Fernando Alonso denies that he is happier today in Formula 1 than he was in the past, insisting such a misconception goes all the way back to his difficult season alongside Lewis Hamilton at McLaren in 2007.
Alonso returned to the fray last year with Alpine after a two-year break from F1 during which the Spaniard indulged in racing opportunities at Le Mans, in the Indy 500 and at the Dakar Rally-raid.
Last year, Alonso spent the early part of his comeback season with Alpine readjusting to life in F1's fast lane.
Although the 40-year-old embraced the new challenge, he disagrees with the assumption that he returned to the grid in 2021 a happier and more relaxed driver than he was in the past.
"I probably disagree with that, because when I joined Ferrari [in 2010], I had exactly the same questions from you guys," Alonso said at the end of last season.
"I remember perfectly, answering questions: ‘Why do you feel so happy now? Is it being in an Italian team and you are Spanish, it’s a better fit and you feel happy?’
"And I said yes, maybe it’s because of that, we have the same sense of humour, we have the same Latin character, so maybe that’s the reason why I’m happy.
"Then I came back to McLaren in 2015, and it was the same comments: ‘Why are you so happy now? Because in Ferrari, you felt a little bit down the last two years and frustrated, and now you seem that even if you are not fighting for the championship and it was the bad seasons of Honda etc, you’re still quite happy off-track, so why that change from Fernando?’
"And then when I was in endurance [racing] or Dakar or Indy: ‘Why are you so much more relaxed now? In Formula 1, you seemed frustrated, etc…’ And now it’s the same comment."
Alonso believes the distorted outside perception of his persona is rooted in his 2007 season with McLaren, when the Spaniard's tenure with the Woking-based outfit was cut short after just a single year.
"I think from 2007 and fighting with Hamilton in a British team, in a British environment, it was the wrong message that people perceived and people spread about me," he said.
"That from 2007, everyone is surprised about how good I feel and how happy I am.
"So I think I didn’t change much. I’m happy today, but I don’t think I was not happy in the last seasons."
However, Alonso did admit that a form of weariness had set in at the end of 2018, in his final season with McLaren, that compelled him to step aside.
"That’s why I stopped Formula 1, because I had other things in my head," Alonso said.
"But I was still enjoying it and I had a fantastic season also in 2018. With Zak [Brown], I remember we planned the Indy 500 in ’17, and then with Stoffel [Vandoorne], we had a fantastic relationship in ’18.
"We had fun, even if I was retiring, [there were] still a lot of things going on. So yeah. I’m a happy person, even if this message doesn’t get to everyone."
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