Sainz and Ocon on Alonso's soon to be 400th Grand Prix start

At 43 years old and with nearly a quarter-century in the sport since his debut at the 2001 Australian Grand Prix, Alonso remains a formidable presence on the F1 grid but has been winless in the top flight since 2012.

The Spaniard’s former teammate, Esteban Ocon, and fellow countryman Carlos Sainz were asked to weigh in on what has kept Alonso competitive for so long and whether they could envision themselves racing as long as he has.

Ocon, who partnered with Alonso at Renault (now Alpine), expressed deep admiration for his former teammate’s relentless passion for racing: “What an impressive career. Fernando breathes racing, eats racing, wakes up racing. When he has free time, he just goes go-karting. He just wants to drive and race all the time.”

Ocon revealed that Alonso once admitted he “doesn’t know really what else to do” beyond racing, which speaks to his singular focus. “It’s been his life and he just enjoys racing all the time. He has nothing to prove anymore to anyone. He’s one of the best ever, clearly. He’s won in most of the categories that he’s done.”

Despite Alonso’s lengthy career, which includes two Formula 1 World Championships and victories at Le Mans and the World Endurance Championship (WEC) during his two-year hiatus from F1 (2019-2020), Ocon noted that Alonso’s abilities go beyond driving fast.

Ocon recalled: “I really had a lot of learning when I was racing alongside him, on a lot of different topics, inside the track, outside the track, how he raced, how he thinks outside the box. That’s clearly the thing I remember the most — how he’s aware strategy-wise of how things are turning out for him and where he needs to go while he’s racing. That’s not an easy thing to do.”

Ocon was also candid about his own future in the sport, admitting that he did not see himself reaching the same milestone as Alonso: “If I will be doing that many races, to be fair, I don’t think so. I don’t think any drivers anytime soon are going to be reaching that many races ever because he’s still going, and he’s going to be still going for many years, I think. But yeah, what a career.”

Sainz, who shares a personal friendship with Alonso, also reflected on the Spaniard’s remarkable endurance in Formula 1. For Sainz, Alonso’s longevity is “crazy,” especially considering their age difference: “It is crazy to me to think when I was growing up, nine, ten years old, he was already in F1. And now that I’ve turned 30 myself, he’s still in Formula 1.”

Sainz emphasized that Alonso’s continued presence in such a competitive sport speaks volumes about his talent and motivation: “He’s still here because he wants it, and he has so much talent and speed still at his age that he can allow himself to keep choosing what to do with his future and with his life. In a competitive field of 19 other very hungry younger drivers, that says a lot about him.”

For Sainz, who comes from a family of racers — his father, Carlos Sainz Sr., is a rally legend still competing in the Dakar Rally at the age of 61 — Alonso’s mindset is something he understands well. “I have a very good example at home with my dad, still winning Dakars at 61, 62.

"I know what it takes to have someone at home that is still hungry and very motivated about what he does. My dad is a perfect example. So I can see why Fernando has a very similar approach to things because you can tell they are made of racing. They cannot live without racing.”

Sainz illustrated his father’s dedication by describing how he continues to test and race under challenging conditions, despite having nothing left to prove. “My dad wakes up every day thinking about his dampers in the Dakar and his tyres and his team, he calls his engineer every single day.

"And he’s 62. He could be at home chilling, playing golf with me. He still decides to catch three planes to get to Morocco in the middle of the night to test, for 24 hours, a car in the middle of the desert, and staying in not very good hotels — and he still loves it," revealed Sainz junior.

When asked whether he could envision a similarly long career in Formula 1, Sainz acknowledged the increasing demands of the sport, particularly with the expansion of the race calendar: “I think Formula 1 calendars now are very demanding.

"This is going to be a very hot topic for the drivers to decide on their future, especially if you want to have kind of a stable family life when you turn 35, 40, and you start thinking about kids, etc. And this will be the main deciding factor.”

However, Sainz remains open to the possibility of a long career, even if he cannot predict the future: “Whether I’m there or not, I have no clue right now. But I do see myself, after 200 races in 10 years, racing for another 200, another 10 years. This I can say yes. But I don’t know how it will pan out.”

Alonso’s 400th Grand Prix involvement is a milestone few drivers are likely to reach. As Sainz and Ocon’s reflections demonstrate, his longevity is not just a testament to his skill but also to his deep, lifelong passion for the sport.