Even at 44, long past his career peak and days of clashing with a fastidious former McLaren boss, Alonso is still using every moment in the spotlight to grab any edge he can. It\u2019s a unique brand of raging against the inevitable.<\/p>\n
Now, a mere mortal like myself evoking one of the great poets when discussing a sports star\u2019s twilight years might seem patronizing. But everything Alonso has shown in 25 years at this level \u2014 even skipping FP1 in Hungary and needing extra cockpit padding to make it through his 418th Formula One weekend \u2014 tells me he won\u2019t slink off the stage quietly. He\u2019ll take the hyperbolic approach and sing the sun in flight. So, if you\u2019ll allow it, I\u2019ll do the same.<\/p>\n
Alonso\u2019s excellent Hungarian Grand Prix weekend came a week on from Aston Martin\u2019s drubbing in Belgium. In Budapest, he and teammate Lance Stroll were unlikely qualifying stars. They then converted their high grid spots into solid points. The winner in Hungary, Lando Norris, followed the same\u00a0one-stop strategy<\/a> Alonso and Aston Martin targeted to pull off their best result of 2025: A fifth-place finish.<\/p>\n Aston performed better because Hungary was the first visit to a maximum downforce track since Monaco in May. There, Alonso had been on for sixth but for his engine faltering. Low-speed tracks mean teams don\u2019t have to set up their cars to find an aerodynamic compromise (especially around rear wing sizes) for best performance on long straights or in fast corners.<\/p>\n Spa demands exactly the kind of aerodynamic compromise Hungary didn\u2019t, making it a tougher test for cars such as Aston Martin\u2019s that prefer maximum downforce conditions. As far back as the 2023 season, the car hasn\u2019t been the best in straight-line performance and Alonso has wanted improvements in this regard ever since. But even with this issue negated at the technical Hungaroring, the results \u2014 fifth and seventh \u2014 were still a surprise for Aston.<\/p>\n Alonso said afterwards that he and the team \u201cdon\u2019t know why\u201d they were so good in Hungary, but praised the new front wing that was fully unleashed, as well as other recent updates working exactly as the factory had hoped.<\/p>\n The turnaround leaves Alonso heading into the summer break buoyed, a sharp contrast from Belgium, when he was left fearing a difficult season run-in. The max downforce packages returning immediately at Zandvoort on the break\u2019s far side at the end of this month undoubtedly adds another boost.<\/p>\n \u201cBig change in one week,\u201d he said when The Athletic\u2019s Luke Smith asked if he now had hope heading into the season\u2019s remaining races. \u201cI will not lie, I was worried for the second part of the year.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone in the team was a little bit down in terms of motivation. These seven days, it changed 180 degrees. We are now looking forward to the 10 remaining races.\u201d<\/p>\n Other things had Alonso gushing. Max Verstappen, starting in eighth to Alonso\u2019s fifth, had been his biggest threat going into Sunday\u2019s race. Alonso\u2019s careful tire management and impressive pace meant Red Bull\u2019s undercut attempt to jump Verstappen past both him and Gabriel Bortoleto, who started seventh, backfired. Verstappen was mired in traffic and ended up behind Stroll and Liam Lawson, too.<\/p>\n Alonso relishes the challenge of racing the world\u2019s best drivers. The fifth-place finish will have been all the more satisfying given Verstappen was ninth. Enjoying a perfect 14-0 qualifying record in the intra-Aston battle and basking in the average pure pace gap of 0.336 seconds on Stroll will have Alonso purring. It\u2019s the little things in frail deeds, to return to Dylan Thomas.<\/p>\n The two-time world champion\u2019s weekend sharply contrasted<\/a> with the sport\u2019s other veteran, Lewis Hamilton.<\/p>\n Hamilton was downbeat to the point of despondency<\/a>. He called himself \u201cuseless\u201d after qualifying. When he finished the grand prix in the same place he qualified (12th), he alluded to \u201ca lot going on in the background that is not \u2026 great.\u201d The latter comment was reminiscent of his often gloomy words during his final, listless season at Mercedes in 2024. But the tone is strikingly honest.<\/p>\n Lewis Hamilton, after qualifying only 12th in Hungary, when his Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc scored pole. (Andrea Diodato \/ NurPhoto \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n One style of public self-reflection isn\u2019t necessarily better than another. When asked about his former driver\u2019s comments, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff reminded reporters how this has long been Hamilton\u2019s way. \u201cThat is Lewis wearing his heart on his sleeve,\u201d he told reporters.<\/p>\n Such strong, public self-criticism has come from other drivers, too, (Charles Leclerc and Norris are the best examples of late) and being open in a world where smoke and mirrors are preached ad infinitum is to be welcomed. Hamilton\u2019s words are being scrutinized because they came from F1\u2019s greatest-ever driver \u2014 statistically and culturally.<\/p>\n Yet, the forces driving that candor \u2014 and how Alonso and Hamilton respond \u2014 differ markedly, reflecting the contrasting demeanors of these two long-time rivals.<\/p>\n Alonso taking on Stroll each week is not Hamilton racing rapid teammate Leclerc. And Alonso has desperately chased that elusive third F1 world title for nearly 20 years. It\u2019s his default, at this point, to push on, to blaze forward through difficult years behind the wheel. The last time the Spaniard came close to winning a title was in 2012, when he lost in agonizing circumstances at the last race.<\/p>\n Hamilton is still adjusting to competing further down the grid. It has only been four years since the record eighth title slipped through his fingers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Alonso kept his desire burning by winning in other championships, like the World Endurance Championship and the Rolex 24 at Daytona, and may return to those categories once he finishes in F1.<\/p>\n Hamilton? You sense not. Only the highest of motorsport peaks will do. The toll of toiling to get back to something as impressive as Brazil 2021, one of Hamilton\u2019s greatest performances, cannot be underestimated. There, Hamilton went from last to first against Verstappen\u2019s fiercest defense (and much paddock politicking) to keep the title challenge alive. Losing so infamously<\/a> three rounds later in Abu Dhabi no doubt still stings.<\/p>\n In the print media pen after the Hungarian GP, Hamilton said he was \u201clooking forward to coming back\u201d after the summer break, but cryptically added, \u201cHopefully I\u2019ll be back.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2227512170-scaled.jpg\")
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