Fernando Alonso has iterated that Alpine will hold “a special place” in his heart as he prepares for his final race for the French constructor.
Having previously won two world titles with the team when known as Renault in 2005 & 06, Alonso returned to the constructor under their current Alpine brand name in 2021 after a two-season sabbatical and achieved a third-placed podium finish at 2021 Qatar Grand Prix.
Alonso though has endured tougher results this season and in August, he announced a move to Aston Martin for next season, where he will replace Sebastian Vettel who is retiring after the season finale in Abu Dhabi this weekend.
The 41 year-old Spaniard though has admitted that he will hold “very fond memories” of his time with Alpine, alongside those made during his time with the team when racing under the Renault name during 2003-06 & 2008-09 seasons which “will always have a special place in my heart.”
Reflecting on his progress over the last two seasons, Alonso commented: “When I returned to Formula 1 for the start of the 2021 season, the team welcomed me and made me feel immediately comfortable. Since then, we’ve gone on to achieve some strong results.
“The podium in Qatar was a personal highlight for me and something we achieved on merit that weekend.”
Alonso’s podium in Qatar remains his last podium-to-date and the Spaniard consequently feels that it will always be “a special memory” for him, having achieved it on “genuine pace” alone.
Alonso also praised Alpine for their progress this year under new regulations, as he added: “We all faced a totally new set of regulations for 2022 and the team has done well to get on top of these changes and there has been progress compared to last year.”
On what he wants to achieve in his final race for Alpine in Abu Dhabi this weekend, Alonso concluded: “Hopefully we can have another good memory this weekend in Abu Dhabi and end the season on a high!”
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