Fernando Alonso continues to defy expectations and what it considered to be possible, with the Spaniard still at the very top of his game at the age of 41.
The two-time world champion retired at the end of the 2018 season but was tempted back by Alpine in 2021 and spend two seasons with the French team.
Alonso scored a podium during his time with Alpine in Qatar and looked set to extend his stay with the team but controversially decided to move to Aston Martin for 2023 to replace the retiring Sebastian Vettel.
The 2023 season has started off in spectacular fashion for Aston Martin, with the team looking like the second fastest team on the grid as Alonso led them to a podium finish on his debut for the team.
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Alonso signed a two-year contract with the team at the age of 41 and former F1 driver Mark Webber has backed the Spaniard to stay even longer than his current contract, with age seeming to be no boundary for Alonso.
“I think when you get older, we all mature in different ways, and we have different priorities in our lives,” Webber told Motorsport.com.
“He’s been in this paddock for 20 years. Naturally, it’s different from when it arrived.
“That’s obvious, but the instinct and the driver, it’s all still there. I think the traits are there, everything that characterises him is still there, he’s a competitor, he wants to fight people, in a really tenacious and self-rewarding way, and that will never leave Fernando.
“He has the opportunity to stay longer than these two years of course. Never rule out that Fernando runs until he is 44 years old.”
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Alonso rolled back the years in Bahrain as he went to battle with Lewis Hamilton during the Grand Prix.
The iconic duo battled wheel-to-wheel through sector one of the circuit before Alonso made a stunning dive down the inside of Turn 10 to complete the overtake.
Should Aston Martin keep up their current performance levels, the team could be in with a real chance of finishing as runners up in the constructors’ championship this year.