Aston Martin Fears Losing Alonso Post-2024

Aston Martin F1’s Mike Krack expresses concerns about retaining Fernando Alonso after the 2024 season amid intense F1 commitments.

Aston Martin F1 team director Mike Krack reflected in Shanghai on Fernando Alonso’s re-signing for the next two seasons, an announcement made between the Japanese and Chinese Grands Prix last week.

He admitted that he was uncertain if his team could retain Fernando Alonso beyond the 2024 season. But not due to attempts by rival teams to recruit him…

“I wasn’t convinced he would extend because Fernando has been very clear about many points that held him back due to life in F1.”

“It was already clear when he returned to F1. Current travel demands a lot of energy, especially if you want to do things his way.”

“There’s no room to give just 99 percent and that’s why, with a schedule like this, it drains all your energy in a year. I think he’s repeated several times that there is no life [outside F1] – you either participate 100 percent or you don’t.”

“When you see how he behaves, how he works, when he’s here, who he interacts with, you see that it’s 100 percent with him, in every aspect.”

“You also understand that when he says there’s no life around it, it’s true.”

“And because of that, I had some concerns that he might finally tell us ‘I want to do something else in life’.”

“I was very happy to see that he loves F1 more than private life at this stage even though it represents a lot of sacrifices for him.”

As for Alonso having discussed, more or less casually with other teams, Krack understands but wasn’t overly worried.

“Fernando is a man of his word. He told us that what he communicated externally was the same as what he communicated internally.”

“He said: ‘I first have to discuss with myself and I need to decide if I want to continue. Then, if I want to continue, I want to discuss first with Aston Martin’. That’s what happened. And we are very happy that it ended this way.”

“We had always set a date by which we wanted to make a decision. There was an agreement that we reached quite early. And it was really nice to see that everyone stuck to what they said. So, everything went as we thought.”

The confirmation of the second driver remains. Unsurprisingly, it should be Lance Stroll.

“Last week was about Fernando, but we also know that Aston Martin is Lance’s home. We know this and the whole project has always been around him. So, we are looking for continuity. I’ve always said that was very important, so we will see in the coming weeks.”