Fernando Alonso evaluated crucial aspects before renewing his Aston Martin F1 contract, focusing on competitive standings and personal readiness.
Alonso revealed he considered two main factors before deciding to sign a brand-new contract extension with Aston Martin’s Formula 1 team.
The Spaniard admitted he was unsure about remaining in a sport that now features a 24-race calendar, adding extra pressure to everyone involved.
Alonso, who mentioned that his family would attend more events, acknowledges that he used the first Grand Prix races to assess whether he was ready to continue at this pace.
“I had a few things to evaluate. First, it wasn’t a racing-related factor. To be honest, it was more the travel.”
“Looking at this calendar, I was a bit afraid it would be tough for me. There are all the pre-season commitments with all the photo shoots, media shoots, and the car launch.”
“All these kinds of things are quite demanding in terms of energy for drivers in general, and for me, especially at this stage of my career.”
“So, I said, let me get through this tough period, which I call the start of the year of marketing and media and things like that, and then this difficult period of travel, time zones, planes, and stuff like that. If I feel that I don’t like what I’m doing, I think it’s better not to continue racing.”
“If I get through this time of the year, I love the racing, and everything else doesn’t weigh on me, I can continue. And that’s the first thing I wanted to clarify with myself during the first two races.”
Alonso also revealed that he was eager to see where Aston Martin stood competitively in the early stages of 2024 as he still aims for a return to victory.
“Then, obviously, I wanted to see how we were performing.”
“You know, there’s no guarantee that if I feel good and stay with Aston, that things will go well. We might have a car that’s difficult to drive, not competitive, seeing no progress in the team. I see the downsides.”
“But to be honest, yes, we didn’t start on the podium, okay, but I think we are very close, the fourth-best team behind Red Bull.”
“There will be some races where we will be more competitive, others less so.”
“But also, in the first four races, we introduced four new parts to the car. Every race, we had an upgrade. So that’s something quite encouraging and quite nice to see.”
“So, I think the team is progressing. It’s never fast enough in Formula 1, it’s a very demanding sport, a very demanding environment.”
“But 18 months ago, 22 months ago, we had a tiny ex-Jordan building. And now, we are within half a tenth with Ferrari, with Mercedes, with the top teams.”
“So, that kind of progress is really what I’m looking at in this project. Oh, the ambition of this project is to win. So I want to be part of it.”
Alonso admitted to having discussions with other F1 teams before renewing with Aston Martin and stated that retirement had not become a serious option.
“I don’t think it ever crossed my mind to retire when I had to make a decision. Above all, I think that when I stop Formula 1, I’ll race elsewhere, maybe in Dakar or something like that.”
“So for me, it’s very hard to really think about a life without a steering wheel in my hands, that will never happen or not in the short term.”
“But no, I think I was 99 percent convinced that I would continue racing next year. So retirement was not an option.”
Alonso Weighs Key Factors for Aston F1 Contract. Alonso Weighs Key Factors for Aston F1 Contract
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