Alonso, a long career at the top
42 years old last July 29, Fernando Alonso he is not a character who goes unnoticed in the paddock. Over the span of a varied and successful parable in motorsport at all levels, the Asturian champion is still one of the best known and most recognizable drivers on the starting grid and whose celebrity has now detached itself from the results on the track. The Aston Martin driver he has not won a world title in F1 since 2006 and has not climbed onto the top step of the podium since 2013, but has the ability to always take center stage.
Certainly some episodes that saw him as the protagonist – direct or indirect – have amplified his popularity, starting from the Crashgate Renault, passing through the Spy Story McLaren and the rivalry with Hamilton, for the “geniuses/fools” at the time of Ferrari and closing with the “GP2 Engine” addressed to Honda at the time of the bankruptcy partnership with McLaren.
These situations, which have all had a great media coverage, then substantially cornered Alonso due to his complex character, making him find the doors of the top teams barred in his second part of his career.
Alonso and the role of the villain
In an interesting interview granted to BBCAlonso explained how he lived this label that has been stuck on him over the years: “Formula 1 is great entertainment, on and off the track. And you have to play a character, whatever role you are assigned. You have to sell a story, you have to say who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. And people in general, not just the media, always put me on the bad side. Like I’m doing something wrong.”
In the ‘Drive to Survive’ series Alonso himself defined himself as “The Dark Side” among the various F1 personalities, but he explained that he accepted this role with great serenity: “I feel good, I’m not sorry. The most important thing is that people continue to be interested in me and ask me how many more years of contract I have. Whatever then happens outside is part of this circus“, and concluded: “It has always been like this. Maybe because I’m Spanish and Latino I haven’t had much support, or probably we don’t have that media power that can influence everything.”
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