Fernando Alonso says Formula 1 drivers must accept they are role models and act accordingly even when they don’t want to.
The two-times world champion also revealed he did not choose to become a racing driver, claiming it was something his father led him into.
F1’s most experienced driver of all time, who has started 395 races, made the remarks on the day after the Singapore Grand Prix, in which Max Verstappen was drawn into a conflict with the FIA over his use of a swear word during an official press conference.
Speaking at an event for an Aston Martin sponsor in Chennai, India, Alonso said the huge public interest in F1 means drivers must remember to present themselves correctly.
“What the fans bring to the drivers and the sportsmen, I think, is a huge responsibility because you are a role model for many people,” he said. “So you have to behave properly.
“You have to be ready to be a role model when you want to do it, and when you don’t want to do it, you still have to do it. When you want to say something that is not correct you have to hold yourself and be political[ly] correct.”
Alonso said the same discipline extends to how drivers prepare for competitions. “When you are in a day that you don’t want to train, or you don’t want to prepare yourself for the next grand prix, you have to do it. In the days that you are ready to do it okay, when you are not ready to do it, you still have to do it, because you have that responsibility towards your fans and the people that believe [in] you.
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“I meet a lot of fans around the world that are obviously following Formula 1, but they will always say ‘you are my inspiration, you are never giving up, you are a fighter’. These kind of things remind you for yourself that there are a lot of people watching you and how you approach things.
“So [when] you are a driver or you are in the public spotlight you need to behave properly. So I think the fans give you a lot of love, give you a lot of motivation, but also a huge responsibility to do what they expect from you.”
Verstappen said he disagreed with the FIA’s requirement for drivers not to swear in press conferences. Since being told to perform a day of “public work” as a punishment, Verstappen limited his participation in FIA press conference to brief remarks.
Alonso also said he never made a conscious decision to become a racing driver, claiming it came about as a result of his father.
“I didn’t choose to be a driver. It was my father, I have to admit,” he said.
“In my case, I did my first go-kart race at the age of three, which you can imagine, I didn’t choose to do the race. My father was very happy that day, my mother less.
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“Then I think obviously you enjoy what you do, you develop some skills at a young age and then if you do well you have more opportunities. You deliver, you win, you go through categories and then eventually you get to F1.”
He said he considered trying to become a footballer at one stage. “When I was eight, nine, ten years old I remember going on the weekends to race but in the weekdays I was at the school playing football and I was a goalkeeper. And I remember that I was enjoying more playing football than the weekends racing.
“But I could not tell my father. And then in football, there are hundreds, thousands of players. In Formula 1, there are only 20.
“So it was more appealing, more exclusive! But, no, jokes apart, I think I missed a lot of things in life, I’m aware of that.”
Alonso said focusing on kart racing meant he “didn’t have a normal school time, I was missing a lot of time, I was just racing in Italy and different countries. I was doing the exams in the following weeks and I [was] struggling a little bit.
“At the age of 19, I became a Formula 1 driver. The first time I was in a disco, I was 29. So I missed [out on] a lot of things.”
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Now 43, Alonso says he does not intend to put off his personal goals for much longer. “I think I was happy with my life, I’m happy with my life. I still miss things.
“I don’t have kids: Something that I want to have, as a personal goal, in the next years, not too long, hopefully. And there are things that became not as planned when I was 15 or 16, I probably imagined a different life.”
Alonso spent two seasons out of F1 in 2019 and 2020, during which time he won the Le Mans 24 Hours and contested the Indianapolis 500. However he doubts he will return to the latter after F1.
“There is this very appealing thing, which is winning the Monaco Grand Prix in Formula 1 and winning Le Mans in endurance racing and winning the Indy 500 in oval racing, which is called the triple crown of motor racing. I attempted the Indy 500 three times, didn’t succeed. It’s the only one missing.
“But at the moment it’s not in my plan. I’m very, very focused in Formula 1 now for the next two or three years. I want to win the third world title. This is my first and only priority at the moment. And after that, because I will be 45, 46, I think the commitment that it will require to go to Indy 500, the amount of learning that I will have to redo again, it will be a little bit too much. Or it’s what I think now, I cannot say 100% that it will be too much.
“I have, as I said, other goals in life as well. I think my next biggest challenge will be the Dakar rally. If I can win Dakar, I think it will be hugely rewarding for me personally because I can win in Formula 1, I can win in endurance racing, win in Le Mans and Daytona, and if I can win in rally as well, it will mean a lot for me as a driver.”
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