Third place Aston Martin's Spanish driver Fernando Alonso celebrates on the podium after the Formula One Brazil Grand Prix at the Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace racetrack, also known as Interlagos, in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on November 5, 2023. Photo by NELSON ALMEIDA / AFP
Paris: Fernando Alonso yesterday pledged his future to Aston Martin, dashing any thoughts of the two-time former champion replacing Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes next season.
The 42-year-old two-time former world champion has penned a new deal with Aston, ensuring he will drive for the team into 2026 when new regulations are introduced.
“I’m here to stay,” he confirmed.
The evergreen Spanish veteran had been mooted as a possible contender to succeed seven-time champion Hamilton at Mercedes after the Briton’s move to Ferrari next year.
Alonso and Aston have enjoyed a superb partnership since he moved to the British stable from Alpine.
He secured six of the first eight podiums last season, and displayed his undiminished expertise with second place finishes at Monaco, Canada and the Netherlands.
Those buoyant performances lifted the team bankrolled by his driving partner Lance Stroll’s Canadian billionaire father Lawrence to fifth from seventh last term.
Hamilton’s shock announcement that he was leaving Mercedes for Ferrari in 2025 inevitably led to speculation that Alonso could end up driving alongside George Russell next season.
But yesterday’s revelation put those thoughts to bed as he nailed his colours to the Silverstone outfit for the forseeable future.
Alonso has won 32 Grand Prix races, although his wait to add to that tally has gone on for 11 years. Alonso is set to become the first driver to take part in 400 Grand Prix races later this season. After the opening four rounds of the 2024 campaign, Alonso is eighth in the standings.
