He’s been exceptional this season and has already expressed his intent on continuing in F1 for a few more years, with his age certainly not being a concern.
Alonso has single handedly taken Aston Martin to new heights, given that prior to 2023 they’d only achieved a single rostrum.
What’s even more staggering, is that Alonso’s father didn’t think he’d achieve anything in racing, something he revealed after finishing second in Montreal.
The Spaniard shared how his father didn’t think his racing career would go beyond karting, resulting in the Aston Martin driver being educated in “different ways” to prepare him for a non-racing life.
“He didn’t have the vision of being a professional driver when I was a kid,” Alonso said in the post-race press conference last weekend.
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“I was racing in go-karts and in different things, but he was just thinking that that will end soon and my life will be completely opposite to professional sport,” Alonso told the press conference after last Sunday’s race.
“He has no talent at all to drive. And so, yeah, he teach me and educate me in different ways and just more for different things in life.
“So he was always very with feet in the ground, let’s say, and teaching me other things and other values because it was difficult to believe that I was able to reach Formula One one day. And that’s the beauty of our story.”