Fernando Alonso has confirmed that he did have some talks with other teams before confirming he would stay at Aston Martin until 2026 at least.
Since joining the team at the start of 2023, the Spanish driver has been on the rostrum 8 times for the Silverstone-based squad, including three P2 finishes.
Alonso has very much led Aston as well as he hammered Lance Stroll by 132 points last year.
His very strong P6 finish at Suzuka on Sunday shows the 32-time race winner has still got plenty of talent and energy in the tank.
The usual rumours and speculation were abound that the two-time F1 World Champion could end up at Mercedes and Red Bull in 2025. In fact German website Auto Motor und Sport had suggested earlier in the day that Alonso was interested in a Red Bull seat if he did not have to face up against Max Verstappen.
However, the 42-year-old has ultimately stuck with Aston Martin and was always the priority in his mind.
“I did speak with other people as well, yes. I think it’s normal when you enter negotiations, you need to balance a little bit what is the market, you need to listen to everyone else as well, because it’s just a normal procedure, and I think it’s fair as well to listen to all the proposals and to see how the market moves.
“But I don’t know, in my head, Aston was the logical thing for me to do. And at the end, it was also the best and the most […] I felt the most wanted in Aston Martin.
“All the other conversations were just light and I never came to any conclusions or something like that and maybe more time was needed, all these kind of things, while in Aston it was a clear desire to work together, which was the same that I had, so that’s why it came very easy.”
Pushed on whether the teams he spoke with were Mercedes and/or Red Bull, Alonso refused to name teams.
As has been the case throughout the decades, drivers will be in touch with teams to check if any potential slots are available.
Alonso was doing that himself but never really seemed too interested as extending his stay at Aston Martin was the number 1 option.
“Yeah, I mean I will not be on the specific on which teams I spoke because I think this is not important now anymore, and I think it’s a day for Aston Martin and the day for good news for Aston.
“But yeah, I think it’s a normal conversation that you have. You know [it’s] the same for teams when they are searching for a driver — they touch everyone.
“You have to know their position and their contract situation. Even if they are not super interested they always want to to know everything.
“And for me it was the same but without any clear targets and [my] first priority was Aston.”
