Fernando Alonso: In the art of patience, I am number one.

      When Fernando Alonso returned to Formula 1 after a two-year break, during which he raced in endurance events and even participated in the Dakar rally, he managed to achieve previous results. In 2021 and 2022, he finished 10th and 9th respectively in the Alpine team and, of course, wanted to move to a more competitive team with which he could once again fight for podiums and victories. Of all the possible options, Alonso chose Aston Martin, and in 2023 it even seemed that he had made the right choice: that year he stood on the podium 8 times and finished the season in 4th place in the personal standings.

      But then there was another decline in results, and all the hopes of the team and its leader were pinned on 2026, when Formula 1 would transition to new generation technology, and the AMR26 car was being developed under the guidance of Adrian Newey.

      However, the start of the season turned into a nightmare for Aston Martin, the signs of which became clearly visible during the winter tests in Bahrain. Of course, since then the Silverstone team and Honda engineers have been doing everything possible to find solutions to the problems, and there is some hope that sooner or later they will achieve improvements. Especially since Fernando's patience is not lacking, as he has seen literally everything in Formula 1 over his long career.

      "I think I'm number one in the art of patience," the two-time world champion ironically admitted in an interview with Sky Sports. "There are drivers who explode with anger if their cars don't allow them to finish in the top five. But I've been racing in Formula 1 for 23 years and fought for titles in cars that didn't even allow me to contend for 4th places. And the fact that I became a father doesn't change anything for me.

      Now we know exactly what level we are at, we know that we are far behind. There are no miracles in Formula 1, and it takes months before any changes for the better occur.

      The McLaren team made a strong impression on all of us in 2023, starting the season very poorly but achieving great success closer to its end. We dream of something similar. We also started the year very badly, but maybe closer to its conclusion we will have a slightly more competitive car."