F1 world champion claims 'tiredness' played VITAL role in retirement decision
F1 world champion claims 'tiredness' played VITAL role in retirement decision
Fernando Alonso has revealed he was 'tired of travelling' when he announced his retirement from Formula 1 in 2018.
The two-time world champion is, of course, now back in the sport following a two year sabbatical and is currently enjoying his best season for quite some time.
Sitting in third in the world championship, the Spaniard has achieved six podium finishes from the first 12 races of the season with his new Aston Martin team.
And speaking to the High Performance Podcast, Alonso revealed why he retired in the first place.
"When I stopped in 2018, I was tired of travelling and all of the things around Formula 1 and, as I said, not being able to compete for high things but I didn't have any perception or anything that maybe people thought about the sport or myself in general."
Turbulent last few years at McLaren
In the last four seasons before his retirement in 2018, Alonso returned to the McLaren team to give a shot at trying to return the team to its former glory.
Unfortunately, the car was uncompetitive in the early years of the hybrid era, leaving Alonso disillusioned with the sport and quickly losing interest. He decided to retire at the end of the 2018 season but has said nonetheless that the love he received from fans was exceptional.
"I saw a lot of things [when I stopped], first was the love that the people had towards my career and my job," he added.
"When I stopped, the only thing that I received when I was meeting people or a fan or people at the airport or in the hotels or whatever it was 'you need to come back, you need to come back' this kind of thing.
"So it was a surprise that they loved what we were doing because, for me, the last few years it was like we are nearly anonymous here, nobody is seeing us."
READ MORE: F1 Driver Salaries: How much do Hamilton, Alonso and co earn?
Related
Change your timezone:
Latest News
Will F1 hopeful Antonelli replace Sargeant from Imola?
- 14 minutes ago
F1 News Today: Hamilton dealt major Newey blow as Red Bull chief makes BRUTAL admission
- 1 hour ago
Schumacher reveals how Mercedes could snare Verstappen
- 1 hour ago
Red Bull chief in BRUTAL putdown of key F1 feature
- 2 hours ago
Cullen relationship blossoms with new star after moving on from Hamilton
- 3 hours ago
Hamilton dealt major Newey blow as shock COMPLICATION revealed
- Today 08:58
Related news
Alonso and Taylor Swift rumours reignited by new album lyric
F1 star PENALISED following controversial Chinese GP incident
Alonso hints at F1 retirement date after historic contract
Alonso takes CHEEKY dig at Hamilton after signing F1 contract
F1 Standings
Drivers
- Oliver Bearman
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2024
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Australia 2024
- MSC Cruises Grand Prix of Japan 2024
- Grand Prix of China 2024
- Miami Grand Prix 2024
- Gran Premio dell'Emilia Romagna 2024
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2024
- Grand Prix du Canada 2024
- Gran Premio de España 2024
- Grand Prix of Austria 2024
- Grand Prix of Great Britain 2024
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2024
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2024
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Italy 2024
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2024
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2024
- Grand Prix of the United States 2024
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2024
- Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2024
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2024
- Qatar Grand Prix 2024
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2024
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media
Innovatieweg 20C7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860