“All Alpine, except Szafnauer, knew my decision before the statement,” says Fernando
The Asturian’s first press conference after his surprise signing for Aston Martín
Fernando Alonso He took advantage of the first day of the summer break to release the ‘bomb’ of his signing for Aston Martin. And this Thursday his return to the Spa-Francorchamps paddock has aroused unusual expectation. The Spaniard has not disappointed and has spoken loud and clear, with direct messages to his current team, Alpine, with whom he will still have to play the last nine grand prix of the season trying to isolate himself from the ‘noise’.
First of all, Alonso has explained his decision to break ties with Alpine after perceiving the doubts of the French manufacturer for renewing him taking into account his age (41 years) and having in the chamber the most talented junior in F2, Oscar Piastri. “In Alpine every year they were going to evaluate me. I felt too much. In the negotiations Piastri’s name was always on the table. We moved on different things and we did not have an agreement on the main thing. Not only in terms of the duration of the contract, also in the confidence you feel, that you feel loved in a place, that it is not a temporary thing. I always had a strange feeling (in Alpine) and the logical thing was to go to Aston Martin, which has placed all the trust in me and without look at the passport.
Regarding your commitment to Aston Martin, which is currently the ninth team on the grid, Alonso has been hopeful about his future project. “Going to Aston Martin was a logical move, since they trust my abilities on the track and off and they wanted to have me. So I thought that leaving that seat available for a talented young man like Oscar was good for everyone. The Aston Martin project is very interesting. It has a lot of projection. I know the Strolls very well. They have the budget, talent and resources. The Thursday before the Hungarian Grand Prix Vettel announced his retirement and I received a call from Aston Martin. We sit. They told me about the project. They accepted my demands. We agreed and on Monday we signed. We decided to announce it very quickly, before any leak & rdquor ;, commented Fernando, who has recognized that the operation “has its risks” and has indicated that “we can grow together. It doesn’t matter finishing thirteenth or better, either you win or you don’t. And I don’t have a crystal ball“.
have been reminded of Alonso that the director of Alpine Otmar Szafnauer assured that he had found out about the agreement with Aston Martin through the press, to which Fernando has been forceful: “I am happy about this question. True, Otmar probably didn’t know anything. But I informed the president, Luca de Meo, Laurent Rossi (CEO of Alpine), my mechanics, my team. Everyone who was involved in the negotiations knew about it before the official announcement. Otmar was not in the negotiations, perhaps Luca de Meo or Laurent Rossi did not notify him. But everyone knew it except him.
Regarding the subsequent mess with Piastri, which Alpine confirmed for 2023 and the Australian denied them, Ferdinand He has been hurt by the insinuations that he had something to do with it, taking advantage of his friendship with Mark Webber, current manager of the young Australian driver. “I did not like reading that conspiracy. I made my decision and explained it. For several months I have talked with the team to extend the contract, but nothing happened, officially. Aston called me when Sebastian retired, but if he didn’t retire, this move would not have happened. What happened next, with Oscar, is completely independent. I wish the best to Oscar, he is very talented, also to Alpine. That will be my team this year and always in my heart, we achieved unthinkable things and I returned to this sport thanks to them. I can only wish them the best.”
Finally, Alonso He has insisted that he will give everything to try to end his relationship with Alpine as high up as possible in the standings, in which at the moment the French team is fourth, just four points ahead of McLaren: “For my part, I hope to maintain this consistency , I have eight races in a row in the points and in some cases it could have been more, because in Austria I remember that I started last because of the sprint, and in Barcelona also because I changed the engine. I hope we have a clean weekend here in Belgium, the car is strong and we are improving a lot in the last few months. The top-6 may be possible here, there are nine races left and we want to finish on top, a podium would be a dream.”