Sergio Perez claims he has tremendous ‘respect’ for Fernando Alonso for having the ‘motivation’ to keep racing in his 40s

Since joining Aston Martin, Alonso has been the out-and-out leader of the team!

I have a tremendous amount of respect for Fernando [Alonso]. Not because he can drive until he’s 45 or 50. It's the level of motivation that he has in the sport after so many years. I think drivers can go as long as they want - there is not a physical limitation, I think it's more to do with motivation. Sergio Perez said in an interview with Racingnews365

Looking at the reaction of the former six-time Grand Prix winner, it is quite clear that he is immensely impressed with how well Alonso has been performing, especially considering his age. The latter recently signed a new multi-year deal with Aston Martin as well.

Fernando Alonso feels time away from F1 has helped in ‘recharging his batteries”

As indicated by Sergio Perez, Fernando Alonso has been performing at an extremely high level. However, from the latter’s point of view, he feels the two years after 2018, away from F1, has really helped him in prolonging his F1 career.

Alonso was not on the grid in 2019 and 2020.

In modern sport, it’s very difficult to keep an athlete performing at a high level for 20-plus years. For me, it was important the sabbatical years, in 2019 and 2020, those two years were enough to refresh and recharge my batteries. Fernando Alonso said in an interview with F1

The 2024 F1 season is four rounds and despite not having the best machinery underneath him, Fernando Alonso has constantly been a nuisance for the heavy hitters, especially during qualifying. He has managed to get the best out of the ever-improving AMR24 on most occasions. Moreover, with 19 Grand Prix events still remaining on the calendar, who knows, he might be able to pull off a sensational race win.