Alonso: Winning third F1 title “not the highest priority”, eyes Dakar return

Alonso has enjoyed his best season in a decade with Aston Martin in F1 2023, finishing on the podium six times.

Despite Aston Martin’s recent slump, he sits third in the drivers’ championship, just ahead of former teammate Lewis Hamilton.

Since returning to F1 in 2021, Alonso has often spoken about his desire to win a third title.

He narrowly missed out in 2007, 2010 and 2012, but he’s not gotten close since due to many years in uncompetitive machinery.

With time no longer on his side, given his age, Alonso’s only priority isn’t championship glory.

“I would love to win the championship once again but it’s not the highest priority,” he told the High Performance Podcast. 

“I am enjoying the process, especially now with Aston Martin, to become a contender for the future. I’m loving the time with the team how we are all growing up in many different areas.

“I am 99% sure I will try the Dakar again, and it’s not that the third world title is less of a priority – it is a priority – but winning Dakar one day is a high priority for me as well.

“I will maybe have to attempt that race eight, ten years until maybe one day I get lucky and fight for the win. But if I win in F1, endurance racing and Dakar, that will feel for me something special as a driver and as a person. So those kind of challenges are in my head at the moment.”