Fernando Alonso shuts down ‘pointless’ Red Bull and Mercedes question

Fernando Alonso chatting with Max Verstappen

Fernando Alonso shut down a question about talks with Red Bull and Mercedes, the driver saying there’s “no point” talking about that as he has re-signed with Aston Martin.

Prior to re-signing with Aston Martin last week, Alonso was linked to Red Bull and Mercedes with the Spaniard said to be in talks with both championship-winning teams.

‘…but they were just light conversations’

Said to be in the running to replace Lewis Hamilton as the only World Champion on the grid not signed for 2025 in a one-year deal, the driver was also reportedly in line for a Red Bull seat.

According to some reports he could’ve replaced Sergio Perez to make an all-champions line-up alongside Max Verstappen while others claimed it was the Dutchman’s seat he’d be taking with Verstappen off to Mercedes.

In the end, none of those rumours were true with Alonso re-committing his future to Aston Martin in what he’s called “probably my last” F1 contract.

And now Aston Martin is the only subject he wants to talk about.

Asked about the rumoured Red Bull and Mercedes talks, he said during Thursday’s driver press conference in China: “Well, I think there’s really no point talking too much because now it is done and I’m with Aston, and I would like to only talk about Aston.

“Like I said last week, there were some talks with everyone, as is normal for everyone in that moment, but they were just light conversations.”

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New Aston Martin contract ‘simple’ despite outside rumours

Last week’s announcement came as a surprise to many as just days prior at the Japanese Grand Prix, Alonso had given no hint that a new deal was on the horizon.

He revealed that’s because it wasn’t, he sat down with the team after Japan and “one, two days” later they put pen to paper.

“We just sat together after Japan and arrived at the conclusion and an agreement was reached in one or two days. It was very, very simple,” he said.

“And once we had the agreement, we announced. Everything is a little bit more simple than looks from the outside.

“There are a lot of rumours, a lot of things going on for different teams and different drivers.

“And for us we were just loyal to each other. We just kept our word and once we signed it and we agreed on something, we announced it so for us it was much more simple than that maybe for other people.”

Praising Aston Martin’s commitment to Formula 1 from the upcoming Honda engine supply deal in 2026 to Aramco with its “biofuels and sustainability” as well as investment in the new factory, Alonso confirmed that his new Aston Martin “is probably my last contract.

“So I wanted to make sure that it was the right decision, first of all, to keep racing in Formula One and to have the strength and the motivation to keep racing for a few more years from my side.

“And then after that, just making sure that the team has the targets and the goals for the next few years to be ambitious and to keep getting better and better.

“It was I think, a very happy decision for me. Obviously extremely proud to represent Aston Martin for the next few years. We started the journey last year in a very good way, and we keep on working. So extremely proud, happy, and let’s see what we can do.”