Two-time Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso said age was not the issue after securing a comeback deal with Renault to race into his 40s.

The Spaniard turns 39 this month and, after two seasons out, will be returning next year with the team that took him to his titles in 2005 and 2006.

“In Formula One for many years the time watch (stopwatch) is the only thing that matters, not the age,” Alonso told reporters at a video news conference on Wednesday. “I never had a race classification based on the passport, date of birth. Always on the time watch.”

Alonso will be the oldest driver next year if his former Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen, already 40 and now with Alfa Romeo, decides to stop.

While 40-year-old racers were relatively common in the sport’s early days, they are a rarity in modern Formula One with an increasing emphasis on youth. McLaren’s Lando Norris was only one-year-old when Alonso started racing at now-defunct Minardi in 2001.