Fernando Alonso says his toned-down attitude at Alpine wouldn’t be the case at the leading Formula 1 team.
The double world champion has been a much calmer character upon his return, doing most of his talking on the track and being much more of a team player than certainly appeared the case during his first stint on the grid.
His performances have also gradually been reaching the level F1 has come to expect, with his racecraft at Silverstone and Hungaroring earning his plaudits from everyone.
And Alonso admits he has enjoyed being back where he belongs.
“In terms of happiness or how I feel coming back, it’s better than I expected – honestly,” he said via The Race.
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“I’m enjoying every weekend so much, enjoying driving so much and even on the weekends that we don’t have racing, I miss the Grand Prix.
“There are two factors that are playing a big role in this,” he added.
“First, the two years out of the sport was needed for me. After 18 seasons in Formula 1 non-stop, full dedication, it was too demanding at one point and I had in my head the challenges with Le Mans, with Daytona, with the World Endurance Championship possibility, etc.
“I had to do those and tick those boxes to be happy and to be free. I felt that I was losing time in F1 in some of the last seasons before 2018. So once those challenges were completed, now I’m clear to enjoy every weekend here.
“And the second is the team. I think the team is amazing. You know what atmosphere we have now, what motivation we have in the team in Enstone, in Viry, the hard work that everyone is putting in, how we approach every weekend, how we approach the little successes that we have some weekends and how we approach the bad moments in some of the weekends.
“We are all united in the same direction and this feels very good every week.”
But while Alonso is very happy, mostly, he has returned to F1 in the same midfield he was in with McLaren at the end of his first career.
As a result, does that mean he now finds not fighting for wins easier?
“It’s a good question,” he told SoyMotor.com.
“I’ve asked myself that, but I think no, I still can’t take it. What happens is that at this moment I am not in a position to finish second or in a position to fight.
“If I were in a Mercedes or Red Bull and the one winning was the other team, I would be a volcano. But if you are not in that position, you’ve got different goals in mind, more realistic goals for each weekend.”
But looking forward, Alonso is hopeful the overhaul coming to F1 can provide an opportunity to fight for wins and more.
“I wouldn’t have come back to F1 without the new rules for 2022,” he told Marca. “I would like to say I can be champion again but I don’t know.
“The big teams have the oven ready and the rest of us have a lot to do and test. For next year, all the teams have the dream of catching up with the leaders.”