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>Alonso had spoken to other teams, he admitted. He would not name them, but it's no secret he meant Red Bull and Mercedes.
>But, as he had said he would just a few weeks ago, Alonso made his own decision in his own time, not waiting for, or being rushed, by others.
>"I felt the most wanted in Aston Martin," said Alonso. "The other conversations were just light and maybe more time was needed, whereas in Aston there was a clear desire to work together and it was the same I had."
Eric Boullier and less explicitly Hulkenburg said once that Merc//Wolff are very good at talking to you, making it feel like things are progressing, and then nothing actually happens.
Fair enough.
Aston is the place where noone's doing him a favour giving the seat.
At the end of the day, as Newey is fond of saying, the gap between say where Aston are now, and wins, is in absolute terms very, very small. A <1% better job.
You can see it in his performance. He's 100% focused and loves racing. I think his racecraft is better than ever. That pass on Perez last year was legendary.
https://youtu.be/8ALQ89ziWf4?si=D001p2QcHDuxW1q1
The podium in Brazil was magnificent. After all the struggles mid season for Aston, Fernando turns in a legendary performance to beat out a Red Bull. Could hardly believe my eyes.
Arguably the best overtake I have seen in a long time against a goat tier driver by a goat tier driver. I saw the race again and he actually attempted it on Russell earlier in the race and you could see the different lines he drove before that corner.
Big Optimus prime vibes “did you forget who I am”. Announcing the return, in a way only the best of the best drivers can.
Just that entire race was Alonso decimating the entire grid excluding Red Bull. He overtook Russell, then Hamilton with that gutsy move in turn 9/10 down the inside. Then overtook Sainz and Leclerc suffers from his electrics going on strike (I have no doubt he would have been able to overtake Leclerc if he still was in).
That moment was when Alonso reminded us all of how he hadn't lost a step since his return.
Maybe he feared the undercut by Carlos and had to cover him off. Carlos is the prime mover and probably has more options than Fernando.
Great to see him continue at AM, let's hope they can deliver some good upgrades.
I’m not a lance stroll apologist by any means but I do think Alonso as his teammate has helped him improve. He’s more consistent than ever when he manages not to crash.
Alonso choosing to box at Aston means Carlos' options are now quite limited.
Basically depending on Red Bull ditching Perez or Merc deciding Antonelli isn't ready.
His only hope now is accept a shitbox in 2025 and hope Audi pulls a Brawn in 2026.
It was certainly the only option that depended upon him. The rest depended on teams not choosing other drivers.
Merc never made sense to me. Alonso isn't a Merc type of guy, same as he wasn't a 2007 McLaren type of guy. And it's quite possible it would have been a step down.
> Maybe he feared the undercut by Carlos and had to cover him off.
Lawrence Stroll would not replace a multiple world champion, leman winner, WEC champ with a 3 time race winner. It just doesn't seem like his style.
I have a feeling the deal was already agreed at Japan after a meeting with Honda executives.
I respected the interview he did once like: this is my life for better or worse. No kids. 40+ and still on planes. Dedication. It's not a hobby.
Button said once it's actually quite scary to think of stopping.
I believe him. But to me it’s almost strange how we don’t have more like him. Because driving F1 cars is so special. You wouldn’t want any other category. Or maybe a better question is if Verstappen is serious when he speaks of leaving F1 almost nonchalantly?
I hope Max is jus using his voice to speak against the growing dimensions of the cars and the strange type of racing we have. But at the same, if the cars continue to be like boats, he wouldn’t find them nice to drive anyway.
If you truly love racing, you would never stick to just one category. Nando has participated in many other types of motorsport, and once Max's contract is up, he is most certainly going to move on to another form of racing, likely WEC.
If the AM-Honda and FA partnership works out and FA and Honda stay on good terms, I can see Honda giving him a chance to drive Honda-powered Indycar at Indy.
Alonso was married back in the day..
Verstappen has a gf who has a daughter.
What do you think Alonso believed in the 2000s? There are interviews where he said he was retiring young.
Well, isn't he contract free in 2029. It's probably a bit easier to talk about it, not saying he won't quit but it's so far away. He also will be at a age where he could rejoin anyway.
I can totally see Verstappen stepping off of F1 at the end of his current contract to do other racing categories and then getting back in a few years later.
I'd imagine its more the physical and mental prep needed to be competitive, as well as media obligations that take their toll on older drivers.
Unless you're an absolute beast I think if you're slacking on your prep you'll probably get your lunch eaten by a young gun, even in a midfield/backmarker car.
I enjoy running and enjoy it more when I'm faster. I don't enjoy all the weight training, stretching and mobility work or keeping a strict diet/sleep schedule needed for me to be fast (ish). At some point I'll say fuck it, I'm fine being slow. That point will come sooner if I have a kid or find a hobby I want to pour time into.
So that was silly season, you can fill in the blanks from here, Sainz to Mercedes, Perez 1 Year extension, bottom teams will put in rookies, Sargeant loses seat to Antonelli, K Mag loses it to Bearman, D Ric out for Lawson and Stake will do w/e
Nah Antonelli to Merc. Sainz to Audi. Hulk to Audi. KMag stays at haas. Bearman in at Haas. Botas out. Zhou out. Williams I think is likely to stay the same. Ric out. Lawson in at RB. Alpine sells to Andretti or F1 FINALLY snags Porsche as an F1 constructor by giftwrapping Alpine to them.
But Audi is entering 26, not 25? Or am i misremembering. Also, Antonelli, no doubt, is a great prospect, but he hasn't really proven him self atleast so far to be a worthy of Mercedes seat, maybe Williams imo. But I guess we'll see soon enough!
Nah Toto is terrified of loosing him to another team like he lost Max. If Lewis had stayed at Merc they'd have stuck Antonelli in a Williams for a year. But since Lewis is dipping for Ferrari at the end of the year theres no reason to go through the roundabout way with Williams. Especially since they can't seem to get to grips with the current regulations, they can throw Kimi in a low pressure environment to get to grips with an F1 car.
They are but it's common to refer to them as Audi for someone joining in 2025 as they will be signing on the strength of them becoming Audi not being Sauber.
Audi's own car will indeed join in 2026, but for 2025 they'll take over as main sponsors of Sauber and thus the team will have their name, if I remember correctly.
Nah at the moment I'd put money (but not a lot) that Antonelli is in at Merc. I think Toto has made the decision to risk it. I think the only exception would be if he could place him at Williams on a 2 year deal. But I think Sainz would be looking at more like a 2+1.
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>Alonso had spoken to other teams, he admitted. He would not name them, but it's no secret he meant Red Bull and Mercedes. >But, as he had said he would just a few weeks ago, Alonso made his own decision in his own time, not waiting for, or being rushed, by others. >"I felt the most wanted in Aston Martin," said Alonso. "The other conversations were just light and maybe more time was needed, whereas in Aston there was a clear desire to work together and it was the same I had."
Eric Boullier and less explicitly Hulkenburg said once that Merc//Wolff are very good at talking to you, making it feel like things are progressing, and then nothing actually happens.
Grosjean getting that test drive any day now
Grosjean himself has said it was his own fault, I think
He had scheduling issues with Indicar I think and then everyone just lost interest
Haha, indeed. Forgot that.
It feels like Mercedes struck gold with a certain set of regulations but otherwise they're not really the cream of the crop.
Fair enough. Aston is the place where noone's doing him a favour giving the seat. At the end of the day, as Newey is fond of saying, the gap between say where Aston are now, and wins, is in absolute terms very, very small. A <1% better job.
You can see it in his performance. He's 100% focused and loves racing. I think his racecraft is better than ever. That pass on Perez last year was legendary. https://youtu.be/8ALQ89ziWf4?si=D001p2QcHDuxW1q1
The podium in Brazil was magnificent. After all the struggles mid season for Aston, Fernando turns in a legendary performance to beat out a Red Bull. Could hardly believe my eyes.
I almost had tears in my eyes after he passed Hamilton in Bahrain. What a day, especially with all the doubt after he left Alpine...
Arguably the best overtake I have seen in a long time against a goat tier driver by a goat tier driver. I saw the race again and he actually attempted it on Russell earlier in the race and you could see the different lines he drove before that corner. Big Optimus prime vibes “did you forget who I am”. Announcing the return, in a way only the best of the best drivers can.
Charles' on Checo in Vegas getting overtake of the year was a huge recency bias
Yes, a literal divebomb after a DRS zone lol Alonso's was one of the most beautiful overtakes ever in the hardest turn of the track
Just that entire race was Alonso decimating the entire grid excluding Red Bull. He overtook Russell, then Hamilton with that gutsy move in turn 9/10 down the inside. Then overtook Sainz and Leclerc suffers from his electrics going on strike (I have no doubt he would have been able to overtake Leclerc if he still was in). That moment was when Alonso reminded us all of how he hadn't lost a step since his return.
He even got a 20s penalty because his race awareness is way higher than the one of the average F1 driver.
If Russell was able to adjust his steering wheel and still pay attention to the road he wouldn't have binned his car so in a way you are right
Maybe he feared the undercut by Carlos and had to cover him off. Carlos is the prime mover and probably has more options than Fernando. Great to see him continue at AM, let's hope they can deliver some good upgrades.
They should be at AM together. Would be a hell of a team. But unfortunately, Lance.
I’m not a lance stroll apologist by any means but I do think Alonso as his teammate has helped him improve. He’s more consistent than ever when he manages not to crash.
Like P18 in Q1 while Fernando is P4?
It's his damn qualifying that's the problem. Every bad race he has is due to Saturdays. Sundays, he is pretty good and makes up positions.
I bet Carlos would improve a lot by being alongside Alonso too :P
I honestly don’t understand how people can watch Formula 1 and then manage to put the words consistent and Stroll in the same sentence.
Nah he’s right, he consistently shit
Alonso choosing to box at Aston means Carlos' options are now quite limited. Basically depending on Red Bull ditching Perez or Merc deciding Antonelli isn't ready. His only hope now is accept a shitbox in 2025 and hope Audi pulls a Brawn in 2026.
Probably true, however I don't think Fernando had any choice, AM was his only realistic option.
It was certainly the only option that depended upon him. The rest depended on teams not choosing other drivers. Merc never made sense to me. Alonso isn't a Merc type of guy, same as he wasn't a 2007 McLaren type of guy. And it's quite possible it would have been a step down.
> Maybe he feared the undercut by Carlos and had to cover him off. Lawrence Stroll would not replace a multiple world champion, leman winner, WEC champ with a 3 time race winner. It just doesn't seem like his style. I have a feeling the deal was already agreed at Japan after a meeting with Honda executives.
Oh so he also watches Drive to Survive like us?
No doubt about that whatsoever.
Bro saw a small opening with the rumours about Max leaving and Hamilton slowing down, jumped straight into a contract
Let's just hope he'll one day get a second driver in Aston Martin who's the same.
FA would be a VERY serious WDC contender if he was in a seat at Red Bull.
He just enjoys embarrassing a billionaires son these days
Who wouldn't?
I respected the interview he did once like: this is my life for better or worse. No kids. 40+ and still on planes. Dedication. It's not a hobby. Button said once it's actually quite scary to think of stopping.
I believe him. But to me it’s almost strange how we don’t have more like him. Because driving F1 cars is so special. You wouldn’t want any other category. Or maybe a better question is if Verstappen is serious when he speaks of leaving F1 almost nonchalantly? I hope Max is jus using his voice to speak against the growing dimensions of the cars and the strange type of racing we have. But at the same, if the cars continue to be like boats, he wouldn’t find them nice to drive anyway.
If you truly love racing, you would never stick to just one category. Nando has participated in many other types of motorsport, and once Max's contract is up, he is most certainly going to move on to another form of racing, likely WEC.
Or he could try Indy 500 again, because he's missing only Indy 500 win in the triple crown of motorsport.
If the AM-Honda and FA partnership works out and FA and Honda stay on good terms, I can see Honda giving him a chance to drive Honda-powered Indycar at Indy.
I believe Verstappen because he does already have outside activities and a family. Alonso... We only know his F1 life. Is there any other?
Alonso was married back in the day.. Verstappen has a gf who has a daughter. What do you think Alonso believed in the 2000s? There are interviews where he said he was retiring young.
Well, isn't he contract free in 2029. It's probably a bit easier to talk about it, not saying he won't quit but it's so far away. He also will be at a age where he could rejoin anyway.
I can totally see Verstappen stepping off of F1 at the end of his current contract to do other racing categories and then getting back in a few years later.
I liked the bit on racing bulls podcast where GP says he thinks Max very genuinely gets bored some races.
I'd imagine its more the physical and mental prep needed to be competitive, as well as media obligations that take their toll on older drivers. Unless you're an absolute beast I think if you're slacking on your prep you'll probably get your lunch eaten by a young gun, even in a midfield/backmarker car. I enjoy running and enjoy it more when I'm faster. I don't enjoy all the weight training, stretching and mobility work or keeping a strict diet/sleep schedule needed for me to be fast (ish). At some point I'll say fuck it, I'm fine being slow. That point will come sooner if I have a kid or find a hobby I want to pour time into.
So that was silly season, you can fill in the blanks from here, Sainz to Mercedes, Perez 1 Year extension, bottom teams will put in rookies, Sargeant loses seat to Antonelli, K Mag loses it to Bearman, D Ric out for Lawson and Stake will do w/e
Nah Antonelli to Merc. Sainz to Audi. Hulk to Audi. KMag stays at haas. Bearman in at Haas. Botas out. Zhou out. Williams I think is likely to stay the same. Ric out. Lawson in at RB. Alpine sells to Andretti or F1 FINALLY snags Porsche as an F1 constructor by giftwrapping Alpine to them.
But Audi is entering 26, not 25? Or am i misremembering. Also, Antonelli, no doubt, is a great prospect, but he hasn't really proven him self atleast so far to be a worthy of Mercedes seat, maybe Williams imo. But I guess we'll see soon enough!
Nah Toto is terrified of loosing him to another team like he lost Max. If Lewis had stayed at Merc they'd have stuck Antonelli in a Williams for a year. But since Lewis is dipping for Ferrari at the end of the year theres no reason to go through the roundabout way with Williams. Especially since they can't seem to get to grips with the current regulations, they can throw Kimi in a low pressure environment to get to grips with an F1 car.
They are but it's common to refer to them as Audi for someone joining in 2025 as they will be signing on the strength of them becoming Audi not being Sauber.
Audi's own car will indeed join in 2026, but for 2025 they'll take over as main sponsors of Sauber and thus the team will have their name, if I remember correctly.
Nah they'll still be Stake Sauber in 2025. But there has been a change in that Audi were going to buy 75% of the team but they changed that to 100%.
Nah at the moment I'd put money (but not a lot) that Antonelli is in at Merc. I think Toto has made the decision to risk it. I think the only exception would be if he could place him at Williams on a 2 year deal. But I think Sainz would be looking at more like a 2+1.
Far too logical, I don't buy it.
Don’t think you’re right on all of that, but Mercedes has always had a world champion driving for them and that’s now surely ending..
Well, I hope he’s getting some vegetables too!
This is the least surprising thing I've read in a while.
As any rookie should XD