Fernando Alonso was on his way out from Formula 1 in 2018 after he ended his stint with McLaren on sour terms. For the next two years, the Spaniard was not in F1 and plying his trade in other racing series.
But a video from 2018 resurfaced where Alonso revealed he had been approached by Red Bull multiple times, even in 2018, but he rejected them at every step. He claims that the Milton-Keynes-based team approached him six times over a decade, but he never seemed interested.
“I had offer from Redbull in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013 and two this year,” claimed Alonso when he was asked whether he had an offer from Red Bull for 2019.
Alonso is regarded as one of the drivers who remained unlucky in his career. Despite having a generational talent, he could only win two titles, which many believe is not proportional to his talent.
But if he denied Red Bull at all these stages, then in hindsight, it’s his fault as the Austrian team won titles at least a couple of years later or that year itself whenever he apparently was asked to join them.
Christian Horner fact-checks Fernando Alonso
While Alonso is a massive talent, and any team would be happy to have him, Christian Horner doesn’t align with his claims. The Red Bull team principal reveals they came for Alonso in the past but not so frequently.
“We did offer Fernando Alonso a contract, but that was back in 2007!” he told UK broadcaster Channel 4. “To my knowledge, no one within Red Bull has offered him one since.”
In 2018 at least, it was possible to replace Daniel Ricciardo; there could have been initial talks between Red Bull and Alonso. And he could have thought of it as an offer. However, at that time, the Spaniard was interested in joining Mercedes, who dominated the entire grid back then.
So for him, it was either them or somewhere else outside F1. Mercedes never considered giving him an offer as they didn’t want another Lewis Hamilton-Nico Rosberg saga. Considering Hamilton’s history with Alonso, the latter would have been the biggest no for the Silver Arrows.
Chasing the title dream in 2023
Now, both Alonso and Red Bull have come a long way in F1 but not together. The Milton-Keynes-based outfit is the defending champion and will likely maintain its reign.
But on the other hand, Alonso with Aston Martin has quickly climbed the F1 grid rankings. As per the last two races, it’s the second-fastest team on the grid, with Alonso fetching two podiums.
Aston Martin doesn’t want to limit itself till there. The Silverstone-based team is aiming at a championship-contending season soon enough, if not this year. And they see the 41-year-old race driver as the rightful candidate to take them there.
