Just announced.
In French, but you got the idea...official: https://fr.motorsport.com/f1/news/fernando-alonso-aston-martin-2023/10347082/ Rgds
Alpine must be a bit annoyed ..just as they are getting competitive ..Oscar Piastri must be grinning?
To be honest, "Motorsport Magazine" had Fernando last week among its "remote" options, just after Vettel announced its retirement; not very probable, but possible. And here we are. Rgds
I don't see any upsides for Alonso to leave. Unless he's getting paid an incredible amount of money (which won't make any sense for Aston)
Just as Alpine was slowly climbing up the ladder, Alonso seems to have chosen jumping ship to join the failing Aston Martin. That's a slap in the face for Otmar Szafnauer, Alpine team principal (and ex-Force India, Racing Point and ... Aston Martin) who had been steadily improving the Enstone team since he joined early this year. No doubt Lawrence Stroll will be happy to poach another ex-WDC for his luxury brand, money helping probably.
Aston Martin Racing: the elephant´s graveyard. I guess that, at this point in his career, Alonso has nothing to loose.
No one can complain you aren’t driving at your full capacity when sonny boy is 1 second back. Everywhere at every track in any condition. Good move and I hope he remains in F1 with a fat wallet if he can’t get a ride with the top 3. Renault are improving but they’re probably screaming for results every race and withholding contracts until the end of the year. There’s no bottom floor for Aston.
Alonso's departure from Alpine must surely improve the odds for Piastri to join Enstone now. Szafnauer's decision to delay contract negotiations until later in the sason may have been the reason why Alonso make up his mind so quickly. With no certainty he would be kept at Alpine, Fernando couldn't pass the offer of a seat at Aston. Aston has certainly not been performing to its best during the last 2 years, but Alonso may have been attracted by its potential. It will certainly be his last contract too, and there are worst places to end a career.
When he ends with Stroll, he still will be young enough to do sports cars, there is no hurry for that.
I am not sure Alonso likes sportscars that much. Alonso was in the best team of the moment in endurance, Toyota, and many thought he would stay there. He had some glory at Toyota, won Le Mans twice with them, and dropped everything to return to F1 in a mid-field team at best. He could have collected more wins in sportscars, but instead prefers driving for a struggling Alpine team. Alonso's career moves have always been utterly bizarre.
In 2003, Bentley won Le Mans for the 6th time, 73 years after its last success at La Sarthe. Do you remember who were the drivers? Probably not. Because it was of no importance. Only the win matters. The historic significance, if any, only interests the anoraks.
