The Spanish driver Fernando Alonso (Aston Martin) commented this Wednesday, on the eve of the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix, the second round of the Formula One World Championship and which takes place at the Jeddah circuit, that when he commits to being in a team it is because really believes “that there is a possibility of winning the races.”
The rumor of the possible signing of the current champion, Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, for the Mercedes team in the event that Christian Horner did not leave the team of which he is director, unleashed a wave of hypotheses about who would be the Dutchman’s replacement. and among them is Alonso.
“Yes (I’m on the list), because I don’t have any contract (beyond 2024) at the moment, so it’s better to be on that list than on other categories, or be in retirement,” Alonso said in the previous press conference. “I will make the decision in the future, in the next few weeks or in the next races. First, I need to talk to myself, I need to make a decision,” said the two-time world champion.
“If I, personally, want to commit in the future, I need to sacrifice everything else in life to be 100% ready for Formula 1, and that will be the decision. But yes, on the list or not, the question is more for Max, for them, and I will follow with interest the answers,” he added.
Alonso stated that, if he makes a decision, he needs to see if he wants to “continue racing.” As I said, it would be selfish if I think about giving up a contract and just having a Formula One car, being on the grid and feeling good, But I’m not that kind of person. If I commit it is because I really believe that there is a possibility of winning the races,” he stressed. “I want to be in the simulator, I want to be with the engines, I want to ask for 100% from an organization that I know will give that 100%. If not, I won’t commit,” Alonso explained.
“I don’t know for how long, I don’t know with whom, there are many questions, but this is the second part. The first has to do with my own personal decision,” he said. Alonso believes that the rumor of Verstappen’s hypothetical move to Mercedes to replace the British Lewis Hamilton, who will move to Ferrari in 2025, “is difficult to comment on from the outside.”
“Obviously, I’ve also read some rumours, but there have also been a lot of rumors in the last two or three months that are hard to believe – all of them,” added the Asturian double world champion.
