F1, veteran Fernando Alonso publicly thanks Marc Gené

At the Monaco GP, thanks in part to the many penalties that burdened other drivers, he won his first point in the World Championship, the first, ever, for Aston Martin. It was supposed to be the season of return to great levels but, for now, it is not. Meanwhile, comes the Barcelona GP, an appointment the 44-year-old Spaniard particularly cares about.

“I am very proud. I feel a great responsibility knowing that a whole country follows me almost more than the sport itself. I know that many people’s happiness depends on my results. It’s like in soccer: you love the sport, but above all you care about your team’s results,” Fernando Alonso’s words reported by Marca.

Looking back, the two-time World Champion has good thoughts for Marc Gené and Pedro de la Rosa: “Seeing, as a young man, Pedro and Marc in F1 helped me a lot. F1 seemed to me to be a sport for the elite and I felt excluded. So when I was racing in the youth categories and I saw Pedro and Marc in F1, drivers I knew, I thought the sport was a little more accessible and a little more ‘friendly’ for everyone, not just from the elite. Seeing them in F1 helped me believe I could get there, too.”

And he got there. Now, at 44, he dreams of being able to duel for the top again. This year’s single-seater is not the one he hoped for, but Fernando Alonso is one who never gives up, and he won’t even do that in Barcelona, at his home GP.