On the first day he called it “One step forward”. On the second day you said you had no chance of winning in 2024. On the third day, however, you changed your story again, using caution. Fernando Alonso gave three versions of his personality during the 2024 Formula 1 pre-season tests staged this week in Sakhir, Bahrain, a symptom of the uncertainty that hovers around his future at Aston Martin.
On the day of the presentation of the AMR24, the driver from Oviedo had stated that his priority was to renew with Aston Martin Racing, the team he has been racing for since 2023 and with which he brought home 8 podiums last season.
This year the ambitions of the Silverstone team are higher. First of all, avoid the drops in performance seen in the second part of last season. Then, if possible, win a race. Perhaps giving Fernando the long-awaited 33rd of his Formula 1 career.
The three days of testing were a roller coaster for Alonso. Positive on the first day, negative on the second and questionable on the third, despite having done a not bad race simulation on Friday afternoon.
It's no secret that Fernando is one of the transfer market men for the 2025 season. At 42 years old (he will be 43 at the end of the year) he is still one of the greats of F1 today and could be very useful to teams that aim to have a strong driver , but of transition from one era to another.
One of the interested teams could be Mercedes, which will end its glorious history with Lewis Hamilton at the end of 2024 and – barring any twists and turns – will wait until the promising Andrea Kimi Antonelli is ready enough to take up his heavy legacy. Fernando, meanwhile, doesn't seem to want to think about it too much. His goal now is to fully understand the potential of the AMR24 in the first races, and then make a decision with more solid foundations with which to make it.
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR24
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
“I think that in my case the drivers' market is very interesting because I have, I think, a good position to negotiate,” Alonso immediately said during the last day of testing.”
“But at least I want to do at least the first two races of the season without thinking too much. I want to see how I go in the new season, which will be the longest ever in Formula 1 with 24 races.”
“I want to change the travel plan and things to do a little bit to be really efficient and arrive with a lot of energy in the final part of the year.”
Alonso, continuing to talk about the transfer market, did not refrain from returning to talk about the announcement involving Lewis Hamilton, i.e. his move to Ferrari from 2025.
“It was a surprise. I expected the movement in the driver market to come towards the summer, but it all started very early. There were some leaks.”
“Probably Mercedes and Ferrari were forced to make an announcement earlier than expected. But after what happened, I believe the market movements will arrive before the summer”, concluded the Iberian from Aston Martin.
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