"I don't care what fans think": Fernando Alonso's blunt response to outlandish Sonny Hayes from Brad Pitt starrer comparisons

Fernando Alonso has quashed suggestions that not having a strong car in a decade and being at an advanced age have led to a warped perception of him and fellow older driver Nico Hulkenberg. Alonso started racing in F1 in 2001, and even in 2025, he's considered one of the better drivers in F1.

At the same time, though, there's the other side to this as well, where Fernando Alonso is yet to win a race in more than a decade. The last time the Spaniard stood at the top step of the podium was in 2013, and since then, he's not been able to replicate such results.

The reason for that has primarily been the fact that the driver has found himself in uncompetitive cars since he left Ferrari. Even though his driving standards have continued to be remarkable, F1 is a sport where results are primarily dependent on the car.

The sport has seen its fanbase grow, and with that have come a lot of new fans that have not seen Alonso in better cars putting together stunning drives, and hence the driver does sometimes face a perception among the younger fans of just keeping a seat when there are younger alternatives available.

After the Brad Pitt starrer F1 movie, Fernando Alonso was questioned about how he and maybe a few other elder statesmen, like Nico Hulkenberg, might view themselves as someone akin to the Hollywood star in the movie, as fans may not appreciate the job that they're doing. Alonso, however, has a blunt reply for it, as he claimed that he didn't care about what the fans thought of him. He told media, including Sportskeeda,

"I don’t think Nico or I care too much about what the next-generation fans think. We only try to win races, try to work with our team the best we can, and deliver the performance. The fans and the people outside watching TV, don’t have the full picture of what is going on and the difference in performance between the cars."

He added,

"So, if next year Nico and I have a winning car and we win eight consecutive races and fight for the championship, then they will think that we ate something different in winter or had a different training programme and we learned how to drive in the winter. "

Fans are not the priority, the team is: Fernando Alonso

Pulling back the curtain on the kind of perception some on the outside would have of drivers, Fernando Alonso said that all drivers, be it him or the younger ones, work hard every day, but sometimes the results are just not dependent on what the driver is capable of. On the contrary, it all depends on what the car underneath him can achieve. He said,

"This is not really the reality. We train every day, eat every day, travel every day, go to the simulator every day. We try to be better and better every day with our teams. When we achieve the result, we just try to share it with them and our fans around the world — but they are not our priority."

He added,

"It cannot sound rude to anyone — we love the fans — but we don’t think about of if they realise how good or bad we drive, that is more for the team."

Fernando Alonso is currently racing with Aston Martin as part of a project that has continued to grow and get better. The driver would be hoping to have a strong 2026 and maybe even fight for the title if the opportunity presents itself.