Formula 1 has a new obsession: chess. After Verstappen, Mick Shcumaher, Nico Rosberh, Oscar Piastri, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, now Fernando Alonso joins the F1 pilots chess fans club. Over a game of chess, Fernando Alonso talks about his future, preparing for one of the biggest regulation changes in his career, working with Adrian Newey, and how the legendary designer always seems to be one move ahead.
The interview titled “Fernando Alonso on why Aston Martin Aramco has all the pieces it needs to win in F1’s new era” reveals that Fernando Alonso does not actually play chess, rather the chess board is used as a metaphor and as a part of a fashion trend relating F1 to the strategical thinking in chess.
“You’d be forgiven for thinking that a multi-discipline World Champion and man of many talents with a razor-sharp strategic brain would be a whizz at the centuries-old board game, but when asked, tongue-in-cheek, whether ‘chess grandmaster’ was on his long list of accolades, he chortled, “Not at all. I don’t play chess.”” The article continues, “No matter, the real reason for the chessboard is that it’s a metaphor for where Aston Martin Aramco stands as the team approaches 2026 and one of the biggest regulation changes in the history of Formula One. Since Aston Martin returned to the grid in 2021, the team has rapidly grown in numbers, expertise and resources, assembling all the pieces needed to fight for World Championships.“
With the board set, the interviewer asks Alonso, “Does Aston Martin Aramco now have all the pieces on the board to be able to fight for victory and say ‘checkmate’ in the new era of F1?” See the tweet below for the full interview with Fernando Alonso
More Formula 1 and chess: Max Verstappen plays chess in an Oracle commercial / Mick Schumacher is an avid chess player / Ferrari driver cheats in chess… against a cheater / Oscar Piastri joins the F1 pilots chess fans club / F1 World Champion Nico Rosberg challenges Magnus Carlsen age 10 bot / Hamilton and Leclerc play chess with Radjabov before the F1 Baku Grand Prix
