Extraordinary Fernando Alonso and Red Bull 'promise' emerges

Alpine F1 boss Flavio Briatore has slammed 'nonsense' comments about Fernando Alonso, and said that the 44-year-old could still challenge for a world championship.

Alonso and Briatore worked together at the Enstone-based outfit - then called Renault - between 2003-2006, and then again in 2008 and 2009, with Alonso helping the team claim two constructors' championships.

The Spaniard also won two drivers' championships himself, consecutively in 2005 and 2006 when he beat seven-time champion Michael Schumacher to the sport's top prize.

Now 44 years of age, Alonso is still racing at the highest level, currently sat 11th in the drivers' championship with the ambitious Aston Martin team, who are hoping to challenge for championships in the future.

Alonso has not won a race since the 2013 Spanish Grand Prix, but claimed eight podiums in 2023, proving his worth once more as a driver capable of some incredible results despite his age.

Briatore has now opened up about how Alonso was to work with, while also suggesting that the Spaniard would still be in the championship race this season if he was driving a Red Bull.

Max Verstappen is just about keeping himself in contention in that Red Bull car, currently sat 63 points behind Oscar Piastri with six race weekends remaining after a season of McLaren dominance.

"Sometimes people used to say that Fernando was very difficult to manage," Briatore told ESPN. "And that's pure rubbish, really. A load of nonsense. I don't know where it comes from.

"It really bothered me because Fernando is always a great teammate. He keeps the team together, he makes everyone work together. And now the proof is in at Aston Martin, where his car isn't competitive, but he's always there.

"Aston Martin has the greatest genius (Adrian Newey). Let's see how it goes, I'm very curious. But if Aston Martin has a competitive car, we'll see. Whenever the car is competitive, Fernando is there. He's always there.

"If Fernando were in the McLaren or the Red Bull this season, I promise you he would still be in the race for the world championship."

Alonso's incredible longevity

Alonso currently holds the record for the most grand prix starts in F1 history with 419, and has remarkably been racing in the sport for almost the entirety of the 21st century.

Having been a two-time F1 world champion at the age of just 25, it was thought that Alonso would go on to become one of the most successful racers in F1 history.

However, Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen have all stood in his way of claiming more championship success, and those three racers have achieved more race wins and championships than him while he was still on the grid.

A tumultuous season at McLaren in 2007 led to him rejoining Renault despite them not being in the hunt for championships in 2008 and 2009, before he moved to Ferrari.

It was here where Alonso shone once more, almost claiming championships in 2010 and 2012, and securing 11 grands prix victories across five seasons with the most iconic team on the F1 grid.

Alonso then elected to move to McLaren once more in 2015 to partner another world champion in Jenson Button, but the Woking-based outfit woefully underperformed in the early seasons of the hybrid era, and Alonso opted to retire from the sport in 2018 having not added a single podium to his tally in four seasons with McLaren.

That retirement only lasted for two seasons, however, with Alonso making a return in 2021 with Alpine, before moving to Aston Martin.

He has enjoyed his comeback so far, claiming nine podiums since coming out of retirement, but now wants to claim a 33rd race win before his time in the sport is up for good, with Aston Martin looking to take advantage of wholesale regulation changes next year and give him a race-winning car.

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