Fernando Alonso claimed he found Aston Martin’s project more ambitious than Alpine’s which made him make the move at age 41.
When Sebastian Vettel announced his retirement ahead of the F1 summer break, everyone expected Fernando Alonso to break out similar news. His contract with Alpine was set to expire at the end of the season. But the Spaniard had different breaking news!
Alonso joined F1’s grid in 2003 with Renault. He won two consecutive World Championships in 2005 and 2005, becoming F1’s youngest champion at the time.
He holds 347 race starts and 32 F1 victories across his 19-year-long F1 career. Hence people would have expected for Alonso to hang up his racing boots at the end of his Alpine stint.
Instead, Alonso signed a ‘multi-year contract’ with the Aston Martin for the 2023 season. The Reports are that it is a 3-year-long contract and will see him on the F1 grid till the 2025 season at least.
The Spaniard believes that there is still a lot of racing left in him. And says he will see out his contract with Aston Martin before concluding his illustrious F1 career.
Fernando Alonso explains why he’s making the switch to Aston Martin for the 2023 season#BelgianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/GPbmjsmgyD
— Formula 1 (@F1) August 25, 2022
He said, “I hope to be in Formula 1 for at least two or three more years. I think I am still at 100 per cent. And then, from there, a challenge that I have never hidden is to try the Dakar again.”
Fernando previously tried a stint at Dakar in 2020 but could not win. He has other accolades like winning the 24 hours of Le Mans which prove, that he can still win Dakar if he tries again.
Also Read: 41-year old Alpine driver did not have to be convinced of Aston Martin move according to team boss
Why Fernando Alonso left Alpine
When Fernando Alonso announced that he will be driving with Aston Martin, the news surprised everyone. Including Alpine’s staff who were unaware of his move.
Alonso and Alpine share a long-standing relationship. The Spaniard debuted in F1 with Renault, as the company was then known. But he was not impressed by the direction of the company going ahead.
Moreover, Aston Martin are struggling in the 2022 season and are 9th in the constructor’s championship. While Alpine are 4th in the table with almost 5 times the points that the British team have.
Despite his age, Alonso still desires to start from the front and compete for wins and podiums. But the Spaniard has been lacking the opportunities to drive with Alpine.
🗣️ “Other teams think differently.”
Fernando Alonso says he wasn’t as supported by Alpine due to his age and is very happy to join the Aston Martin project.pic.twitter.com/BqgFGVD1qp
— Sky Sports (@SkySports) August 25, 2022
When asked about his decision to leave the French Team, Alonso claimed that he found Aston Martin’s project more desirable. Alonso said, “It was because of the desire I saw on the part of Aston Martin to have me.”
“Perhaps that was missing with Alpine. Or the signs of affection that perhaps I did not have here. Alpine had Piastri, the young talent from the academy. And I was also going to a project that seemed more ambitious than Alpine’s.”
Alpine too was open to giving Alonso another season-long contract, but nothing long-term citing his age. And this made Alonso feel disrespected and fueled him to look for opportunities elsewhere.
Also Read: Alpine were reportedly ‘playing’ with both Oscar Piastri and 2-time Champion Fernando Alonso
