Fernando Alonso Feels He Should've Left F1 After Exit From Ferrari To Pursue Dakar

Fernando Alonso has never been one to mince words and this time around he has come out and admitted that his ill-fated move to McLaren at the start of the 2015 season had been wrong. He revealed that he should've left F1 at the time as there were no other competitive seats available and he should've focused on things like the Dakar rally in which he took part before returning to F1 in 2021 with Alpine. 

"Perhaps there is one - that I left too late. I should have left Formula 1 earlier. It's easy to say now, but I shouldn't have waited until 2018. I should have left in 2015 or 2016, two years earlier, to try Dakar and endurance. I already had it in mind in 2015 but it took a while to mature. Maybe too long," he was quoted saying. 

Alonso's strong performances have earned him a 1 year extension at Alpine 

Alonso did leave F1 at the end of the 2018 season when the McLaren proved again to be uncompetitive despite having a new Renault engine which exposed the aerodynamic frailties of its car. Since 2019, McLaren has indeed seen massive improvements with in 2020 the team coming P3 in the world constructor's championship, and in 2021 it won its first race in 9 years with Daniel Ricciardo winning the race at Monza. 

Alonso while he was away from F1 managed to win the Le Mans race twice and came P5 in the Dakar rally while also managing to take part in the Indy 500 something he still strives of winning. After taking a few races to adapt to the 2021 cars, the 40-year-old Spaniard has proven he hasn't lost his Midas touch and is proving again to be one of the best drivers on the grid. 

Alonso won the 2005 and 2006 world championships with Renault, having dethroned Michael Schumacher, and has never been outscored by a teammate in his career, including Lewis Hamilton whom he was paired up with in 2007 in his first, controversial yet short stint at McLaren.