Two-time Formula One champion Fernando Alonso is back, and the headlines that F1 fans associate with the outspoken Alonso lining up on the grid have also made a swift return.
When it comes to self-belief and self-promotion, Alonso is top of the league, and the new Alpine driver has marked his imminent return to the elite sport with some choice words regarding his fellow drivers and his new team's chances of winning.
In an interview with the BBC, 39-year-old Alonso said: “It’s going to be great, I’m looking forward [to it]; there were some young talented guys who have been showing great performance in the younger categories, and then we still have the champions, that were here two years ago with Lewis, Sebastian, Kimi.
“Verstappen – even if he is one of the young ones and the younger generation – he is racing at the top level for already four or five years. We have a competitive grid and it’s going to be a challenge to beat everyone on track.”
When Alonso was quizzed whether he is as good as those drivers – three of them World Champions – despite a spell away from F1, Alonso deadpanned: “No, I’m better”.
Alonso's pedigree has never been in doubt, boasting 32 wins, 22 poles and 97 podiums in the 300 Grand Prixs he has raced in for teams such as Renault, McLaren, Ferrari and Minardi between 2001 and 2018.
Spaniard Alonso will be driving alongside Esteban Ocon in the Alpine team – formerly known as Renault – but isn't under any illusion as to where the team stands in terms of chances of wins this season.
“I’m back in Formula 1 with the aim of doing well obviously, and the aim of having the chance to win races, hoping to fight for championships,” he said.
“We understand that this year it’s not going to be possible because the regulations are a little bit different but basically the same as previous years, so I don’t see any miracles happening there.
“But in 2022 there’s a chance with the new regulations mixing a little bit the order of the grid and we want to be one of those teams that surprises everybody and to do that we need to work hard this year,” Alonso added.
Alpine, like many of Formula One's midfield teams, have one eye on the 2022 season when regulations drastically change and grid hierarchy gets thrown in the air, as decreasing constructor budget caps and new aerodynamic rules amongst other changes take hold.
Alonso's return to F1 was thrown into doubt back in February when the driver was involved in a cycling accident whilst near his home in Switzerland that left him needing two titanium plates attaching to his jaw.
“I was lucky at the end,” Alonso reflected.
“It will not be compromised, at all, my season, and as I said, I feel lucky,” he concluded defiantly.
The 2021 Formula One season begins this weekend in Bahrain.
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Keyword: "I'm better" than the rest of the grid says Fernando Alonso ahead of F1 return