4 athletes, three fully totally different sports activities, but there may be an invisible thread that connects all of them. Two Components 1 drivers, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, stand alongside soccer legend Cristiano Ronaldo and NBA celebrity LeBron James. Regardless of competing in very totally different arenas – from the circuits of Components 1, to the soccer pitches of Europe, to the hardwood courts of the NBA – they’ve all written, and proceed to jot down, pages of historical past in world sport. What makes their story much more outstanding is that, regardless of their age, they nonetheless keep the identical want to enhance, the identical starvation for victories, and the identical willpower that has pushed them for the reason that very starting of their careers.
In a current interview with Motorsport.com, former Components 1 driver Robert Doornbos provided a considerate reflection on the significance of age in skilled sport and the way these 4 champions characterize an exception to the rule.
The issue of ageAccording to Robert Doornbos, age in sport is at all times “a fragile topic.” Athletes akin to Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, Cristiano Ronaldo, and LeBron James – all of whom at the moment are past 40 or approaching that milestone – are proving to the world that age is commonly nothing greater than a quantity. Their performances present that dedication, bodily preparation, and mentality can stretch the boundaries of what’s thought of potential in knowledgeable profession.
Doornbos defined: “LeBron James, Cristiano Ronaldo, Lewis Hamilton, and Fernando Alonso: they’re all enormous names who’re over 40 years previous and who’re nonetheless performing. Alonso remains to be delivering. If he feels even just a little little bit of competitiveness within the automotive, then he’s there – particularly after making such a comeback, even coping with the again issues throughout FP1 on the Hungarian Grand Prix.”
For Fernando Alonso, age doesn’t appear to be a barrier. The Spanish double world champion continues to reveal resilience and consistency, capitalising on any probability to battle close to the entrance at any time when his Aston Martin equipment permits him to take action. His longevity is commonly cited for example of how psychological power and health routines can extend the careers of recent athletes.
However does the identical apply to Lewis Hamilton? That is the place Doornbos drew a line of distinction. Whereas Alonso’s story is certainly one of continuity and resurgence, for Hamilton, the trajectory seems extra complicated. In accordance with the previous driver, one thing might have shifted for the seven-time Components 1 world champion after the dramatic finale of the 2021 season, when he got here agonisingly near profitable an eighth world title in Abu Dhabi.
Doornbos admitted: “For Lewis [Hamilton] I believe it’s one other story. And possibly Hamilton followers won’t like to listen to this, however it’s nearly as if he has misplaced his id. Possibly he ought to retrace what he has achieved. This man modified the game ceaselessly.”
The Dutch former driver went additional, suggesting that Hamilton’s struggles may certainly be associated to age. He stated: “It might be about age, about the truth that you must recharge your self as soon as once more for an additional season. After which you may have that youthful teammate who manages to ship at precisely the proper moments. It’s blow after blow after blow. I hope he has an excellent summer season break and that he comes again sturdy. Age at all times performs a job. However I believe, by way of vitamin and coaching, all of them do all the things potential to maintain up. Nonetheless, the day at all times comes while you go previous your expiration date.”
By means of his reflections, Robert Doornbos highlighted how the careers of nice champions like Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton, Cristiano Ronaldo, and LeBron James embody each the triumphs and the challenges of longevity in sport. On the one hand, they proceed to encourage hundreds of thousands with their drive, professionalism, and talent to compete with athletes a lot youthful than themselves. Then again, they’re consistently reminded of the bodily and psychological calls for of staying on the very prime, the place each season, and each race, turns into a check of endurance in opposition to time itself.
Aug 19, 2025
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