Fernando Alonso: I’m in the best shape I have ever been

Spaniard Fernando Alonso ahead of his demonstration laps prior to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last December. Pic/AFP

Fernando Alonso said on Tuesday he was in the best shape of his career as he prepares to end his two-year Formula One exile with the repackaged Alpine team. The double world champion had surgery on his broken jaw after he was involved in a cycling accident in Switzerland last month.

But he said he was in the "best shape I've ever been before, both physically and mentally," following the virtual Alpine 2021 car launch in Britain.

The Alpine team, which was Renault - and will still race with a Renault engine - finished fifth in the constructors' championship last season with Daniel Riccardo, who has been replaced by Alonso, coming fifth in the drivers' championship. "I've been preparing myself for this comeback for quite a while now and I have fresh motivation," said Alonso, who was world champion in 2005 and 2006 with Renault.

Alonso will team up with Frenchman Esteban Ocon, with former Red Bull and AlphaTauri driver Daniil Kvyat announced as the team's reserve driver. Alonso, 39, left F1 in 2018 to set his sights on becoming only the second driver after Britain's Graham Hill to complete the so-called Triple Crown by winning the Monaco Grand Prix, Le Mans 24 Hours and Indy 500. He tasted success in the famous sportscar endurance race in 2018 and 2019 but has not been able to crack the Indy 500.

However, Alonso, whose last drive in F1 was for McLaren in 2018, said he had become a more complete driver in his time away. "Without a doubt, I'm a more competent driver now than two years ago. You constantly learn when you push yourself to new limits and when you are out of your comfort zone," he said. Ocon finished 12th in the drivers' standings in 2020 but enjoyed his first podium at the Sakhir Grand Prix in Bahrain, where he finished second.

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