Fernando Alonso insists continuing his success story with Aston Martin remains his priority amid the upheaval on the Formula 1 driver market for 2025.
However he also indicated he is prepared to consider changing teams next year following Lewis Hamilton’s decision to join Ferrari, which created a vacancy at Mercedes.Toto Wolff, the Mercedes team principal who is weighing his options for who to place alongside George Russell next year, has previously ruled out working with Alonso. Mercedes’ last association with the two-times world champion was not a positive one.
Although Alonso won four races for McLaren when it was Mercedes’ factory team in 2007, his involvement in the ‘Spygate’ episode also brought about the team’s ejection from that year’s constructors’ championship and an unprecedented $100 million fine. “Fernando has some history with Mercedes and it was not always the best,” Wolff acknowledged in 2017 when asked if Alonso might ever be paired with Hamilton.
Moreover, Alonso claimed, his credentials among world champions should not be underestimated.
“I’m aware of my situation, which is very unique,” he told media including RaceFans yesterday. “There are only three world champions on the grid and fast world champions, because in the past, maybe there were some world champions where they were not so committed to be fast.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Several champions have departed F1 over the past seasons, most recently Alonso’s predecessor at Aston Martin, Sebastian Vettel. The team made a significant step forward in 2023 when Alonso arrived in his place.
“I’m probably the only one available for ’25, so I have a good position,” Alonso continued. “But at the same time, when I make the decision, if I want to keep racing or not for the future, first and only talk that I will have at the beginning is with Aston Martin, because that will be my only one priority.”
Alonso will turn 43 this year and he admitted he is yet to decide how much longer he wants to continue racing for. F1’s growing calendar is more demanding than ever, and will reach a record 24 rounds this year.
“There are a couple of phases that I need to go through,” he explained. “First of all, I need to decide myself what I want to do for the future if I want to commit my life, again for a few more years to this sport, which I love.
“I love driving. I’ve been driving all over winter. Different cars, DTM car, car cross, rally car, go kart itself. So I love Formula 1, but generally I love driving. So if it’s not Formula 1, I will find myself happy in any other form of motorsport and maybe having more time for my private life, which is also very important, at this age. But this is a decision that I need to do with myself.
“I need to think, and I need to commit to a team, eventually, and make sure that I understand the next few years of my life it will be that team 100% of my time. Once I do that decision I want to sit with Aston Martin and say okay I make these decisions.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
Again Alonso stressed his loyalty to Aston Martin. “I would love to continue in this project because I think we did a good step forward in the last year.
“But if we cannot reach an agreement and I want to commit to race in Formula 1 I know that I have a privileged position I am probably attractive to other teams, the performance that they saw last year, the commitment. And as I said there are only three world champions on the grid and there is only one available.”
If Alonso was to agree a new multi-year contract with an F1 team, it would commit him to racing until at least 45, considerably older than most recent drivers. He admitted he did not expect to keep competing so long.
“A few years ago, I would say that maybe 42 or 41 was the limit. Now, after I saw myself last year, motivated and performing well, I was thinking maybe that I can keep racing a few more years now.
“This winter, I’ve been exceeding a little bit the expectations in terms of all the physical tests and everything that I did. So I would say that if you are motivated and if you want to commit, you can drive maybe until 48 or 49 or whatever, or even 50.”
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
However he is not yet certain he wants to continue that long. “You have to give up everything in life. Formula 1 needs total dedication.
“This is my [21st] season in F1, and I gave my life for 24 years to this sport, which I’m happy and I’m okay with that. I can keep doing for a few more years, but I don’t know if I will be racing until 50 with such a demanding calendar and things like that. Not for the abilities, but because there are other things in life that I’m curious [about].”
Alonso discounted any concerns over his fitness heading into the new season, having adjusted his regime of training and nutrition over the winter. “I feel fitter than ever,” he said. “The numbers that we achieve in all the physical tests that we do every season, they were the best ever this year.
“But I was training a little bit different this year. I was also, as I said, adding a nutritionist to the team, which changed a little bit our way of seeing things and preparing the body. Everything that I do in life and everything that I did in the last few months were just to prepare myself better than ever for a very long season and to prepare myself also, in case I want to keep driving, being better than ever.”
In another remark which appeared to be aimed at any potential future employers, Alonso said he isn’t prepared to continue in F1 giving anything less than his maximum and competing for anything less than victories.
“If I commit to a project in the future, for the next year or next few years, I need to be first ready, myself, to commit to that. I will not drive a few more years in Formula 1 just to drive and to have fun. I’m not that kind of driver, I’m not that kind of person.
Advert | Become a RaceFans supporter and
“If I want to keep driving it’s because I know, starting from myself, that I can give 200% to the team on and off-track. Simulator work, marketing work, delivering the results on track. So, I’m preparing for that in the eventuality that I want to keep racing and if I want to keep racing, let’s see what the options are.
“My first priority will be always to sit down and discuss with Aston. They gave me the opportunity last year to join this organisation, which I’m very proud to be part of. With the new factory, with everything that is going on, there is a great future in this team. And I want to explore every possibility to race for many years here.”
Bringing the F1 news from the source
RaceFans strives to bring its readers news directly from the key players in Formula 1. We are able to do this thanks in part to the generous backing of our RaceFans Supporters.
By contributing £1 per month or £12 per year (or the equivalent in other currencies) you can help cover the costs involved in producing original journalism: Travelling, writing, creating, hosting, contacting and developing.
We have been proudly supported by our readers for over 10 years. If you enjoy our independent coverage, please consider becoming a RaceFans Supporter today. As a bonus, all our Supporters can also browse the site ad-free. Sign up or find out more via the links below:
Formula 1
- Pictures: Red Bull’s aggressive new sidepod design revealed in detail at test
- Pictures: New views of Mercedes W15 running in Bahrain test
- Pictures: 2024 F1 pre-season testing day one: Bahrain
- Pictures: Haas VF-24 officially presented as testing begins in Bahrain
- Driver line-up confirmed for sole pre-season F1 test
notagrumpyfan
12th February 2024, 9:25
ouch. But at least they can still become a used care salesman.
David BR (@david-br)
12th February 2024, 11:50
I read that as ‘and don’t even think about calling Sebastian or Nico, they’re useless!’
You’ve got to admire the chutzpah that enables Alonso to mock Hamilton for his ‘childhood dream’ of moving to Ferrari (“It was not his childhood dream 12 months ago, no? Or two months ago, I guess, because it was a different dream”) while making probably the longest and most blatant pick me! outburst in Formula 1 history for Mercedes to sign him while reassuring Aston Martin that he “would love to continue in this project because I think we did a good step forward in the last year.”
Reality? Hamilton’s childhood probably was to drive for Ferrari and Alonso knows he’s made another well-timed move. Alonso wants to win races, Mercedes can offer that, and he’s good enough. But all the low-level sniping isn’t a great look if Mercedes want a different, chiller kind of Alonso in their team.
Tom
12th February 2024, 12:02
Kimi was the one that I thought he was referring to.
David BR (@david-br)
12th February 2024, 12:09
Him too, but Vettel and Rosberg were mooted as possible ‘replacement champions’. No, I don’t see it either. Rosberg, to be fair, we never got to see drive in Formula 1 as a champion for some reason.
t1redmonkey (@t1redmonkey)
12th February 2024, 17:40
Probably both Kimi and Seb, they were both sleepwalking (sleepdriving?) through their last few seasons in F1.
Chris Horton
12th February 2024, 12:34
Senna was Hamilton’s childhood hero.
Who never drove for Ferrari.
anon
12th February 2024, 17:47
Chris Horton, mind you, we know from his personal archives that Senna had extensive negotiations with Ferrari in 1990 and that Ferrari formally offered Senna a contract for 1991 and 1992, so the idea was given serious consideration by both parties.
Luca di Montezemolo has also stated that, a few days before the 1994 San Marino GP, he held personal negotiations with Senna and made him a formal contract offer for 1996. Senna’s manager at the time, Julian Jakobi, has confirmed that those negotiations took place and, based on his discussions with Senna afterwards, believes Senna was planning to accept that offer.
Tommy Scragend
12th February 2024, 13:01
I thought Hamilton’s childhood dream was to emulate Senna and drive for McLaren. That’s what he told Ron anyway.
David BR (@david-br)
12th February 2024, 16:07
And emulate what Senna was set to do but fatally was unable: also drive for Ferrari. That’s one version I’ve read anyhow. I really don’t understand how everyone else thinks they’re in some position to decide what someone else’s childhood dreams were anyhow! It’s a bizarre form of entitlement. Are you living yours?
Colin
12th February 2024, 14:06
You do realize that Mercedes actually booted Hamilton out, right? They only offered him a one year extension and wouldn’t agree to Hamilton’s plan to be a brand ambassador for like the next ten years. He’s a massive expense for someone who isn’t winning and Mercedes no longer were interested in him for the long term…
David BR (@david-br)
12th February 2024, 16:14
There’s possibly some part of the multiverse where that’s true. But not here. What you mean is that Mercedes weren’t offering what Hamilton wanted (not the same as ‘booting out’). If so, it was clearly a miscalculation because they weren’t prepared for him leaving. Most informed observers think Hamilton was still outperforming Russell when he was focused on the racing (end of 2022 and 2023). And Hamilton leaving for Ferrari has other effects in terms of revenue, brand and personnel.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
12th February 2024, 17:10
Yes, kicking your best driver out would be a silly decision, agree he proved to be stronger than russell so far, against my own expectations.
David BR (@david-br)
12th February 2024, 17:45
@esploratore1 I’d guess that their medium term plan was for Russell to learn from Lewis and eventually match or surpass him over 2-3 years. The poor performance of the Mercedes made that learning and comparing difficult, including the fact that they couldn’t see how Russell would perform under pressure in an actual championship competing scenario. So you’d think they’d have added a couple more years on to see what happens if and when Mercedes have a better car and maybe start thinking about other alternatives to Hamilton (like Norris, Piastri, Leclerc, even Verstappen). That’s why Lewis leaving now couldn’t have been part of their calculation.
And this is the bit that baffles me: knowing the above, why didn’t they accept Hamilton’s wish to retire (in a few years, not ten) to an ambassador role? It almost seems like they didn’t actually want him in such a role – and maybe that’s also how Lewis took it. If so, moving away – and especially to Ferrari – seems the correct response.
Asd
12th February 2024, 9:28
I’m rooting strongly for both Fernando Alonso in F1 and Scott Dixon in IndyCar (who is a year older than FA).
F1’s super long calendar will at some point be detrimental to older drivers wanting to prolong their careers though. And it so happens that it’s the best drivers who have the longest careers.
Alonso in Red Bull would be sweet. And I also have hopes to see him do a full season of IndyCar as well.
I’m sure we have at least 10 more years with Fernando being active in the motorsport world. After F1, Indy500, LeMans24 and Rallye Dakar, there’s nothing he can’t do…
https://f1i.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Alonso-Dakar-725×500.jpg
Retired (@jeff1s)
12th February 2024, 15:22
Winning the Triple Crown !
SteveP
12th February 2024, 18:38
Beat Lewis Hamilton while driving the same machinery?
I’d still like to know why McLaren kept Hamilton out until the tyres were down to the canvas when he was sailing to an easy victory over Alonso. Oh, maybe…
Mack
12th February 2024, 23:21
The only time they drove the same machinery was in 2007 with McLaren. They finished with the same amount of points and wins. He didn’t beat him. They tied.
Hamilton had been with McLaren for years and tested thousands of laps – ALO was new to the team. Hamilton admitted “Fernando is the only one I ever learned anything from”. Probably a reference to car setups ALO provided to Lewis until the incident in Hungary which by the way was initiated by Lewis. He blocked ALO from getting in his hot lap despite team orders which led to ALO holding him up in the pits.
If you take away the 5 place penalty ALO was dished out at the insistence of his own “team”, he could have won the title.
earthling (@34rthl1ng)
13th February 2024, 16:02
Even simpler: Use the current score system and Alonso does win that 2007 WDC. In spite of his pariah status in the team during the last half of the season.
Every time I hear about that great rookie season (Even the best one ever LOLz) I think, did these people watch the China and/or Brazil races???
MichaelN
12th February 2024, 9:39
It has to be kept in mind that Alonso hasn’t had a top level teammate since Button almost 10 years ago, who was perhaps no longer absolutely 100% committed given it was his last season. It’s good, but not great, to beat the likes of Vandoorne, Ocon, and Stroll.
Alonso, for all his speed and endearing bravado, also couldn’t seal the deal at either Ferrari or McLaren. Fir current leading teams he might still be an upgrade over Pérez, but other than that? Leclerc, Norris, Russell, Verstappen, Hamilton all seem preferable picks.
notagrumpyfan
12th February 2024, 9:45
You don’t need to have a top level teammate to assess the abilities of a driver.
Real fans are experienced enough to recognise a good/stellar drive when they see it, and most are able to suppress their own prejudices.
Frank
12th February 2024, 12:03
Surely, that’s false.
LosD (@losd)
12th February 2024, 15:08
“real fans”. Heh
notagrumpyfan
13th February 2024, 10:35
easy test for yourself to see if you are a ‘real fan’.
[based on my definition ;) ]
David BR (@david-br)
12th February 2024, 17:59
They’re all good/stellar drivers. Alonso too, yes, but he’s talent is being exceptionally good at everything, not in being the fastest. Over a season that may be enough to win. Though the last example we have of that was 2006. I can’t see Alonso adding to a team with Russell already there, more likely to be a destabilizing force. Though there’s this ‘thing’ now, apparently, of Mercedes having to have a champion in their lineup. Who knew? So I guess that does just leave Alonso. Or a stunning move by Verstappen if Red Bull implode for off-track reasons.
Larry
12th February 2024, 23:23
+1
Asd
12th February 2024, 10:24
Your suspicion is very rational, but it takes very simple reasoning to conclude Alonso is in beast form. If his current abilities were, in fact, just average among the current F1 field, then Aston Martin must’ve had a faster car than Red Bull for several races in 2023 for Alonso achieve the results he had. This obviously can’t be true.
Let’s just remind ourselves of Alonso’s performance in the Monaco GP last year, especially the qualifying:
1. Max Verstappen 1:11.365
2. Fernando Alonso 1:11.449 +0.084
3. Charles Leclerc 1:11.471 +0.106
MichaelN
12th February 2024, 11:14
Why not? These cars are all very close in performance. We all know how extremely sensitive the tyres are. Track conditions and even weather have a real influence on how the cars perform. The closer drivers and cars are, the more important external influences are relatively speaking.
Now on average, the Red Bull car was better. But in one specific case? Maybe it wasn’t. We don’t know. Nobody knows.
We also see that perception lags reality. Williams in the past two years was still seen by many as the worst team like it was in years prior, and Albon a heroic driver. The truth is probably more nuanced. Albon did a good job, and the Williams was, at times, a pretty decent midfield car for the conditions at that time. Still, we don’t know if Albon got the most out of it. He often didn’t at Toro Rosso or Red Bull, why would he now? Same with Alonso. We can reasonably assume Alonso will get the most out of the car more often. But always? No, but pairing him with Stroll all but guarantees he’ll be the quickest Aston Martin driver regardless. Paired with Verstappen at Red Bull will probably be a very different story.
Craig
12th February 2024, 14:36
@MichaelN Alonso very nearly “sealed the deal” at Ferrari twice, but got thwarted by factors outside of his control twice. In 2010 he was in with a shot of the title along with three other drivers going into the season finale. But then Ferrari botched his strategy trying to cover off the wrong Red Bull, causing him to get stuck behind Vitaly Petrov’s Renault (this was before DRS was introduced) for the rest of the race, and not score enough points.
In 2012 he very nearly dragged that Ferrari to the title, and almost certainly would have done so. Had he not been wiped out twice by a rogue Romain Grosjean in two separate races, first at Spa, then again at Suzuka, before they’d even made the first corner.
In neither of these seasons did he have a car that would just allow him to take it (relatively) easy, and rack up wins and podiums on the way to the title. They were competitive enough, don’t get me wrong. Although the 2012 Ferrari started out as an extremely problematic car. But my point is he seriously had to fight for it, in a way most drivers simply aren’t capable of doing. And that, he did.
MichaelN
12th February 2024, 15:59
The 2012 season by Alonso was indeed very strong. Not perfect, but it was very strong, and those two first lap DNFs were indeed awful for his campaign. As was Massa basically being useless and never taking points from Vettel until the Brazilian GP, where it no longer mattered. I wouldn’t fault him for losing that title battle, even if it was probably winnable.
But in 2010 Alonso lost plenty of points before he ever got to Abu Dhabi, and while there is certainly a case to be made that Vettel lost even more points and should have been able to take the title with more ease, Alonso similarly could, and arguably should, have wrapped that up. So whereas 2012 was always a bit of a long shot, that 2010 title was absolutely there for the taking.
More to the present; Alonso has always been a great hype-man for himself, and that’s certainly entertaining. But it’s also a lot easier to play that game when taking a handful of podiums is enough to propel one back into being seen as one of the best drivers in F1, in part because it was so hard for people to accept that the Aston Martin was genuinely the second best car in some of those early races. And he might genuinely feel he can still go toe to toe with a Russell or even Verstappen, but sometimes it’s best not to find out. And the teams will be very hesitant to introduce such a wildcard for what will almost certainly be a very short term deal. All the more so as Mercedes has what seems like a generation talent lined up for that seat, which is no doubt part of the reason they were unwilling to commit to Hamilton into 2026, and Red Bull has no need to upset their dominant squad.
Dave
12th February 2024, 17:38
Nonsense.
Yellow Baron
12th February 2024, 18:47
Of the three champions on the grid max has had the weakest teammates and redbull look set to continue that.
Could Alonso really challenge max if he did end up in redbull? In qualifying surely not and in the race you’d just think given the age difference probably not. In which case his praise for verstappen may suddenly disappear. Would he even be willing to go there if given the opportunity?
Ken
12th February 2024, 19:08
Absolutely
Zann (@zann)
12th February 2024, 9:51
Fernando is intense! But really it’s a question for me, whether his age is being disguised by Lance. Apparently reaction times start to increase little by little after 24!
Asd
12th February 2024, 10:29
This is irrelevant, because we know F1 performance does not drop after 24 years old ;) It starts to drop much later.
Zann (@zann)
12th February 2024, 11:36
They learn other things, to compensate, the article says. But reaction time, timing generally, fine muscle control, is crucial in pretty much any sport. So they learn judgement, strategies, but eventually as the muscle signalling decays, the inevitable happens. So I would like to know what would happen with Gasly in the other car, for example. Meanwhile, Fernando and Lance are rather perfect for each other
MichaelN
12th February 2024, 16:06
Absolutely, there’s just no way around this. In some of the most intense fast paced ‘e-sports’ you already see people in their mid 20s give up and bow out because they can no longer sustain that frantic pace.
There’s probably no benefit to that kind of high-paced performance in F1, so it obviously doesn’t matter as much. After all; F1, while fast, doesn’t require a driver to make hundreds of keypresses or clicks a minute, and a big part of the driving is almost instinctual thanks to the way the body feels the movement of the car. So in purely physical terms there probably isn’t a lot of difference between F1 drivers at 20 and 30. But at 40, or even 45? I’m not sure about that, but hey, it’s exciting to see Alonso give it a go!
Zann (@zann)
12th February 2024, 16:34
well if you think of just braking. If they can brake 1m later, that’s a bit faster isn’t it. If they know they can, every time, so they can plan their speed for it. At 300kph that’s 80m/s so that 1m takes 12 milliseconds!
So yes perhaps it’s not so much reaction necessarily as coordination and timing and fine muscle control to put 100kg into the pedal at that exact moment plus or minus some milliseconds. And I think the experiment means that as they get older the variability gets more, so they have to allow for it and brake a bit earlier
Ken
12th February 2024, 17:48
Lewis and Alonso seem to be doing ok. They were arguably in the top 3 best drivers last year. Sounds like wishful thinking
Zann (@zann)
12th February 2024, 19:00
rithmetic = dificult! 3 accounts, 0 clue :)
tho Lewis, yes Fernando’s been doing him a huge favour hasn’t he. Shame we have to wait till next year for Lewis vs Charles.
anon
12th February 2024, 21:38
@zann it has been noted that reaction time alone is not a particularly good marker of performance for a racecar driver.
Where the reaction times of racecar drivers to simple stimuli have been measured, it’s been shown that they are often not particularly exceptional compared to the wider population – they’re generally average to slightly better than average at most (for example, Michael Schumacher was noted for having reaction times that were pretty much the same as the average person on the street).
In most cases, it’s not the reaction time in itself that is the most significant factor, but rather the anticipation and knowledge of what is going to happen that is more important (i.e. knowing how the car would react to a particular input and being able to anticipate what action is required).
Whilst a sport that relies heavily on short reaction times and sudden bursts of activity, or where there is a higher risk of injury (which are more often things like contact sports), tends to see peaks in performance at a younger age and a sharper peak, those where there is less physical stress on the body or a lower risk of injury and where experience tends to have a more significant impact tend to see peaks in performance being much broader and occurring later in life.
Something like motorsport tends to be closer to the latter category – i.e. where experience is reasonably important, and whilst it can involve physical stress, it’s less about sudden bursts of strength and more about controlled actions. As such, the peak in performance for most drivers is usually thought of as occurring later in life, but it does seem that late 30s is generally considered the point at which age related decline does start to occur in racing drivers.
Zann (@zann)
12th February 2024, 22:37
Okay account4, anon :) I called it reaction time but really it was gameplay and the researchers called it looking-doing latency, and it’s a measure of cognitive motor decline with age. And the point is it declining, as it indicates some fairly general change in the nerve signalling, and it starts after 24! Very gradually, but it’s definitely got worse by 42, tho yes it’s not the only thing that matters
Larry
13th February 2024, 0:03
OK let’s look at this diminishing reflexes topic.
First of all, I think it’s safe to say none of us have never raced in F1. We offer are opinions which is fine but we have to be honest with ourselves and admit it’s all conjecture. We are armchair racers and nothing more. I have been hearing about his diminishing skills for over 5 years now with nothing to back it up.
If we want to know what is factual, we should should listen to those who have actually raced. In the past week Button, Coulthard and Villineuve to name just a few think Alonso would be Mercedes’ best option. Alain Prost, who knows a little about racing, said he is the best all around racer on the grid. Speed is not an issue – getting a competitive car is.
Hamilton claims it is due to his fitness. I beg to differ with him. Yes ALO is fit but the biggest single factor is his passion for racing. He has raced or driven in just about every type of racecraft in existence. He has an insane amount of experience. No one else is close. His free days are spent racing. He lives for racing!
There are exceptions to some rules and he is one of them. Unless he gets tired of the rigors of travel etc., expect to see him on the grid for at least another several years.
Zann (@zann)
13th February 2024, 9:22
So this is the same person as the anon, ken, MichaelN and Asd accounts! Can’t actually discuss F1, it’s pretending to be different people, dumb, provoking or superior, whatever
Larry
13th February 2024, 14:12
Wrong!
AdrianMorse (@adrianmorse)
12th February 2024, 10:16
Usually drivers are quite coy about talking with other teams, so this feels like an open application to next year’s Mercedes seat. Of course, Fernando might want to see if the 2024 Mercedes is not a complete dog, and whether indeed he wants to continue racing, but who is he kidding with this Aston Martin first-priority talk?
Alonso is political animal enough to say all the right things regarding his current employer, but it does not sound very different to his Renault days, where there was talk of becoming more involved in the team and the project – and then he left quite abruptly (and correctly, as it turned out).
2025 might be one last hurrah for Hamilton at Ferrari, and as a consequence one last hurrah for Alonso at Mercedes, with both drivers hoping to add one final title to their tally – they will face tough competition from their team mates, though!
Tiaki Porangi
12th February 2024, 10:23
Too toxic.
Ken
12th February 2024, 17:42
Aston. Martin would beg to differ with you
Tristan (@skipgamer)
12th February 2024, 10:45
I’m not even sure it’s good to continue you know Aston Martin, it will take a lot of hard work and you know, investment. But I only talk to you, for sure, this is the plan.
Oh, €100 million? That is great yes? I will think.
*calls Toto*
Can you beat €100 million?
Christiaan Lustig
12th February 2024, 12:18
Let me correct this for you: “Mercedes face the possibility of entering a world championship without a world champion among their drivers for the first time” in forever. There’s only one World Championship Grand Prix that Mercedes entered without having a WDC driver, and that was the 2020 Sakhir Grand Prix, when Hamilton had COVID, and Russell stepped in (and almost won).
Tommy Scragend
12th February 2024, 13:05
But Mercedes did enter the *world championship* that year with a world champion – Hamilton. He was replaced for one race, but the article never said otherwise.
LosD (@losd)
12th February 2024, 15:16
You seem to have your definition of a world championship mixed up with a world championship race.
Brell-9W
12th February 2024, 12:25
I like Alonso not really mincing his words. He wants to let everyone know ‘I’m available!’
Yellow Baron
12th February 2024, 18:51
Shame F1 is full of minced words all the time.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
12th February 2024, 13:35
everyone wants to see it, Alonso vs Hamilton, on opposite teams, Hamilton looking to prove Alonso the worse vying for a championship with Ferrari and Alonso, the dark horse looking to spoil Hamilton @ Ferrari. who cares about Red Bull, this is the match up of the last two decades.
Yellow Baron
12th February 2024, 18:53
Lewis to Ferrari, Alonso to mercedes, red bull implodes.. leaving 2025 a season long battle between Lewis and Fernando for the title.
stefano (@alfa145)
12th February 2024, 13:36
Do it Mercedes, just do it.
Yellow Baron
12th February 2024, 19:02
As much as it would be cool to see Alonso there, I’d rather see him at redbull considering max has never had a strong teammate. Much less likely I know.
Mercedes seem to be stronger indeed that Aston in development over a season so even if mercedes stays about where they are it’s probably a better place to be
stefano (@alfa145)
12th February 2024, 22:05
of course Red Bull would be better, but apparently Albon is confirmed
Shimks (@shimks)
13th February 2024, 12:44
@alfa145 Seriously? That would be amazing!!
earthling (@34rthl1ng)
13th February 2024, 16:08
It would be absolutely stonking if Mercedes again get to deliver a truly dominant car in 2025 and sign Alonso who then proceeds to win 10 straight WDCs
dot_com (@dot_com)
12th February 2024, 13:46
Gotta love Alonso.
Broderick Harper (@banbrorace)
12th February 2024, 14:47
LOL!! Classic Fernando. I love it when he’s this direct.
And he’s correct, since the late and great Senna, along with Shui – the three fastest champions are only him, Lewis and Max.
Imagine them three in competitive different cars in 2026, with the new regs. We can only dream that they are all more or less ‘equal’.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
12th February 2024, 16:45
Seb was pretty good too even in a Toro Rosso in 2008.
Sonny Crockett (@sonnycrockett)
12th February 2024, 16:02
It’s refreshing to know that – no matter which team he drives for – Alonso is still no stranger to sticking a knife in their back!
dot_com (@dot_com)
12th February 2024, 17:22
I love that he’s marketing himself to Mercedes WHILE at the Aston Martin launch lol
David BR (@david-br)
12th February 2024, 18:10
@dot_com And still finds time to deflect his own machiavellian cynicism onto Lewis’s move to Ferrari!
He even snuck in ‘simulator work’ as a bonus offer to Mercedes…
Edvaldo
12th February 2024, 19:13
Alonso should aim for 500GPs.
He obviously enjoys this life a lot and still can do it in style. Wouldn’t surprise me if he outlasts Max.
Sam
13th February 2024, 7:47
If Mercedes produce a car that is as quick as Red Bull then the only two drivers who would stand any chance against Verstappen are Hamilton and Alonso. If Mercedes care about political stability or are concerned over past cheating then hire the Hulk or someone, but for chances of more world championships it has to be Alonso.
Nathaniel
13th February 2024, 9:49
Mikka is still on sabbatical.