Alonso To Step Out For Verstappen If He Has To According To Bleekemolen

Thursday, 10 October 2024 at 22:00

Dutch professional racing driver and pundit Jeroen Bleekemolen suggested Fernando Alonso would step away from Aston Martin to leave a place for Max Verstappen.

Max Verstappen is currently part of the Red Bull Racing F1 team, with which he has a contract until 2028. However, the Dutchman didn't deny rumors that suggest he could leave Red Bull even next year if he wanted.

Red Bull's Helmut Marko also confirmed that Verstappen would want to drive for a team that provides him with the best package - most importantly, a competitive car.

Everything suggests that if Red Bull falls down the order in 2025 or 2026, the Dutchman could leave the F1 team. Jeroen Bleekemolen told Racingnews365:

"If it doesn’t work out – and he certainly won’t be at the back – then I can see that happening [Verstappen leaving Red Bull]."

"There will be enough money to buy out any contracts. And Christian Horner has also already indicated that if someone really doesn’t want to drive for his team, he can’t force that person to stay. And he’s right about that, the team won’t benefit from that."

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But where would Max Verstappen go? Former F1 team principal Guenther Steiner suggested that he believed Mercedes to be the most realistic option for the triple World Champion.

Bleekemolen, on the other hand, has a different opinion. He can imagine the 27-year-old joining Aston Martin to take Fernando Alonso's place.

"I think he will join Aston Martin, be it after a sabbatical of six months, or maybe during the season. That is also absolutely not unthinkable. Lawrence really wants him."

"Alonso will step out when he has to. According to his contract, he is well paid for that by Aston Martin and he does not have an eternal shelf life. He will definitely do Le Mans in 2026 with the Valkyrie project, perhaps together with Max."

When it comes to doing Le Mans together, Verstappen already previously included Alonso in his dream team and said it "would be pretty cool" to do that with the double World Champion.