Jordan's Track Talk

Tag: Fernando Alonso

  • Alonso signs new contract with Aston Martin

    Fernando Alonso will continue to race in Formula 1 with Aston Martin next season after the team announced that he has signed a fresh deal to keep him onboard into 2026 and the sport’s next regulatory cycle.

    Alonso made the move to Aston Martin from Alpine for the 2023 season and the two parties enjoyed a strong start to their partnership by bagging six podium finishes across the first eight races of last year’s campaign.

    Highlights included P2 finishes in Monaco, Canada and the Netherlands, as the Spanish driver helped the team rise from seventh to fifth in the constructors’ standings under team owner Lawrence Stroll’s push to turn Aston Martin into a title-contending team.

    Amid relatively stable regulations and a converging field, Aston Martin have experienced a solid but unspectacular start to the 2024 season, remaining in fifth position behind Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes with a series of top 10 finishes.

    Following on from Lewis Hamilton’s shock move to Ferrari, there was speculation over Alonso’s future, initially regarding whether or not he would commit to another stint in F1 and if he did, would it be with Aston Martin?
    But the team was quick to confirm that, and lock down the world champion!

    Securing Fernando’s long-term future with Aston Martin Aramco is fantastic news. We have built a strong working relationship over the last 18 months and we share the same determination to see this project succeed. We have been in constant dialogue over the last few months and Fernando has been true to his word: when he decided he wanted to continue racing, he talked to us first. Fernando has shown he believes in us, and we believe in him. Fernando is hungry for success, driving better than ever, is fitter than ever, and is completely dedicated to making Aston Martin Aramco a competitive force. This multi-year agreement with Fernando takes us into 2026 when we begin our works power unit partnership with Honda. We look forward to creating more incredible memories and achieving further success together.

  • Alonso signs multi-year deal with Aston Martin

    It’s the first morning of summer break and silly season has officially started… Aston Martin have moved swiftly to announce a replacement for Sebastian Vettel, swapping one world champ for another. Fernando Alonso joins the team in 2023 on a multi-year deal.

    Alonso returned to Formula 1 in 2021 with Alpine after a two year sabbatical and has delivered a string of impressive drives alongside Esteban Ocon, especially helping his teammate get his first win last year in Hungary!

    When Vettel announced he was retiring last Thursaday, Alonso emerged as the favourite to replace him given his wealth of F1 experience as well as the two World Championships he has.

    The news comes less than 24 hours after Alpine F1 boss, Otmar Szafnauer expressed confidence that Alonso would stay with the team for 2023 and beyond, predicting talks would be “very straightforward”.

    Alpine were trying to find a seat for reserve driver Piastri and looked set to loan him out to Williams next year, but with Alonso’s exit it looks like the Aussie will step up and join Esteban Ocon at the team from 2023.

    This Aston Martin team is clearly applying the energy and commitment to win, and it is therefore one of the most exciting teams in Formula 1 today. I have known Lawrence and Lance [Stroll] for many years and it is very obvious that they have the ambition and passion to succeed in Formula 1. I have watched as the team has systematically attracted great people with winning pedigrees, and I have become aware of the huge commitment to new facilities and resources at Silverstone. No one in Formula 1 today is demonstrating a greater vision and absolute commitment to winning, and that makes it a really exciting opportunity for me. I still have the hunger and ambition to fight to be at the front, and I want to be part of an organisation that is committed to learn, develop and succeed. We all appreciate that there is much to be done to get to the front, and that we must apply all our energies in working together to find performance. The passion and desire to perform that I have witnessed convince me to maintain my enjoyment and commitment to the sport. I intend to win again in this sport and therefore I have to take the opportunities that feel right to me.

    Alonso on his move to AM.

    I have known and admired Fernando for many years and it has always been clear that he is a committed winner like me. I have set out to bring together the best people and develop the right resources and organisation to succeed in this highly competitive sport, and those plans are now taking shape at Silverstone. It seemed natural therefore to invite Fernando to be part of the development of a winning team, and we very quickly established in our recent conversations that we have the same ambitions and values, and it was logical and easy to confirm our desire to work together.

    Lawrence Stroll on signing the 2 times world champ.

  • Alonso to replace Vettel?

    Acording to a report, Fernando Alonso is on Aston Martin’s radar again to potentially to replace Sebastian Vettel for 2023.

    Vettel’s seat is probably one of the most talked about this year, he doesn’t give anything away with what he will be doing next year.

    Alonso is now into his second season, since returning to Formula 1 last season with Alpine, he has had an strong start to the 2022 capmaign even though his result do not show that…

    Bad luck has played a part in the Spaniard’s season, such as a retirement in Saudi Arabia and then a hit from Mick Schumacher at Imola later forced Alonso to retire because of a large chunk of his sidepod went up in the air… As well as this, at the Australian GP it looked like Alonso was a contender for pole, but a hydraulic problem caused him to crash in Q3.

    Aston Martin have ambitions to become title contenders within the next five years, but early in 2022 they find themselves as one of the slowest cars on the grid. Vettel and Stroll scored their first points of the year at Imola.

    But with Aston Martin having a lot of work to be able to be a contender to challenge the top teams right now, it is suspected that Vettel could leave the team. F1-Insider.com report that Alonso is on AM’s radar, having first been linked to a move to the Silverstone based team ahead of the 2022 season, when Vettel’s future was also not clear.

    My Opinion-

    We all know Alonso wants to keep on driving in F1, whether thats with Alpine, or Aston Martin I don’t think he will mind. If this happens, then I could see Alpine getting in Piastri, which a lot of people will want to see!

    But will Seb retire or will he find another seat? It’s a tough one, Seb says his still got a few more years in him, but does he actually want to stay?…

  • A522

    A522

    Alpine are now the ninth team to launch their challenger for this season- the A522, in which they had a live show from Paris.

    The team secured their first victory under the Alpine banner, in Hungary last year when Esteban won. The same pairing as last year will continue, double world champion Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon. As well as this, they have Formula 2 Champion, Oscar Piastri fulfilling reserve duties.

    The French manufacturer, will be wanting to continue on with their climb up the grid after finishing sixth in the Constructors standings.

    Alpine is set to run a striking new livery that is predominantly blue that features pink highlights in a nod to their new title sponsor BWT, as well as this, they presented a ‘flipped’ the livery with pink becoming the most prominent colour. The special pink design will be used in the first two races of the year- Bahrain and Saudi Arabia before reverting back to the blue.

    “It’s with great pleasure that we launch our A522 to the world today, marking the next chapter in Alpine’s Formula 1 journey,” said Rossi. “We have a clear plan and vision in place at Alpine and we have some of the best people in the business to help drive us forward and realise our ambitions. Our team is stronger now and, we hope, future-proof.”

    Ocon said: “I’m very excited, of course, to not only see the A522 for the first time but to drive it for the first time this week. It’s always a privilege to drive a new Formula 1 car for the first time, as you know all the hard work that has gone on behind the scenes at both factories in Enstone and Viry from all of the many talented people working in the different departments there. That feeling and responsibility is truly unique and very special. I feel prepared, I feel ready physically, so let’s hit the track and see what we’ve got in our hands this year.”

    Alonso added: “It’s good to be back and I’ve been working hard to be ready for the new season. The build-up has been a long time coming after the rule change was delayed due to the pandemic. The car looks fantastic with the new regulations in place and I like the new livery. We have a new engine and we’re confident we had a good development in place for this new generation of car. We won’t know where everyone stands until Bahrain, but we’re excited to take the car for its first spin in testing this week. I hope the new regulations have worked and we get more exciting wheel to wheel racing this year.”

    My Opinion-

    We all knew the Alpine would have pink on it, as BWT are the title sponsor. But do I like it? I’m not actually sure as it is quite a lot which has changed from last year, but I do feel like it will grow on me once seeing it on track.

    But the car itself on the render pictures looks like a mixture between Ferrari and Aston Martin with the way they have designed, which could be a clever move but we will not know until it hits the track!

  • 21.02.22

    Alpine have announced their launch date for the A522, with it being on the 21st February.

    The covers will come off two days before the first pre-season test, at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

    The A522 is going to be driven by world champ Fernando Alonso and race winner Esteban Ocon with 2022 being their second season together!

    Ocon got the honour to take the first win of newly named Alpine outfit, as Renault was renamed in 2021.

    Alpine will be wanting to improve on their finish last year, P5 in the constructors. But will they be able to achieve this or better this year as executive director Marcin Budkowski and four-time champion Alain Prost have departed the team this month.

  • Alonso extends contract with Alpine

    It has been confirmed that two-time world champ, Fernando Alonso will be staying with Alpine for the 2022 season, it is the only team he had discussions with for next year.

    Alonso came back into F1 this year after a two year break and joint Alpine where he one his two world titles. His contract for this year was just a one plus one (He had an option to extend for another year, which he now has).

    The Spaniard, hasn’t had the best season so far he only managed to score five points in the first 5 races but things are starting to slowly look better for him, he scored 8 points in Baku, 6 in Silverstone and 12 in Hungary whilst also defending off Lewis Hamilton to secure his team-mate Esteban Ocon his first win in F1. It will be interesting to see how he does the second half of the season…

    What would be next for him?

    If he chose not to stay, it is more than likely he would aim for Indy 500 and go for the triple crown which includes winning the Le Mans 24 Hours, F1 World Championship and the Indianapolis 500.

    My Opinion-

    I’m not surprised by this at all, I think its the right decision for both Alonso and Alpine especially with the regulation changes coming in next year, it will be helpful to have two drivers who know the team well.