Alonso: “I felt so much in the Alps”

Above all, Alonso announced his decision to cut ties with Alpine after he perceived the situation. French contractor’s doubts about renovating it Considering his age (41 years) and being in the room of the most talented junior in F2, Oscar Piastri. “At Alpine they evaluated me every year. i felt too much. In negotiations, Piastri’s name was always on the table. We moved on to different things and disagreed on the main issue. Not only in terms of contract duration, but also in terms of the confidence you feel, feeling loved somewhere is not temporary. There was always a strange feeling (in Alpine) and the logical thing was to go to Aston Martin which gave me all the confidence without looking at the passport.

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As for his commitment to Aston Martin, currently the ninth team on the grid, Alonso has given hope for his future project. “Going to Aston Martin was a logical move because they trusted my abilities on and off the track and wanted to pick me up.. So I thought it would be good for everyone to give that seat to a talented young man like Oscar. The Aston Martin project is very interesting. There are too many projections. I know Strolls very well. They have the budget, talent and resources. The Thursday before the Hungarian Grand Prix, Vettel announced his retirement and I got a call from Aston Martin. We are sitting. They told me about the project. They accepted my demands. We agreed and signed on Monday. We decided to announce it very quickly before any leaks,” said Fernando, realizing that the operation was in progress. “there are risks” He said, “We can grow together. It doesn’t matter if you finish thirteenth or better, win or not. And I don’t have a crystal ball.”

They reminded Alonso that he was the director. Alp Otmar Szafnauer He assured that he learned of the deal with Aston Martin through the press and that Fernando was struggling: “I’m happy with that question. It’s true, Otmar probably didn’t know anything. But I informed the president Luca de Meo, Laurent Rossi (Alpine CEO), my technicians, my team. Everyone involved in the negotiations knew this before the official announcement. Otmar was not in the negotiations, perhaps Luca de Meo or Laurent Rossi had not told him. But everyone knew except him.

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Regarding the subsequent confusion with Piastri, which Alpine confirmed for 2023 and the Australian denied, Fernando was hurt by the hints that he had something to do with it, drawing on his friendship with the young Australian driver’s current manager, Mark Webber. . “I didn’t like reading this conspiracy. I made my decision and explained it. I talked to the team to extend the contract for several months but nothing officially happened. Aston called me when Sebastian retired, but this move wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t retired. What happened next with Oscar is completely independent. I wish Oscar all the best, he is very talented, also Alpine. It will be my team this year and it’s always in my heart, we’ve accomplished amazing things and it’s because of them that I’m back in this sport. I can only wish them the best.”

Finally, Alonso insisted He will give everything to end his relationship with Alp as high as possible. In the standings, where the French team is currently fourth, just four points ahead of McLaren: “From my point of view, I hope to maintain this consistency, there are eight races in a row in points, and in some cases it could be more, because I remember starting last because of the sprint in Austria and Barcelona. “I also changed the engine in Belgium. I hope we have a clean weekend in Belgium, the car is strong and we have improved a lot in the last few months. Here the top 6 is possible, there are nine races left and we want to finish at the top, the podium will be a dream.”