Fernando Alonso is getting towards the end of his motorsport career at the age of 43, after making his Formula 1 debut for Minardi in 2001.
The Spaniard has been incredibly successful, building on Spain’s tradition in motorsport and making Formula 1 more popular in the nation than ever before.
Alonso has also driven in a range of other championships with varying degrees of success. He took victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice for Toyota after briefly leaving F1 at the end of 2018.
The two-time F1 champion has also raced at the Indy 500, attempting the event three times but retiring in 2017 before getting bumped out of the field two years later.
Alonso admits that he is unlikely to return to the Indy 500 anytime soon as he is fully focused on Formula 1 and racing with Aston Martin.
He has also explained to the official Aston Martin F1 website that Alonso would like to battle against Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, as well as one very successful WRC driver, in a dream line-up for one last go-kart race.
Fernando Alonso would like to race against eight-time WRC champion Sebastien Ogier
Sebastien Ogier has been successful in his career, taking eight World Rally Championship titles – including six in a row from 2013-2018 for Volkswagen and Ford.
The Frenchman has been competitive in circuit driving, as well as in rallying too, after competing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2022 in the LMP2 class.
Alonso explained he would like to race against Ogier alongside Hamilton and Verstappen to complete the line-up for his final go-kart race if he could choose his opponents.
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He said: “Not easy. I would choose probably, right now, Max Verstappen. I would choose Lewis Hamilton. And I would choose, for the third one I’m thinking of another series, not F1.
“I would maybe take Sebastien Ogier from rally. I would take them to different go-kart circuits and have some nice afternoons battling and just enjoying ourselves. That would be a perfect plan.”
Fernando Alonso has experienced rallying in his career
Alongside Alonso’s formidable achievements in Formula 1 and other championships in circuit racing, he has also competed in rallying.
The Spaniard competed in the Dakar Rally in 2020 for Toyota and finished in 13th place, a very impressive effort in a discipline that is so different from F1 and IndyCar.
It is also rare to see the best drivers competing in identical machinery apart from events such as the Race Of Champions, which is only held once a year and does not generally feature go-karts.
Alonso has also rarely agreed to compete at the Race Of Champions but won the Nations’ Cup with Jesus Puras and Ruben Xaus in 2001. Ogier also won the Race Of Champions in 2011, beating Tom Kristensen in the final.