According to Fernando Alonso, his sabbatical away from Formula 1, and the fact that he has raced in several other racing series, has made him realize that F1 is a very selfish and fake world. At the same time, he now realizes much better how you as an F1 driver can give something back to the fans with a small gesture.
“I’ve seen Formula 1, which is very different in motorsport from other categories,” Alonso told the High Performance Podcast. “It’s much more selfish, in a way it’s much more glamorous but in another way it’s also much more fake at the same time. I found Le Mans, IndyCar or Dakar much more pure motorsport.”
From his seat, away from Formula 1, Fernando Alonso looked at Formula 1 as a sport in a different way. He also realized how as a driver you can do something big for your fans through a few small gestures.
“Formula 1 has a lot more appeal, people want to attend the races, they want to watch them on TV. I also watched the F1 races on TV, I appreciated a little bit more the things I didn’t like as a driver,” said Alonso. “The national anthem, the parade lap around the track, the media and TV cameras getting a little more access. When you’re a driver you hate those moments.”
“However, when you are at home, you miss those moments. When one or two drivers smile a bit more or are a bit more accessible, you appreciate that at home.”
“When I came back to the sport I think I was a little more relaxed about those things. I took a bit more time with the fans and TV, things like this because I understand more the importance of it and that was only because I was not part of F1 myself for two years.”