Alonso: "Are two sides and will not put a gun to anyone's head"

Fernando Alonso does not yet know if and where he will drive Formula 1 next year. The two-time world champion is certainly planning to extend his stay in the pinnacle of motor sport and would prefer to renew his contract with Alpine. Prior to the Hungarian Grand Prix, Alonso was asked about his situation.

Alonso's contract with Alpine is coming to an end and although Esteban Ocon enjoys a commanding lead in the world championship, the Spaniard is showing his mettle every week. The 40-year-old driver is incredibly driven and spectacular, but he has been extremely unlucky in the early months of the 2022 season.

It is confirmation for Alonso himself that he is still highly competitive, despite being by far the oldest driver on the grid today. He would prefer to stay with his childhood sweetheart Alpine, the team where he won two world titles in 2005 and 2006, but Alonso does not entirely rule out a switch to another team.

Another team than Alpine?

"All teams with free places are an option," he says according to the Spanish AS. Then he added: "My priority is to stay at Alpine, we have been working on this project for two years and we are becoming more and more competitive. My desire is to stay, we are in talks for a reason, everything is in progress".

At Aston Martin, they have to compensate for the departure of Sebastian Vettel and they prefer to do that with a driver who has already proven himself in Formula 1. After all, the shoes that need to be filled are big ones too. Alonso says he has not yet had a call from Lawrence Stroll, the owner of the Aston Martin team.

Alonso expects no problems

When can we expect an announcement about Alonso's future? "I am going on holiday, the bosses are going on holiday, so we will have to have virtual meetings. If two parties want to agree, it takes ten minutes. If they find it difficult to agree, one of the parties is not happy. It will not take more than ten minutes. I would like to stay here, I have already said that. But there are two sides and I will not put a gun to anyone's head. We will negotiate and if we agree, it will be ten minutes," he concludes.