For those new to Formula 1, it’d be difficult to imagine that Fernando Alonso is 41 years old, given the fact that the Spaniard has been more playful with the media this season than he arguably ever has been.
Alonso has had the ability to crack a joke every now and then; however, for the bulk of the time the Spaniard is usually one of the more serious drivers, who pushes their team to the maximum.
This was evident at Alpine where ultimately cracks in their relationship began to show, after the double World Champion grew in frustration at the team’s shocking reliability.
Since his move this season to Aston Martin, though, he’s been a new man.
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Alonso has led Aston Martin incredibly well, both on and off the circuit.
His experience has been vital to the Silverstone-based team’s immense start to the season, with the Spaniard having claimed three podiums from the opening four races of the 2023 F1 season.
He’s also been very positive whenever he’s discussed the team and their work rate, something which has seemingly spurred the side on even more.
Alonso is certainly one of a kind, with Haas team principal Guenther Steiner having told Talksport that the veteran is able to “manage his race from inside the car”.
It appears Alonso is now able to manage over drivers as well whilst he’s driving himself, something he tried to do last weekend at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Alonso found himself in fourth and tried to work with team-mate Lance Stroll who was in sixth at the time, something that caught many by surprise.
Helping team-mates hasn’t always been Alonso’s strong point; however, his partnership with Stroll so far has been exemplary.
During Sunday’s race, Alonso tried to give Stroll his brake set-up, in a bid to help the Canadian
“Tell Lance my brake bias suggestion,” Alonso told his race engineer in the opening phases of the race.
“As I am. It is working for me.”
Stroll ultimately finished seventh whilst Alonso crossed the line in fourth, keeping him third in the Constructors’ Championship.
Off the track, Alonso has also been key to Aston Martin’s social media presence, with the Spaniard having been more than happy to get involved in his latest dating rumour.
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It was rumoured ahead of Azerbaijan that Alonso had started dating American superstar Taylor Swift, something he neither confirmed nor denied when asked.
The Spaniard even created TikToks which involved Swift’s songs, simply adding fuel to the rumour.
The strangest thing about it all, though, is that Alonso is simply laughing it off and lapping it up, something which is obviously working beautifully.