Hakkinen sees Alonso being an F1 winner this year

Mika Hakkinen believes Fernando Alonso will be a Formula 1 winner again – perhaps even this year.

Alonso, at the age of 40, is gearing up for his second season back in the sport after a two-year break, having achieved a podium finish in the Alpine at the Qatar Grand Prix in November.

However, what the Spaniard really wants is victories, and he hopes the much-changed regulations for this season offer him a strong chance of further success – 16 years after achieving the second of his back-to-back World Championship triumphs.

There was certainly no question about Alonso’s level of driving last year for he looked as though he had never been away and Hakkinen, a fellow double former World Champion, thinks more glory days are ahead for a man he briefly raced against at opposite ends of their careers.

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“I’m still very impressed with Fernando,” said Häkkinen, quoted by Motorsport.com. “We know his motivation, his fitness, his love of motorsport and I can see him winning.

“He is not in Formula 1 just to be in it, he wants to win and I am very confident. I see him winning in Formula 1 sooner or later.

“And the team he is in now, I’m sure that with the resources and the means