Fernando Alonso spoke to the media at Albert Park, stating that his decision “will be independent of what happens at Mercedes and Red Bull”
In Bahrain, Fernando Alonso mentioned that he needed to ponder “whether I want to continue in F1 or not and I will do so in a few weeks,” statements that stirred quite a buzz at the year’s inaugural race. This Thursday, freshly arrived in Melbourne, he says that timeline has slightly shifted.
“On TV, I mentioned the summer, so I can go a few months without answering the same question, but not much has changed, it won’t change in the coming weeks or races,” he assured at the entrance of the Aston Martin garage at Albert Park.
“On one hand, I don’t want to wait maybe until the summer, because I think it would be unfair to me and to the team if they have to find more options and things like that, but I also don’t want to rush and make a decision while not having my mind set on next year,” he says about the dilemma he faces regarding his future in F1.
“As I just said, my mind is so focused on the things I’d love to try in the car (his current AMR24), after what was learned in the first events, that everything is so exciting in terms of performance, that if I think about next year it’s like this year is not where I have to have my mind,” he explained.
The question arises: Has he seen something truly exciting in Saudi Arabia or in what comes to his car to fully concentrate on this car that shines in qualifications at the moment?
Not Dependent on Mercedes or Red Bull
Without time to ask him about the market, which seems wide open with Hamilton’s exit from Mercedes and the internal war at Red Bull, Fernando immediately clarified that this is not the issue that moves him. “This decision is completely independent of what happens at Mercedes or what happens at Red Bull,”
“Yes, I have always been like this, sometimes it helped me, sometimes it harmed me to be the master of my destiny. I chose when to leave a team, when to join a team, I chose when to stop Formula 1 and I chose when to come back… and now I will choose what I will do next year. I will not follow what others do and let them dictate my destiny, I will do it alone… For better or worse, that’s how I am,” he clarifies about what might happen and that he is not dependent on what happens elsewhere
His Arrival at Aston in 2023
And yet, when talking about his arrival at Aston Martin, with whom he signed in August 2022, he acknowledges it was somewhat by chance. “I think I’m here because Sebastian (Vettel) retired that weekend in Budapest. If Sebastian had renewed with Aston and continued racing a few more years, I wouldn’t have had this opportunity. So after the announcement, I spoke with Lawrence, I understood more of the project, which obviously when you are not on the team, you only know from the outside some news or the factory, the wind tunnel, the future commitments, and it was very attractive, and at the same time, in Alpine we had that scenario that did not progress for many months, so it was very clear to me,” he recalls about what happened.
Asked about the option of going to Mercedes, as has been rumored these last two weeks, Fernando did not want to give his opinion and reiterated that Aston Martin will be his first option to continue in F1. “I don’t want to comment, because anything I say can be taken the wrong way, so I prefer not to say until I make more decisions to continue. And as I said at the car launch, when I make that decision the first office I will go to is that of Aston Martin and that will be my priority, my loyalty to them. I am grateful for the opportunity they gave me two years ago and if we come to an agreement, then that will be the decision, if I continue racing. If I don’t come to an agreement with Aston, then I will look elsewhere, but that will be the second option,” he reiterates.
A Great Car on Saturdays
Regarding the weekend in Australia, Fernando was again questioned about the flashes of the AMR24 in qualification- “Yes, there are some factors that we continue to analyze and learn from. The car has a slightly different philosophy in terms of aerodynamics and the development we want to carry throughout the season.
