Retirement 'Was Not Option' Alonso Reveals After Signing Extension With Aston Martin
F1Friday, 12 April 2024 at 09:00
The 42-year-old Fernando Alonso asserted after signing a contract extension with Aston Martin that retirement wasn't really an option for him.
Fernando Alonso was one of the biggest players on the driver market until yesterday (April 11, 2024), when he signed a "multi-year" extension with Aston Martin.
The Spaniard joined the team in 2023 and had an amazing first season (eight podiums). In 2024, Aston didn't start so strong, and the Spaniard had some other great alternatives, like Mercedes or perhaps Red Bull, but he decided to stay with his current team in the end.
But it didn't seem clear at all that he would remain in F1. The double World Champion has been saying ever since the start of the season that he needs a few races to see whether he wants to continue in F1.
"Obviously, F1 takes all your time, all your energy, you have to give up basically everything in life to keep racing, and I wanted to just speak with myself [to see] if I was ready to do so."
"Once I took the decision, I think it was after Australia or something like that, I sat with Aston, which again is exactly the same as what I said in February, that it will be my first priority."
His team principal, Mike Krack, confirmed that the Spanish matador stayed true to his words and came to talk to Aston Martin first. As Alonso suggested, it was clear that both sides had mutual interests.
"When two parties want something at one point you reach an agreement, so I’m extremely excited to keep racing and to keep racing with this team, which I feel at home [with]."
When asked whether he was really considering retiring because of everything that came with being an F1 driver (busy traveling, marketing and media duties, etc.), Alonso stated that, in reality, retirement was not an option for him.
"Not really. I think it never went to my mind, retirement. I had 99% confidence that I will keep racing next year, so retirement was not an option."
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