Alonso Now Delays 2025 Aston Martin F1 Deal Talks
Feb.12 - Fernando Alonso is reportedly putting contract talks with Aston Martin on hold in the wake of Lewis Hamilton's shock defection from Mercedes to Ferrari for 2025.
42-year-old Alonso's current deal expires this year - as do the contracts of the majority of the 2024 Formula 1 grid. Mercedes boss Toto Wolff admits he is already fielding calls from many stars who are eyeing Hamilton's seat.
"We have had, as you can imagine, quite a lot of phone calls and Whatsapps," Wolff told CNBC. "And we're going to take our time."
A leading candidate to succeed Hamilton in 2025 is the meteoric Wolff-managed teenage talent Kimi Antonelli, who is just 17. But also clearly in the running is the ever-resurgent two-time champion Alonso, who will be 43 if he races for Mercedes in 2025.
Wolff said: "I think the spectrum is from the very young talent which could be the future for a long, long time, all the way to the other end of the spectrum, which is lots of performance and knowledge. So I'm not sure where this is going to end.
"But the next few months are going to be interesting in evaluating all those options."
Marco Canseco, the top F1 correspondent for the Spanish sports daily Marca, says Aston Martin is keen to sit down for 2025 contract talks with Alonso.
"As we have learned, Fernando is not sitting down yet to renew with the bosses of the Silverstone team, since it is not a matter that he is in any hurry to address at the moment," he said.
"Why? Because the panorama of stability that looked likely for the next few years in the paddock has been totally blown up (by Hamilton)."
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Antonelli most certainly isn't a leading candidate in any case, as next year's season would probably come too soon for him to be mentally ready for a top team drive, but Alonso is indeed a viable option.
Well, the article incorrectly asserts that the stability in the paddock had bee blown to bits by Hamilton's move to Ferrari.
The article mentions in passing, that the majority of drivers' contracts are expiring at the end of the 2024 season.
It would appear to me, that the 'stability' of the paddock has been affected far more by the fact that everyone's contracts are coming due at the same time, than by just The Dame es move to Ferrari.
Let's not forget, that Mercedes isn't the Magic Carpet ride it used to be. They struggled for most of 2023. I expect an improvement in 2024, but getting it right will be an iterative process - hampered now by the budget caps imposed by FIA.
So, when 2025 begins, perhaps by then Mercedes will have found the sweet-spot, once again.