Not all cities are the same. Along the streets of Monaco you can breathe a different air, that of a place where passing a ten million car becomes almost a detail, and right here Fernando Alonso has seen fit to unleash all the power of a more unique than rare racing car.
Two world titles and an indomitable spirit
You know the name even if you don’t follow it Formula 1. In his palmarès Alonso can boast two world titles, and even today he remains one of the few capable of reviving a race apparently destined for anonymity, elevating it to a test of psychological resistance. In the season just ended he stopped at tenth placethe result of the 56 points scored, and in the eyes of a simply distracted person it would only seem like a faded copy of the roaring pilot of the past.
In reality, professionals and enthusiasts with a capital “A” tell a different truth: instead of letting prudence take over, the tenacity of golden splendor still flows through Nando’s veins, enough to put his younger colleagues on the ropes. From Verstappen to the new world champion Norris, from Piastri to Leclerc, each of them found themselves at least once wondering how the hell they were still there.
But this is the part that the public knows. Less established is what happens away from the microphones, as the season’s credits roll. In theory, the break should serve to recharge his batteries, but Alonso chooses the opposite: he slips into the silence of the Principality, remains in Monaco and it is there that after the ride in a Ferrari 512 TR, one of his latest purchases, someone filmed him in recent days on a roundabout, at the wheel of a Mercedes CLK GTR which was too easily given up as lost in the sea of specimens of immense technical ingenuity.
The history of Mercedes immortalized in Monaco
Do you know the classic supercars, flashy first, high-performance later? Draw a line above it, because the car in question, born in 1997, was built in twenty-six units with one mission: to win. The lines give it the appearance of an airplane landed on the tarmac and under the bonnet a V12 pulsates, the “growl” of a trapped beast. At the time they sold it to two million eurosToday vale at least five times as muchassuming and not granting that there is an owner willing to get rid of it. It’s surprising to think that a car created to race at Suzuka or Silverstone ended up showing itself in the middle of jewelery shops and tourist bakeries.
The rather short video portrays the former Renault and Ferrari standard-bearer driving, joined by Melissa Jimenez. The tires bite the pave, someone mutters in the background, struck by the scene, shocking in its normality. For us mere mortals, speeding around on a CLK GTR would be the fulfillment of a dream, a fragment of memory to be kept in the treasure chest of the most precious memories linked to four wheels. But if your name is Fernando Alonso the situation changes and in an ecosystem based on luxury, the car ride takes place in an almost listless way. “Is it him?” a voice asks. “Is it really him?”. And while they repeat it, he has already turned the corner.
