The FIA President Warns About a Possible Retirement of Alonso From Formula 1

  • The FIA president recommended to Alonso that he should end his F1 career when he achieves success


The president's statements


The president of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), Mohammed ben Sulayem, recommended to the Spanish driver Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) that he should end his F1 career once he achieves success again, "not because he is forced to do so."

Ben Sulayem referred to Alonso at a press breakfast organized by Nueva Economía Forum at a hotel in Madrid on the occasion of the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix, which is being held this weekend in the Spanish capital.



"You should achieve success and then leave, step away at that moment, not because you were forced to do so," advised the UAE executive, who has been at the helm of the FIA since 2021.

He assured that if Alonso, 45 years old and two-time F1 World Champion (2005 and 2006), were to consider retiring due to the poor results with Aston Martin, he would try to convince him not to do so: "Of course. He is an extremely important athlete. We couldn't afford to let Alonso go. A person like him doesn't just leave the stage like that."

"Not just for being a champion, but for his credibility, his intelligence, his personality, how much you leave behind, what you contribute to the sport (...) I will talk to him to change his mind, it wouldn't be acceptable," he added.



Ben Sulayem revealed that he was with the Asturian driver at the Monza Grand Prix (Italy), held last weekend, and that he saw him "very sad" due to the poor performance of his Aston Martin and in the World Championship, where he occupies the nineteenth position overall, out of a total of 23 drivers, with only three points.

I saw him very sad, and I said to him: "Fernando, I understand that it pains you to return to your country as a two-time champion and now you're in this situation. I'm not going to tell you what we're going to do, tell me what you want, because you are the driver. Tell me what we can do to help you with these results. Everything changed, he called me, we met, and we are here to offer support and talk about the passion felt for the sport," he recounted.

The president of the FIA also mentioned that yesterday, Thursday, he met with the head of Aston Martin and that he assured him that changes will be introduced to help the team regain competitiveness.

He didn't want to venture a guess as to who might win next Sunday in Madrid, but he acknowledged that it would be "fantastic" if one of the two Spanish drivers, Alonso or Carlos Sainz (Williams), did.

In Ben Sulayem's opinion, the Grand Prix in the Spanish capital, with its semi-urban circuit and the La Monumental curve, which is 500 meters long and has a 24 percent gradient, "is going to be a benchmark" on the F1 calendar.

"It's a good challenge for the teams and the drivers, who will have to come up with a new strategy, when and how to change, what type of tire," he hinted. EFE


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