Formula 1 Alonso and Sainz: Career planning in the roundabout
Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso is hoping for a good result at the race in Barcelona. Photo
© Jacques Boissinot/The Canadian Press via AP/dpa
Alonso’s career seems endless, Sainz’s career will suffer a setback. About the pitfalls of two Spaniards making the right career decisions in Formula 1.
Fernando Alonso greets Formula 1 fans at the international airport in Barcelona. The two-time world champion from Spain shows this special advertising smile on video walls, which is brimming with confidence and almost seems to flow into complacency. The second Spanish driver in the field, Carlos Sainz, used the time before the home game at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for family. He was photographed for the photo album at home, looking proudly into the camera with his two sisters Ana and Blanca and his youngest nephew.
Alonso and Sainz will also be chasing snapshots for the yearbooks at the tenth Grand Prix of the season on Sunday (3 p.m./Sky). The Spanish fans would love to celebrate a home victory for one of their drivers. Alonso (42), who now drives for Aston Martin, last managed this in 2013. It was also his last Formula 1 victory to date. Sainz (29), who will have to make way for Lewis Hamilton at Ferrari after this season, wants to make this little dream come true. If not now, then when?
Sainz will suffer a career setback
“This will be my 21st Spanish Grand Prix and I will be just as proud as I was at my first home race when I step out on the track,” said Alonso, who has committed to Aston Martin until the end of 2026. But chances of victory? “I don’t think I’ll be able to fight for anything big,” the veteran admitted on Thursday.
Alonso’s career seems to be going on forever, while Sainz’s career will suffer a setback. Since the Scuderia is hoping that Mercedes driver Hamilton will give them the decisive boost in the title fight from 2025, the Madrilenian will have to vacate his cockpit. His options? Mixed. Sainz will not find a place with a top team. Instead of fighting for race wins, he will have to concentrate on building up his team.
Williams? Audi? Sainz would be far from victories
Williams, second to last in the constructors’ championship, would like to have Sainz alongside Alex Albon. Team boss James Vowles is currently turning the racing team around and wants to get it back to where it once was under team founder Frank Williams: at the top.
But who doesn’t want to go there? Audi also wants to get to the top, of course. The German car manufacturer is taking over Sauber, has signed Nico Hülkenberg as a driver from 2025 and will compete in Formula 1 as a works team from 2026. Sauber, last in the constructors’ championship, also wants Sainz. The team does have promising resources, but the path to the top – if it works at all – usually takes at least three years. That’s a lot of time for a driver like Sainz in what is probably his best years.
Sainz has set himself “no deadlines”
“At such an important stage in my career, I want to have all options on the table. I want to make the right decision and think about it carefully because I’m turning 30 this year. The next project is a project that I really want to get going,” Sainz said recently. At the drivers’ press conference, he announced that a decision would be made “very soon.” “I don’t want to wait any longer,” said Sainz, who does not yet know which direction he is going in. “I haven’t sat down and made a decision yet, I’ll do that in the next few weeks.”
If Sainz wants to find out about wrong career turns, he only needs to contact his compatriot Alonso. An exceptional driver, who has always managed to put obstacles in his own way. Alonso, a two-time world champion, moved to McLaren for the 2007 season. He fell out with his team rival Hamilton and passed inside information to the International Automobile Federation (FIA) in an espionage scandal. McLaren was fined $100 million for possessing secret Ferrari data, and the informant fled to Renault.
Alonso and the “Crystal Ball”
Alonso’s return to McLaren in 2015 was also a bad decision, and there was a lot of frustration on both sides. “I’ve driven for Renault, McLaren-Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren-Honda. How many drivers wouldn’t choose a career like that?” Alonso once remarked. “I could have signed with Red Bull when it was still primarily an energy drink. But nobody has a crystal ball.”
Alonso could probably have gotten more out of his career. But he can console himself with two world championship titles and 32 Grand Prix victories. And Sainz? He has won three Grand Prix in his career so far. The world championship title will probably remain a dream.
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