Why the F1 title-winning Alonso is back, both on and off-track

Fernando Alonso’s first steps back into Formula 1 this season had left a lot of people uncertain about whether or not he had returned like the Spaniard of old. A fairly low key first weekend in Bahrain, where he ran in the points before brake problems forced him out, was followed by an even trickier event at Imola as he paid the price for a lack of experience of current F1 machinery in damp conditions.

With team-mate Esteban Ocon hitting a run of form that peaked with a fifth place on the grid for the Spanish Grand Prix, the cynics were quick to suggest that perhaps peak Alonso was long gone, and that maybe we would never see the brilliance that took him to back-to-back world titles in the mid-2000s.

What was especially intriguing, though, was that Alonso was a different man off the track, too. Where once he might have been throwing his toys out of the pram and lobbing soundbites out as a distraction from his performance, instead he was calm and considered.

To the media, he explained logically that he just needed a bit of time to get fully on top of things - but insisted that it wouldn’t take long. Even inside the team, there was no finger pointing about the old magic not being there. As Alpine sporting director Alan Permane revealed recently: “It was a bit of a poor start, that’s for sure. There were some struggles.

“But instead of having any tantrums or hissy fits or anything, he just looked to himself. He never once blamed the car or the team. He said: ‘It’s me. I need to improve, I need to do this, I need to be better.’ And he said it in the office and he said it in the press as well. And in fairness to him, that’s what he’s done. I don’t think he’s finished that process yet. He’s still there, he’s still building his team with his guys around him, and doing a great job.”

The improvement that Alonso promised has certainly happened as the season has marched on. His competitiveness lifted as much as the Alpine car would allow it. But we also saw some real flashes of the fighting warrior again, like his charge up the order to grab a sixth on the Baku restart.

Fernando Alonso, Alpine A521, Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri AT02, Sebastian Vettel, Aston Martin AMR21,and Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes W12

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

It was the recent double-header in Austria, though, that has offered us perhaps the greatest insight into just where Alonso is now on his F1 comeback. On track, we’ve seen him at a top level again. In the Styrian GP, he got through to Q3 for the third consecutive time – and on his way there had hailed a "beautiful" effort in Q2.

Things looked even better for the Austrian GP, when Alonso reckoned that he had a car capable of qualifying fifth or sixth were it not for the block from Sebastian Vettel at the final corner amid the traffic mess in Q2. On Sunday, Alonso once again showed his determined fighting spirit as he put the frustrations of Saturday behind him to move forward and fight George Russell for the final point on offer.

And while he felt ‘sad’ about depriving Russell of that 10th spot, knowing how much a point for Williams would have meant to the young Briton, ultimately needs must and he took it away. It is perhaps away from the pure results on track, though, that we are being offered the real gauge of Alonso’s positioning in F1 right now.

This return to the no-nonsense personality of old – the Alonso who fires from the hip and isn’t afraid to throw a few hand grenade comments – wouldn’t be there if he didn’t have the confidence in himself to know that he was doing the job on track himself

On one level, we are seeing Alonso the team player. Permane’s positivity about Alonso’s attitude behind the scenes is matched by how vital he values things like Alonso’s ‘beautiful’ radio message can be to those working away behind the scenes at Enstone and Viry-Chatillon.

Permane said he spoke to Alonso after the ‘beautiful’ comment and emphasised just how good it was.

“I said: ‘Don’t underestimate that that radio message will be broadcast and everyone in Enstone and everyone in Viry is hearing that, and that just makes their weeks of work, their hard work, worthwhile,” explained Permane. “To hear a driver who’s done a good lap being really happy with it and hear how motivated he is…. It’s going well.”

But while acting in the right way for team spirit, we are also seeing proof of the ultra-competitiveness that was his trademark before – where he will not let anything go in his pursuit for what he thinks is right or should be his.

George Russell, Williams FW43B, Fernando Alonso, Alpine A521

Photo by: Sam Bloxham / Motorsport Images

A classic example was the exit of Turn 1 on the opening lap of the Austrian Grand Prix, as he was left hugely annoyed by the way that Daniel Ricciardo had swooped wide and off track limits to gain places around the outside.

Swiftly coming on the radio, Alonso said: “OK, so Ricciardo out of [Turn] 1 gained three or four positions. So I guess a penalty will come very soon?” Soon afterwards he messaged: “I mean, it was amazing what he did - amazing! So I guess he needs to give up at least six positions. He has to do it now. He has to do it now, not in the pitstop and all these things.”

It was a similar frustration he experienced in the Styrian Grand Prix, when Alonso lost places at the first corner after rivals had taken a wider line, that prompted a classic example of how Alonso is back to his best when speaking to the press too.

Alonso over the years has been a master at getting his messages out there. He knows how to let the press do the bidding for him in topics that he wants aired – sometimes steering the agenda away from what people are talking about, onto something else completely different.

It was exactly that he did at the Red Bull Ring last weekend when he turned the topic of Max Verstappen’s burnout into a rant about the FIA not policing things as it should at Turn 1.

"I like when you can be yourself, and this burnout I think it was nice to watch," explained Alonso. "I think the FIA should police more the track limits and Turn 1. I was the only one making a move into Turn 1 at the start [last weekend], and the two cars that I overtook, they missed Turn 1 and they exited in front of me. There is no warning on that, so there are things that for sure we can improve from the fans' point of view."

This return to the no-nonsense personality of old – the Alonso who fires from the hip and isn’t afraid to throw a few hand grenade comments – wouldn’t be there if he didn’t have the confidence in himself to know that he was doing the job on track himself.

Having that strong Alonso back, both on track and off it, is a massive win for F1.

Fernando Alonso, Alpine A521

Photo by: Alpine