It is a testament to the force he continues to be that rivals are out to stop Fernando Alonso before he’s even returned to F1.
At least two teams have complained he should not be allowed to take part in next week’s end of season test here in Abu Dhabi created originally to blood young drivers.
They have a point. Charismatic Alonso is many things but at 39 young is certainly not one of them. And he’s hardly wet behind the ears as the grizzled and battle-hardened veteran of 311 grands prix and 32 victories prepares for his return in 2021 looking for title No 3.
But the governing body, pushed no doubt by the sport’s owners Liberty, have created an exception for one of the biggest names in F1. Twenty years after his debut, Alonso continues to be box office. And big box office at that.
Racing Point are fuming; Daniel Ricciardo joked the Spaniard looked young for his age. McLaren’s Lando Norris (21) rubbished the decision and Ferrari are now bidding to squeeze new signing Carlos Sainz through the same loophole.
Alonso renews the partnership with Renault that made him a champion in 2005 and 2006 but some critics believe the veteran is now past his best and only returning for another monumental pay day.
But Renault’s Executive Director Marcin Budkowski is confident that is not the case. He said Alonso demanded wind tunnel development of the 2022 car begin on New Year’s Day and would fly from Spain to the UK to attend in person. “So this is the level of motivation of Fernando at the moment,” Budkowski said.
As a racer Alonso is the personification of relentless, ruthless competitiveness and famed as much for his race craft as his race craftiness. But it has not been matched by career moves in a sport in which being in the right team at the right time counts double.
Instead, misfortune has usually dogged his choices of team while his passion to become a winner again has made him a lightning rod for controversy almost his entire career.
The Asurian has been at the heart of the two biggest controversies of the last 50 years. Spygate saw McLaren fined a record $100 million and the Crashgate race-fixing saga ended in his advisor Flavio Briatore banned from the sport. Alonso was exonerated of involvement in that unsavoury episode.
And his internecine rivalry with Lewis Hamilton at McLaren is the stuff of legend, ultimately costing both of them the world championship in 2007.
Furious at not being given priority over his rookie teammate, Alonso walked out on a car that would make Hamilton champion a year later.
He reportedly also turned down the Red Bull seat that Sebastian Vettel drove to four successive championships from 2010.
Then reputedly on a mouth-watering $45m salary, he won just 11 times in five fractious years at Ferrari
Despite his acrimonious departure in 2007 he was lured back when McLaren reunited with the legendary Honda engine so dominant for Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. But you know what they say about going back?
The McLaren years were entertaining but largely disastrous, and disillusioned at being unable to get a competitive drive in a formula which has lost its way, he quit. It was a savage condemnation of the sport that one of its most talented and passionate sons had to look elsewhere for satisfaction.
But he still became champion again, though not in F1. He won Le Mans twice, the world endurance championship, and the Daytona 24hrs race in America but missed out at Indianapolis and the Paris-Dakar.
So what to expect of Alonso’s F1 return? Most would agree two titles are scant reward for his extravagant talent and the signs are the time away has only sharpened his appetite to go again.
The French car giant are rebranding the new F1 push after their exclusive road car sporting line Alpine, which smacks of a commercial commitment they cannot afford to see fail. Three private tests already suggest neither side is around to make up the numbers.
The big question mark is not Renault’s commitment but their expertise. The car giant is one of the few with the resources to take on champions Mercedes but in such a complex, high tech formula, money isn’t always the entire answer
Renault have been a growing force in 2020 without tearing up trees, culminating in their best team result of the season last Sunday in Bahrain with Esteban Ocon’s second and Daniel Ricciardo fifth.
And those who believe 2021 is only a casual preparation for a full-blooded assault on the sport’s new era which starts a year later don’t know Fernando Alonso very well.
RoboCop%3A%20Rogue%20City
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WORLD CUP SQUAD
Dimuth Karunaratne (Captain), Angelo Mathews, Avishka Fernando, Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Mendis (wk), Kusal Perera (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Thisara Perera, Isuru Udana, Jeffrey Vandersay, Jeevan Mendis, Milinda Siriwardana, Lasith Malinga, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
England 2
Cahill (3'), Kane (39')
Nigeria 1
Iwobi (47')
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more from Janine di Giovanni
EPL's youngest
- Ethan Nwaneri (Arsenal)
15 years, 181 days old
- Max Dowman (Arsenal)
15 years, 235 days old
- Jeremy Monga (Leicester)
15 years, 271 days old
- Harvey Elliott (Fulham)
16 years, 30 days old
- Matthew Briggs (Fulham)
16 years, 68 days old
MATCH INFO
Burnley 1 (Brady 89')
Manchester City 4 (Jesus 24', 50', Rodri 68', Mahrez 87')
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Saturday
West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur (3.30pm)
Burnley v Huddersfield Town (7pm)
Everton v Bournemouth (7pm)
Manchester City v Crystal Palace (7pm)
Southampton v Manchester United (7pm)
Stoke City v Chelsea (7pm)
Swansea City v Watford (7pm)
Leicester City v Liverpool (8.30pm)
Sunday
Brighton and Hove Albion v Newcastle United (7pm)
Monday
Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion (11pm)
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Coal Black Mornings
Brett Anderson
Little Brown Book Group
The specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed PDK
Power: 630bhp
Torque: 820Nm
Price: Dh683,200
On sale: now
The Old Slave and the Mastiff
Patrick Chamoiseau
Translated from the French and Creole by Linda Coverdale
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
The Specs
Price, base Dh379,000
Engine 2.9-litre, twin-turbo V6
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 503bhp
Torque 443Nm
On sale now
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – UAE won by 36 runs
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:
Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE
Game is on BeIN Sports
QUALIFYING RESULTS
1. Max Verstappen, Netherlands, Red Bull Racing Honda, 1 minute, 35.246 seconds.
2. Valtteri Bottas, Finland, Mercedes, 1:35.271.
3. Lewis Hamilton, Great Britain, Mercedes, 1:35.332.
4. Lando Norris, Great Britain, McLaren Renault, 1:35.497.
5. Alexander Albon, Thailand, Red Bull Racing Honda, 1:35.571.
6. Carlos Sainz Jr, Spain, McLaren Renault, 1:35.815.
7. Daniil Kvyat, Russia, Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda, 1:35.963.
8. Lance Stroll, Canada, Racing Point BWT Mercedes, 1:36.046.
9. Charles Leclerc, Monaco, Ferrari, 1:36.065.
10. Pierre Gasly, France, Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda, 1:36.242.
Eliminated after second session
11. Esteban Ocon, France, Renault, 1:36.359.
12. Daniel Ricciardo, Australia, Renault, 1:36.406.
13. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Ferrari, 1:36.631.
14. Antonio Giovinazzi, Italy, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:38.248.
Eliminated after first session
15. Antonio Giovinazzi, Italy, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:37.075.
16. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:37.555.
17. Kevin Magnussen, Denmark, Haas Ferrari, 1:37.863.
18. George Russell, Great Britain, Williams Mercedes, 1:38.045.
19. Pietro Fittipaldi, Brazil, Haas Ferrari, 1:38.173.
20. Nicholas Latifi, Canada, Williams Mercedes, 1:38.443.
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Spain drain
CONVICTED
Lionel Messi Found guilty in 2016 of of using companies in Belize, Britain, Switzerland and Uruguay to avoid paying €4.1m in taxes on income earned from image rights. Sentenced to 21 months in jail and fined more than €2m. But prison sentence has since been replaced by another fine of €252,000.
Javier Mascherano Accepted one-year suspended sentence in January 2016 for tax fraud after found guilty of failing to pay €1.5m in taxes for 2011 and 2012. Unlike Messi he avoided trial by admitting to tax evasion.
Angel di Maria Argentina and Paris Saint-Germain star Angel di Maria was fined and given a 16-month prison sentence for tax fraud during his time at Real Madrid. But he is unlikely to go to prison as is normal in Spain for first offences for non-violent crimes carrying sentence of less than two years.
SUSPECTED
Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid's star striker, accused of evading €14.7m in taxes, appears in court on Monday. Portuguese star faces four charges of fraud through offshore companies.
Jose Mourinho Manchester United manager accused of evading €3.3m in tax in 2011 and 2012, during time in charge at Real Madrid. But Gestifute, which represents him, says he has already settled matter with Spanish tax authorities.
Samuel Eto'o In November 2016, Spanish prosecutors sought jail sentence of 10 years and fines totalling €18m for Cameroonian, accused of failing to pay €3.9m in taxes during time at Barcelona from 2004 to 2009.
Radamel Falcao Colombian striker Falcao suspected of failing to correctly declare €7.4m of income earned from image rights between 2012 and 2013 while at Atletico Madrid. He has since paid €8.2m to Spanish tax authorities, a sum that includes interest on the original amount.
Jorge Mendes Portuguese super-agent put under official investigation last month by Spanish court investigating alleged tax evasion by Falcao, a client of his. He defended himself, telling closed-door hearing he "never" advised players in tax matters.
