Alonso’s 2009 Red Bull Snub: A Hindsight Regret

Fernando Alonso looks back on his decision to decline Red Bull’s 2009 offer, a choice that shaped his career trajectory.

Fernando Alonso reflected on his missed opportunity to join Red Bull in 2009.

One of the criticisms frequently leveled at Alonso throughout his F1 career has been his poor team choices.

Although these criticisms may seem harsh, a driver of Alonso’s caliber should arguably have more than two titles. And Alonso had the chance to join Red Bull in 2009.

The Spaniard passed on the offer and returned to Renault for two years before joining Ferrari in 2010.

Red Bull went on to become a winning team in 2009, before dominating the sport in the following years, with Vettel securing four consecutive world titles.

Speaking on the Beyond the Grid podcast ahead of his 400th F1 race, Alonso reflected on his decision to turn down Red Bull’s offer.

“Again, it’s easy to say now. In 2008, Red Bull had only achieved, I think, one podium with David [Coulthard] in Monaco.”

“Red Bull was an energy drink company. A great team, good people in the team. But predicting that they would win seven or eight championships over the next decade wasn’t really guaranteed.”

Alonso referenced Lewis Hamilton’s surprise move to Mercedes and the criticism the British driver faced at the time.

“And when Lewis moved from McLaren to Mercedes, that first year in 2013 was heavily criticized. Because why leave McLaren for a Mercedes that had only achieved one or two podiums by then?”

“And now he’s a seven-time world champion, and it’s the same now with Ferrari. We don’t know what Lewis will achieve next year. If Ferrari succeeds and wins a championship, it’ll be a good decision.”

“If Mercedes succeeds and wins a championship, it’ll be a bad decision. How can you predict that?”