Things I Have In Common With Fernando Alonso

• Natural ability at go-karting
• “Neck and shoulders of a boxer, legs of a cyclist”
• Infinite stamina
• Sense of humour
• Latin temperament
• 1.72m vs 1.71m tall (I’m taller)
• Both 68kg in weight (in physical prime)
• Only take part in competitive things where we have a chance of winning
• Only happy with winning, anything else is devastating
• Passion for (taking part in) all forms of motorsport
• Wide range of skills including technical
• Adaptability to new disciplines
• Perfectionist
• Not afraid to ask questions and give opinions
• Fearless
• Cat-like reflexes and ability to weave a path through traffic

Had fate dealt me slightly different cards I could be sitting here as a five-times Formula 1 world champion. I probably wouldn’t have injured myself through needless risk-taking activities. OCD may not have had a chance to set in, but rather the perfectionism would’ve stood me in good stead. I would’ve always been busy and feeling on top of the world through constant physical exertion, whilst also keeping my mind occupied.

This is not a rumination, just a thought experiment! It’s a positive thought— to believe inside that I had it in me to be a Formula 1 world champion 😄. The longer that I follow Formula 1, the more similarities I find with certain drivers (specifically the great champions and ones with the most natural ability). Sometimes it is uncanny. It’s fascinating to think that had I sat in a go-kart 10 years earlier and had the opportunity and support to follow it up and some luck, I could’ve been racing alongside Alonso for most of my career. Last year I rode my electric scooter across icy-slush-covered grass, it was insane. I’ve never had less traction in my life.

Disclaimer: this is deliberately indulgent and probably best left unspoken, but to be fair at least most of it is true and I couldn’t help but put it on the record to get it out of my mind 😆— another thing in common. Fernando can say it because it’s demonstrably true. I can say it because I’ve an active imagination. But for now I am happy to a humble knock-kneed mental health blogger, podcaster and plant grower supremo extraordinaire 😎 (pending supportive environment).

I even dreamt twice I was a Formula 1 driver, in the second remembering this wasn’t my first time. I saw my name on the timing board. It was amazing.…And with stem cell and age-extending and reversal treatments, who knows what’s possible in the future? Never say never! 

🌪