Eterno Alonso: the feat in Zandvoort that only three legends had achieved before

In a sport where physical demands and reflexes usually lead athletes to retire before the age of 40, Fernando Alonso He continues to demonstrate that the conventional rules of biology do not apply to him. During the event held on the track Zandvoort, Netherlandsthe Asturian put in a superb performance at the wheel of his Aston Martin.

Starting from eighteenth place after a difficult classification, the two-time world champion displayed a master class in tire management, race pace and track defense to cross the finish line in a creditable ninth place, earning two valuable points for his team (3) in total.

However, the true value of that ninth position transcends the current championship table; The Spaniard has marked an unprecedented statistical milestone in the modern era of motorsport.

As he already indicated in his last interview with Mundo Deportivo: “Age is not a problem. “We raced in Qatar, I think it was in 2023, and everyone was half dead in the parc ferme, while I was perfectly fine, doing the interviews in the television area.”.

Furthermore, Alonso indicated that he would only continue driving if he had fun, an aspect in which, for the moment, we can remain calm: “It depends on me, if I want to have more or less fun.”

At just turned 45 years old, Alonso has broken a drought that Formula 1 has been dragging on for more than five decades. To put his achievement in perspective, the last time a driver overcame the 45-year-old barrier and managed to score points in a Grand Prix we must go back to 1974, when the legendary Graham Hill achieved it on the Swedish circuit.

Since the 50s and 60s, a time in which you figure as Juan Manuel Fangio, Graham Hill either Maurice Trintignant They competed and scored points at advanced ages in a radically different sport, no one had managed to maintain such a level of competitiveness over that age barrier in modern F1.

These next ones are the only pilots to achieve points over 45 years old:

In today’s motorsport, characterized by a suffocating calendar of more than 20 races and cars with enormous G-force demands, the performance of the Oviedo driver defies any logic. While other big names of the modern era, such as Michael Schumacherclosed their stage by adding points at around 43 years old, Alonso not only remains on the grid against young talents who could be his children, but he does so by competing for each position to the limit.

With the project of Aston Martin In the midst of technological evolution and an eye on the future, the Spanish driver’s career promises to continue closing the gap with the oldest records in the premier category.