“I'm here to stay”. I'm here to stay. Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso have thus announced the renewal of the agreement which will unite them for years to come. The Spaniard will thus go on the hunt for victory number 33 which he has been chasing for over 11 years now.
A meager statement, almost a whisper, but which has the power to weigh like a boulder in the driver market in view of the next seasons with the second box being completed after Lewis Hamilton's move to Ferrari from 2025 in place of Carlos Sainz.
In a market that opened well earlier than expected with Ferrari's announcement, Alonso – having grasped the concept of having no possibility of moving to either Mercedes or Red Bull for the next few seasons – decided to play in advance to burn the competition, securing the Aston Martin seat for at least another 2 years.
Mike Krack, Team Principal of Aston Martin Aramco, said: “Securing Fernando's long-term future with Aston Martin Aramco is fantastic news. We have built a strong collaborative relationship over the last 18 months and share the same determination for success of this project”.
“We have had a constant dialogue in recent months and Fernando has been faithful to his word: when he decided to continue racing, he spoke to us first. Fernando has shown that he believes in us and we believe in him.
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin AMR24
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
“Fernando is hungry for success, drives better than ever, is fitter than ever and is fully dedicated to making Aston Martin Aramco a competitive force.”
“This multi-year agreement with Fernando takes us until 2026, when we will begin our partnership with Honda for the production power unit. We look forward to creating more incredible memories and achieving more successes together.”
This move by Aston Martin also has an important significance for the future of other drivers, starting with Carlos Sainz, who thus sees a reduction in the seats available for the next season after learning that he has been abandoned by the Prancing Horse from 2025.
Thus, 2 prominent seats remain available: the one in Mercedes that will leave Hamilton free and the one that could remain free in Red Bull if the Milton Keynes team decides not to renew Sergio Perez's contract.
For Alonso, however, the certainty of continuing at least another two years in Formula 1 with an ambitious team. Furthermore, having signed a multi-year contract, Alonso will eventually return to work with Honda. The Japanese company will become Aston Martin's partner from 2026 when it will supply the power units. The times of the famous “GP2 engine” radio team that went down in history are over, because Honda's top management is no longer the same as it was then. But those words, like it or not, still echo in the air…
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