In F1 from the age of 40 onwards
Competing in Formula 1 at the age of 40 and over: in the last ten years, only three drivers have managed to stay in the world of Circus in this age group, with more or less negative results. From Michael Schumacher to Fernando Alonsopassing through Kimi Raikkonen. Among these, the only one still active is the 41-year-old Spaniard from Aston Martin, who shares a past with Ferrari with the other two world champions. While the Finn was the last to have conquered the world title with the Maranello company in 2007, Schumacher holds the absolute record for world championships won with the Redequal to five, moreover consecutive.
Differences between Alonso and Schumacher
Moreover, the other aspect that unites all these pilots was that of having temporarily interrupted his career in F1 to then give life to a second parenthesis before definitive withdrawal from competitions. Alonso is therefore still in the game, with four podium finishes in the first five races of the current championship. Data incomparable to those of Schumacher, who after hanging up his helmet in 2006 returned to compete in F1 with the Mercedes in 2010staying there until 2012 and just getting a pole position and a podium throughout this period, also making himself the protagonist of some gross errors. Many have wondered how it was possible that a seven-time world champion was the author of such a bankruptcy second part of his career, as opposed to a ‘coeval’ like Alonso, still far from the finish line from victory but author of convincing performances.
Coulthard’s answer
A question that a former driver like David Coulthardwho explained his point of view in the podcast Formula For Success: “When Alonso retired from Formula 1 the first time – declared the Scotsman – he went straight into sports cars, IndyCar and even did the Dakar, as well as having a track in Spain where he tests karts. Being a racing driver all the time it keeps everything sharp in the mind. If you let the ‘old in’ you end up like that, but if you fight against this you keep a youthful spirit that stays intact as long as nature allows it”.
The ‘stop’ at the base of everything
A post-F1 experience that therefore saw Alonso still in the role of driver, contrary to what Schumacher did, who totally abandoned competitions to play another role such as that of consultant for Ferrari. Only in 2009 was there a serious opportunity to see the German on the track again to replace Felipe Massa, injured in the Hungarian GP of that year, but an accident in a bike test did not allow the Kaiser to get closer to Ferrari: “Michael stopped running and never ran again Coulthard added. he enjoyed riding bikes but then crashed and returned to F1 three years after his retirement. He could still make things right, he was still an incredible driver, but he was no longer as good as he was before his 40s. What made the difference was therefore the uninterrupted activity, as we also saw with Kimi Raikkonen, who went to rallies after F1”.
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