zoroastar wrote: ↑01 Jun 2024, 01:20
ringo wrote: ↑28 May 2024, 01:50
Mansell89 wrote: ↑27 May 2024, 23:41
Where on Earth does this narrative that Alonso is now showing his age each race come from?
So we just forget the what, 30 race weekend where Alonso has dominated and because Aston are having some tough times with upgrades we just all happily write off Alonso as a has been?
Guy is WDC material and I’ve no doubt would blitz Perez at Red Bull, could go toe to toe with either driver at Ferrari and same at Mercedes.
The only thing necessary here is for Aston to get their development pipeline on track.
30 race weekends = 60 weeks = A one year Older Alonso. He is getting older. That's inevitable.
He probably has in hair plugs, beard hair dye, and prescription contact lenses to hide his aging process to please the sponsors and fans who think his abilities are eternal. There has to be a cross over point where the skills wane.
none of that matters unless alonso himself loses the motivation to win. he could be bald with goggles, driving the same speed as when he was 30 if hes still motivated. the reason schumaker dropped off was he missed spending time with his family (and he already had 7 WDC's), and kimi lost his edge sometime in his late 20s for who knows what reason. neither had anything to do with their physical ability because of age. yeah, he could get sick of it all if aston drops to the bottom of the grid, but id be willing to bet you that he will be there in 26 for the new regs
The older you get, the harder you have to work to stay competitive, that's true of any sport. The sabbatical was probably perfect for Alonso at the time, he was able to reset and come back motivated. Then last year it wasn't a surprise to see him perform like that, it was the first time in a long time he had a car that could fight for podiums.
Unless AM suddenly do a McLaren, I'm expecting very little from him till at least 2026, his motivation will be tanked again. Then, big if, AM-Honda can deliver something competitive in the new regs, he maybe has enough for one last push. But it's all very unlikely to be honest, I think things will just fizzle out till retirement and 2023 will be the highlight of his comeback period.