Fernando Alonso ponders his future and places Components 1 on alert

On Monday, February 12, Fernando Alonso will likely be unveiled with Aston Martin and his second automobile with the British workforce, the AMR24.

The bombshell information of Lewis Hamilton and his transfer to Ferrari additionally impacts him, because it does nearly all of the drivers on the grid, besides George Russell, because the seat vacated by the seven-time champion is without doubt one of the most coveted on the grid.

In line with MARCA, Alonso has not but sat all the way down to renew with the administrators of the Silverstone workforce, as it’s not a matter that’s in a rush for the second and since the image of stability that was intuited for the subsequent few years within the paddock, has been blown up.

Alonso prefers to see what the brand new automobile is like, the chances of success it may give him, one thing he’ll know after the Bahrain exams, and to see the evolution of the automobile, which final yr left some essential doubts in the course of the season. For varied causes, it was one of many automobiles that made essentially the most progress within the winter and one of many least over the 22 races.

Two separate traces in 2023

It has additionally emerged that there was some divergence by way of the evolutionary line to be adopted on final yr’s automobile.

Observe engineers, reminiscent of efficiency chief Tom McCullough, favoured one line, whereas Dan Fallows and his workforce on the manufacturing facility favoured a special one.

In Austin and Mexico, they even needed to combine outdated components with those that arrived for these occasions and perform a sequence of comparative exams between the automobile pushed by the Spaniard and the one pushed by Lance Stroll. Then, in Brazil, got here the Oviedo driver’s eighth podium, with the conclusions that appear to have been reached.

The 2024 automobile will likely be totally different, as plainly the 2023 idea has reached a lifeless finish and that essential improvements must be made to make it aggressive once more.

Whether or not Fallows manages to provide it his personal air, not solely with the concepts he got here from Crimson Bull with, is one thing that will likely be identified within the early a part of the season, the place the competitors from Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren is admittedly shut behind Crimson Bull.

Mercedes and Crimson Bull

Alonso may be very a lot at dwelling at Aston Martin, however what he sees between now and the summer season, the true time for renewals or new signings. In idea, Alonso signed for 2 years, extendable for longer if each events are blissful, so a potential renewal ought to be introduced in 2025.

And what about Mercedes? On paper, there’s a relationship that has by no means been good between Alonso and Toto Wolff, plus the spying affair in 2007 (when Mercedes was McLaren‘s companion) which the Austrian says they nonetheless have not forgotten about.

However the actuality and Hamilton‘s resolution, coupled with Wolff‘s potential ‘thirst for revenge’, could provoke an surprising alliance.

His assertion of: “I do not know whether or not we’ll go for an skilled driver or a younger one”, has been interpreted by many within the media as an open door to the 42-year-old, who’s in high kind in the mean time. Alonso‘s relationship with George Russell, with whom he spent the 2023 Street Journey, has been glorious for a number of years.

Ought to the supply from Mercedes arrive, it is extremely possible that Alonso would say sure.

It is solely a matter of time earlier than they’ve a successful automobile once more, and the star-studded workforce completed forward of Aston Martin, regardless of having their greatest automobile in recent times, within the Constructors’ World Championship. The 2 groups aren’t but comparable in measurement, though Lawrence Stroll appears decided to make Aston an enormous one.

Ending alongside Newey

As for Crimson Bull and the commotion that arose final yr in Brazil, when some journalists insinuated that it may very well be an choice for Alonso if they didn’t renew Checo Perez, the chance is just not closed both, on this case for 2025.

Nonetheless, the Milton Keynes workforce is immersed in an inside disaster with the open investigation of Christian Horner and the publication of varied studies that talk of a Verstappen-Marko faction, going through the Horner-Newey faction, on the end result of which can rely the road the workforce takes.

Newey, the good technical guru of F1 as we speak, has expressed remorse that he has by no means labored with the two-time champion, and he feels the identical approach. He wish to shut his profession with this workforce if potential, though that choice is probably not as much as him ultimately.