Rachel Brookes shares what Fernando Alonso’s rivals were privately ‘thinking’ when asked about 400th race

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Fernando Alonso will take part in his 400th Formula 1 race at the Mexico City Grand Prix weekend. While it won’t officially be his 400th race start, it’s still a major milestone.

Alonso has only made it to the starting grid 396 times, so some would argue Aston Martin should have waited until Qatar to celebrate. He missed Thursday’s media day through illness but was fit to take part in FP2.

The Spaniard has made more appearances than any driver in the history of Formula 1, nearly 50 clear of second place Kimi Raikkonen. Lewis Hamilton will pass Raikkonen for second before the season is out.

Alonso made his F1 debut at the 2001 Australian GP with Minardi. For context, Jean Alesi – a driver whose career began in the 1980s – was still on the grid at that point.

He missed the 2002 season, instead filling a reserve role for Renault. The French manufacturer handed him a full-time seat the following year, and he delivered back-to-back world championships for them in 2005 and 2006.

Alonso retired in 2018 but many suspected that he could return and he did so in 2021 with Alpine. He’s taken part in well over a third of all Formula 1 races, a testament to his remarkable longevity.

Rachel Brookes noticed a daunted look in F1 drivers’ eyes as they discussed Fernando Alonso

Alonso’s F1 rivals were asked about his unprecedented achievement on Thursday. And Rachel Brookes noticed a particular look in their eyes as they discussed it.

The Sky Sports F1 journalist said they couldn’t comprehend how he’d clocked up so much mileage. 13 of the other 19 drivers haven’t EVEN reached 200 races yet.

The search for a third world title has become the defining story of Alonso’s career. But he’s already won 32 races and amassed 106 podiums.

“His 400th race weekend that he will be taking part in,” Brookes said in commentary during FP1. “That is some figure. A lot of the drivers were asked about it yesterday. You could see in their eyes they were thinking ‘I’m not even at 200 yet! I’ve got to do double that! My career’s got to be how long to match him?'”

Fernando Alonso names the ‘most demanding’ race of his Formula 1 career

Alonso will have the chance to work with Adrian Newey at Aston Martin from 2025. Having signed a new multi-year deal, he will have one final shot at becoming a triple champion with the aid of the legendary designer.

It emerged in an interview this week that Alonso could have joined Red Bull, and worked with Newey. But he had reservations at the time because they had yet to achieve success.

Alonso hasn’t shown signs of decline even at the age of 43. There’s no doubt that he’s still an elite-level athlete.

However, Alonso admitted Qatar 2023 was the ‘most demanding’ race of his career. It may become increasingly difficult to deal with extreme humidity in particular races.