In the latter days of his career,
Fernando Alonso is changing his name. At least, to the world of
Formula 1. On the entry list made public by the
FIA on Thursday, the Spaniard uses a different name than he did before.
From next season,
Fernando Alonso Diaz will drive for the Aston Martin team. In Spain, it is customary for a child to take the surname of both the father and the mother. Alonso is his father's surname, Diaz his mother's. By adding 'Diaz', Alonso wants to further strengthen the bond with his family. Chances are, however, that TV viewers will notice little of the change. As an abbreviation, 'Alo' will probably remain on the screen.
Perez too
Sergio Perez also has a double surname. He is officially registered in
Formula 1 as Sergio Perez Mendoza. In practice, the surname 'Mendoza' is never used by the FIA and Formula 1. To the outside world, the Mexican is
Sergio Perez.
The entry list already noticed that
Nyck de Vries will use the number 21 on his AlphaTauri car. Moreover, Honda officially returns to Red Bull's team name. The Austrian team now officially has 'Honda RBPT' as its engine supplier. This also applies to AlphaTauri.