Admiration for Alonso's performance: 'Impressive for an old man'

It has been said many times: Fernando Alonso is in the form of his life. With the strong Aston Martin, the Spaniard is Red Bull Racing's main challenger, although the 41-year-old has not (yet) managed to win a Grand Prix this season. Either way, there is much praise for the routinier's performance, not least from F1 drivers.

Lance Stroll has never made a secret of having been a fan of Alonso, who is now his teammate, from a young age. He told, at the press conference where GPblog was also present: "Yes, pretty impressive for an old guy, that's for sure. No, I mean he's been doing very well. The results speak for themselves. He's on top of his game and he's enjoying driving the car. He's physically fit, mentally in a great place. I mean it goes to show if you look after yourself, you can go for a long time, that's for sure."

'Alonso is unique'

Whether Lando Norris will continue in Formula 1 for as long as Alonso, is written in the stars. "I hope so," said the McLaren driver. "It's tough to know now. He's almost double my age. It's like another whole life for me just in Formula One, which is a long time. I want to believe it. I guess I'm not looking that far ahead in my career. But he's unique. I think he's showing that himself. So good inspiration for anyone who wants to believe in that. So ask me again in 20 years and we'll see."

Carlos Sainz' thinks is Alonso's strength is his mentality. "Whatever motivates you in life, whatever makes you happy in life, if you do it with the power and you fully invest everything into it  like he's doing, you can be successful at an age that I believe is still reasonable. Yeah, I have a very good example also at home with my dad, 61 years old and going in that [Dakar] car every year, risking his life. You can just tell he just loves it. He wants it. He puts all the effort, time and passion into it. If that's the thing you like, normally the age comes into a second plane. It's just all about how much you want it. Of course, if you have the reflexes and the talent left, that takes care of itself," the Spaniard said.

'Still hungry'

Nyck de Vries is a debutant in Formula 1 this season, but he has raced against Alonso before. "I've watched Fernando also in endurance racing, and it's just very impressive to see that after all those years, how much hunger he still has to continue to push and to be here and to be competitive. And it almost seems like his hunger hasn't decreased whatsoever. So that's really impressive. And it tells something about his character and personality, which is admirable."