Alonso felt he was "losing time" in F1 before taking break
Fernando Alonso felt like he was “losing time” racing in Formula 1 prior to his two-year break that allowed him to pursue other series and racing disciplines.


Two-time world champion Alonso walked away from F1 at the end of 2018 after a difficult four-year spell with McLaren that had failed to yield a single podium finish.
The Spaniard outlined his intention to complete the Triple Crown of Motorsport, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice with Toyota and racing at the Indianapolis 500 in 2020.
He also took part in the Dakar Rally and the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, winning the latter in 2019.
But Alonso made his F1 comeback with Alpine for this season after signing a two-year contract, and recently revealed that he was enjoying his return more than he expected.
Asked what he put that down to, Alonso explained he’d felt like he was running out of time to try other challenges after spending so long only focusing on F1.
“Two things are playing a big role on this,” Alonso said.
“One was I think the two years out of the sport was needed for me after 18 seasons in Formula 1 non-stop, with full dedication. It was too demanding at one point.

Fernando Alonso, McLaren MCL33 leads Lance Stroll, Williams FW41 and Kevin Magnussen, Haas F1 Team VF-18
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
“I had in my head other challenges with Le Mans, with Daytona, with the World Endurance Championship possibility etc, I had to do those in a way and tick those boxes to be happy, and to be free to come back and enjoy.
“Until I was not doing those challenges, I thought that I was losing time in F1, some of the last seasons before '18. So once those challenges were completed, now I'm freer in a way to enjoy every weekend here.”
Alonso explained that the second factor aiding his enjoyment was how well he had fit in with the Alpine team. It marks his third stint with the Enstone-based operation, having previously driven for Renault in 2003-2006 and 2008-2009.
“The second is the team, I think the team is amazing,” Alonso said.
“You know what atmosphere we have now, what motivation we have in the team in Enstone, in Viry - the hard work that everyone is putting in, how we approach every weekend, how we approach the little success that we have some weekends, and how we approach the bad moments in some other weekends.
“We are all united in the same direction, and this feels very good every week.”
Related video

Williams tweaks bargeboards to reduce wind sensitivity problem
Vettel: 'Wild' costs of junior categories need to be cut

Latest news
Norris had to adjust to 2022 McLaren F1 car that was "very unsuited for me"
Lando Norris believes he has done a “reasonable job” adjusting to the 2022 McLaren Formula 1 car that is “very unsuited” to his driving style.
Top 10 Arrows F1 drivers ranked: Hill, Warwick, Fittipaldi and more
No Formula 1 team has started more races without winning one than Arrows, although it came close on several occasions. Twenty years on from the team's demise, Autosport takes on the task of ranking its best drivers
How Storm Eunice delayed Mercedes' F1 porpoising alarm
Mercedes only got a full grasp of how severe its porpoising issues were in Formula 1 pre-season testing after Storm Eunice impacted its first 2022 car shakedown at Silverstone.
When Indycar conquered F1 - Monzanapolis
Imagine a race between the best of Formula 1 and Indycar drivers.
The under-fire F1 driver fighting for his future
Personable, articulate and devoid of the usual racing driver airs and graces, Nicholas Latifi is the last Formula 1 driver you’d expect to receive death threats, but such was the toxic legacy of his part in last year’s explosive season finale. And now, as ALEX KALINAUCKAS explains, he faces a battle to keep his place on the F1 grid…
The strange tyre travails faced by F1’s past heroes
Modern grand prix drivers like to think the tyres they work with are unusually difficult and temperamental. But, says MAURICE HAMILTON, their predecessors faced many of the same challenges – and some even stranger…
The returning fan car revolution that could suit F1
Gordon Murray's Brabham BT46B 'fan car' was Formula 1 engineering at perhaps its most outlandish. Now fan technology has been successfully utilised on the McMurtry Speirling at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, could it be adopted by grand prix racing once again?
Hamilton's first experience of turning silver into gold
The seven-time Formula 1 world champion has been lumbered with a duff car before the 2022 Mercedes. Back in 2009, McLaren’s alchemists transformed the disastrous MP4-24 into a winning car with Lewis Hamilton at the wheel. And now it’s happening again at his current team, but can the rate of progress be matched this year?
Why few could blame Leclerc for following the example of Hamilton’s exit bombshell
OPINION: Ferrari's numerous strategy blunders, as well as some of his own mistakes, have cost Charles Leclerc dearly in the 2022 Formula 1 title battle in the first half of the season. Though he is locked into a deal with Ferrari, few could blame Leclerc if he ultimately wanted to look elsewhere - just as Lewis Hamilton did with McLaren 10 years prior
The other McLaren exile hoping to follow Perez's path to a top F1 seat
After being ditched by McLaren earlier in his F1 career Sergio Perez fought his way back into a seat with a leading team. BEN EDWARDS thinks the same could be happening to another member of the current grid
How studying Schumacher helped make Coulthard a McLaren F1 mainstay
Winner of 13 grands prix including Monaco and survivor of a life-changing plane crash, David Coulthard could be forgiven for having eased into a quiet retirement – but, as MARK GALLAGHER explains, in fact he’s busier than ever, running an award-winning media company and championing diversity in motor racing. Not bad for someone who, by his own admission, wasn’t quite the fastest driver of his generation…
Could F1 move to a future beyond carbonfibre?
Formula 1 has ambitious goals for improving its carbon footprint, but could this include banishing its favoured composite material? PAT SYMONDS considers the alternatives to carbonfibre and what use, if any, those materials have in a Formula 1 setting