Fernando Alonso explains that he could consider a move to Aston Martin to replace future retiree Sebastian Vettel if the opportunity arises.
The news made the good sheets of the press this Thursday: Sebastian Vettel announced on the sidelines of the Hungarian GP to retire at the end of the season, his 16th in F1. A decision which did not fail to trigger speculation as to the identity of his successor at Aston Martin.
The name of Fernando Alonso was quick to spring up, even if the Spaniard assures that staying at Alpine remains « his priority » for the moment. We can nevertheless point out that the double World Champion has not evaded the question of a possible replacement for Vettel either. « The summer break is probably going to be the time when I will have to sit down and draw conclusions, and indeed this break starts on Monday. »
The summer break is probably going to be the time when I’m going to have to sit down and draw conclusions, and indeed this break begins on Monday.Fernando Alonso
« All options are possible as long as a given team does not already have its two drivers. My priority is to stay with Alpine because we have been working and developing this project together for two years now. We are more and more competitive and my wish is probably to stay, but we haven’t taken the time to discuss it and make any decisions yet. »
Vettel takes his leave and leaves a seat free for 2023Read more
« I’m going on vacation, the bosses are going on vacation too, so we’re going to have to have video conferences, but I have to say that when two parties want to agree on something, it takes ten minutes. [pour entériner une décision]. On the other hand, when two parts are in dissension, it is that one of the two is probably not happy. So it certainly won’t take ten minutes, whatever subject we’re talking about. »
Alonso left F1 at the end of the 2018 season after seeing his passion for the discipline wane during his second stint at McLaren. The Spaniard then decided to discover other categories, such as the Dakar Rally, the Indianapolis 500 or even the WEC, where he twice won both the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the championship, 2018 and 2019 with Toyota.
Staying in F1, Alonso’s priority
Despite these successes Alonso had nevertheless decided, at the age of 40, to return to F1 in 2020 on behalf of Alpine, a structure resulting from the Renault team with which he won two titles in 2005 and 2006, with the promise of to fight again at the forefront.
While that hasn’t materialized so far, Alonso is fatalistic about it: « […] With the current regulations, it seems that only Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes are able to win races. »notes the Iberian. « If you are given an opportunity for 2023 with any of these three teams, then you will try to combine your forces. »
With the current regulations, it seems that only Ferrari, Red Bull and Mercedes are able to win races.Fernando Alonso
« But such opportunities do not exist [pour l’instant], so you just have to have confidence in other projects that can only promise you competitiveness for next year. I am not part of these three teams, but I have no other challenges in mind at the moment. I don’t have a family, and the other categories don’t appeal to me at the moment, so I’m happy where I am. »
