Fernando Alonso says he hopes to still be racing in Formula 1 in 2023 but will be the “first one” to admit he’s past his best when he decides to retire.
Alonso made a sensational return to F1 this year with Alpine after a two-year break, with the Spaniard rejuvenated after racing in other series.
Although he initially took a few races to get up to speed, Alonso is now finding his feet, scoring points in six of the last seven races.
He particularly impressed with a stellar opening-lap in the sprint race at Silverstone and his hard-fought defence against Lewis Hamilton at the Hungarian Grand Prix that enabled team-mate Esteban Ocon to claim a shock victory.
Next year’s all-new regulations, poised to create a more competitive field, proved a major factor in Alonso’s comeback, and the double world champion is eyeing helping Alpine take an extra step towards fighting at the front of the grid.
“Well hopefully next year we have a package that we can fight for competitive positions, a step better than this year, that’s the target,” said Alonso, as quoted by Crash.net.
“We had some expectations this year after the podiums of Renault last year that we could fight for three or four podiums in the season, and we didn’t find that probably.
“I think Ferrari did improve a lot, AlphaTauri did improve, McLaren did a step forward with Mercedes engine.
“So, we find ourselves between eighth and 12th, and we want to improve this next year, that will be the target, that will encourage me probably to continue after that.”
Kimi Raikkonen’s announcement on Wednesday that he will retire from F1 at the end of the season will see Alonso take over the mantle as the oldest driver on the grid.
While he concedes he will step away once it becomes clear he’s lost his competitive edge, Alonso sees no reason why he can’t keep racing well into his 40s.
“On my side, I need to keep improving,” Alonso added. “As I said many times, I’m not 100 per cent probably yet, and days like [qualifying in Belgium] shows me I need to improve in some areas.
“Next year, if I see some progress from myself and I keep improving and keep enjoying, why not keep racing?
“If I see I’m not up to speed or not doing a good job I will be the first one to raise my hand and say maybe a new face will be better for the team, but I hope not.
“I hope I can raise the hand and say I’m ready for the challenge in 2023.”
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