Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso knows that while he doesn’t have any immediate plan to retire from the sport, his days featuring in the pinnacle of motorsport racing are numbered.
The Spaniard has naturally thought about what he will do when he finishes his career in F1 and has now revealed his retirement plan.
He believes this will, in many way, ‘complete him’.
Speaking with GQ Espana, Alonso spoke about what he believes will be the final chapter in his racing career.
“When I retire from Formula 1, I would love to return to Dakar,” he said.
“Trying to win the Dakar Rally is a clear goal in my career.
“It would complete me, make me happy and I think it would leave an almost unprecedented legacy. Winning in Formula 1, Endurance and rallying would complete the perfect circle of a racing driver.”
Alonso has, of course, already featured in the Dakar rally back in 2020, having left F1 briefly following the end of his contract at McLaren in 2019.
While his first race in the championship ended with a P13 finish, he was buoyed by the fact that the winner was Carlos Sainz Sr, father of current F1 driver Carlos Sainz.
While he did make a swift return to F1 with Alpine in 2021, Alonso still harbours ambitions of winning the Dakar rally.
The Aston Martin driver claimed that conquering the Dakar rally is far more important to him than lifting a third world championship in F1, claiming it was ‘one of the priorities of his life’.
Alonso won back-to-back world championships in F1 with Renault in 2005 and 2006.
Now featuring at Aston Martin, Alonso replaced Sebastian Vettel at the team and immediately proved that he is very much still at the peak of his abilities in motorsport.
He has consistently outperformed his teammate Lance Stroll and helped give Aston Martin plenty of reason to be optimistic about the path it is on.
His strong season at Aston Martin has prompted speculation that he could be on the move to another team next season, but as far as Alonso is concerned, these rumours are completely baseless.