Fernando Alonso admits he was prepared to TURN DOWN Aston Martin for one team

Fernando Alonso

Alonso admits he was prepared to TURN DOWN Aston Martin for one team

Fernando Alonso has shed some light on his move from Alpine to Aston Martin

Matthew Hobkinson Lead Editor

F1 Editor & Journalist

Monday 24 July 2023 13:42 Updated: 18:40

Fernando Alonso has revealed that he would have signed a new contract with Alpine instead of moving to Aston Martin, but that no new deal was physically offered to him.

Alonso made the high-profile switch from Alpine to Aston Martin last year, something that has seen the Spaniard claim six podium finishes in 2023 so far.

It may seem a shrewd move on paper from the F1 veteran, but Alonso has now admitted that he may never have joined Aston Martin should Alpine have actually offered him a new a contract – something that Alonso insists never materialised.

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Alonso: Alpine never offered me a new deal

Fernando Alonso swapped Alpine for Aston Martin in 2023

"Last year was quite a stressful grand prix here [Hungary] in terms of emotions, with that offer from Lawrence [Stroll]," he told French outlet Nextgen. "But yes, it was a good decision, a lucky decision and I'm glad I made it.

"In fact, it wasn't a choice, because I didn't receive any concrete offer from Alpine. Just words. If I'd had an offer from Alpine at the start of the year, I would have signed it, that's for sure. But I only had one offer and I accepted it."

"I don't think the Alpine is a slow car," he added. "It's a very fast car, as you saw at Silverstone, where Pierre [Gasly] was glued to my rear wing for over 30 laps.

"Performance changes very quickly from track to track and I'll be happy if I see Alpine going fast in the future. In the long term, I think Aston Martin is a good project and I'm happy with that, but I'm sure there will be many more battles against them."

Aston Martin eyeing up Mercedes

Fernando Alonso celebrates on the podium with Lewis Hamilton

Aston Martin currently sit third in the constructors' standing, 22 points behind Mercedes in Second and 24 ahead of Ferrari in fourth. Yet Alonso is adamant that his team are not looking over their shoulder.

"Trying to finish second is the goal but it's going to be tough all the way to the end," he said.

"We'll see how we finish this championship, but we can't forget that there are several very fast teams and drivers behind us. Ferrari and McLaren are going to come up or have already started to.

"But we're looking ahead, we're looking at Mercedes, because that's the right attitude to have to continue to protect our lead cushion in terms of points over our pursuers."