Fernando Alonso has pounced on the opportunity to join Aston Martin for 2023.
The team announced the two-times world champion has joined them “on a multi-year contract”. He will take the place previously occupied by Sebastian Vettel, who announced last week he will retire from Formula 1 at the end of the year.“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 One today,” said Alonso.
Team owner Lawrence Stroll moved quickly to secure the services of Alonso after Vettel informed the team of his departure last week. He will drive alongside Stroll’s son Lance, who has been with them since 2019.
“I have known Lawrence and Lance for many years and it is very obvious that they have the ambition and passion to succeed in Formula 1,” said Alonso. “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.”
Stroll has invested heavily in Aston Martin and is building a massive extension to their factory in 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,” said Alonso. “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.
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“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 returned to F1 with Alpine last season after a two-year absence. His contract was due for renewal at the end of the season.
Stroll said he has “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,” he continued.
“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.”
In a statement Alpine said they “wish Fernando the best for his future in Formula 1.
“Fernando has always been, and always will be, part of the Renault and Alpine family and we’re proud and privileged to have shared so many on-track moments together.”
His departure leaves a vacancy at the team alongside Esteban Ocon for next year. “We look forward to finishing the remainder of the 2022 season with Fernando in blue, and we’ll keep pushing to the maximum until the final lap in November,” it added. “The team will announce its driver line-up for the 2023 Formula 1 season in due course.”
View the current list of 2023 F1 drivers and teams
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2022 F1 season
- Steiner “not ashamed” of panning “slow” Schumacher in Drive to Survive
- Albon believes year out of F1 improved him as a driver
- Hamilton sees diversity gains in F1 years on from his ‘traumatising’ experience of racism
- Verstappen returns to Drive to Survive as season five launch date is confirmed
- Why first Alonso and now Williams backed young Argentinian racer Franco Colapinto
Broke1984 (@broke1984)
1st August 2022, 9:09
“Now we can fight”.
Seriously though. Backwards move that will make Aston Martin be the place of twilight careers. With Alonso moving it seems Gasley signed for AT too early
ttongsul (@ccpbioweapon)
1st August 2022, 14:08
@broke1984 AT are a complete joke this season falling further down the field becoming a back marker team, I hope Honda buys the team soon!
yes alonso is talking complete nonsense as the only reason he is signing for the team is because stroll snr offered him a huge contract but I can see AM beating alpine next season and being more of a threat, they built a fancy new factory, hired people from Mercedes and RB.
Armchair Expert (@armchairexpert)
1st August 2022, 9:15
Alpine pushed him out of their team, which explains a lot of things that happened this year, because otherwise it makes no sense.
bosyber (@bosyber)
1st August 2022, 10:17
It does feel like that might be a part of it yeah, though Alonso also has a knack for off-kilter team choices.
PT
1st August 2022, 10:55
Based on certain strange strategic decisions Alpine took this year, the most painful of which was Canada, that seemed purposefully carried out to pull Alonso down in the eventual race finishing order and favour Ocon, I wanted him to leave the team. Alpine seems so gracious in its press release but I think it was suffocating Alonso to bring in Piastri.
Dave
1st August 2022, 14:05
Alpine got what they wanted – or Rossi got what he wanted. Since he has taken the helm heads have been rolling.
First, he unexpectedly fired Prost and then Budkowski, who is highly regarded, quit out of the blue for reasons unknown.
Rossi then brought in Otmar, who is no friend of Alonso’s and reunited him with Ocon.
Rossi started making questionable statements such their goal was to have a winner within 10 years.
Alonso must have realized that was a warning shot across the bow as he wanted to be competitive ASAP.
Now they have the freedom to bring in Piastri, who gets high accolades but is an unknown. If he doesn’t perform up to expectations Rossi will not look smart.
And how will Piastri get along with Ocon, who has been known not to be the best teammate, will be interesting?
Piastri seems to be very aggressive so this could end up being a war.
Ocon is French and Alpine is a French team so Ocon isn’t going anywhere soon.
I think sparks will fly – Ocon is not going to let Piastri come in and rule the roost.
Rossi has zero experience in his current position – it will be interesting to see if he can survive.
I don’t think it was unreasonable for ALO to ask for two more years considering his performance – it is clear Rossi and Otmar wanted him out.
Aston recently got a big boost when some Saudi investor’s stepped in so this could be a great move for ALO.
One not so good thing for Alonso – with a customer engine (and Merc’s at that), a title is out of the question but I think at this point he just wants the chance for a podium.
In any case, I don’t think Alpine handed this very well and if Aston outperforms Alpine this year or if Alpine slips, Rossi will be looking for work.
David (@djarvis)
1st August 2022, 9:21
There were rumours alpine only wanted to sign him for one year but alonso wanted a multi year deal which is what Aston offered him.
There’ll be a few drivers eyeing up that Alpine seat for next season
Christopher Rehn (@chrischrill)
1st August 2022, 9:32
That seat can only belong to Oscar Piastri.
Hello_There2487
1st August 2022, 9:32
Reastically, there has got to be only one driver Alpine will consider. If Piastri is not in that seat next year, their driver academy reputation will be ruined.
Steph
1st August 2022, 9:25
Alpine seat is already taken by Piastri.
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
1st August 2022, 9:28
*That feeling when driver switches in the F1 games seem implausible.
Captain Pie (@captainpie)
1st August 2022, 9:28
Honestly, pretty surprised by the announcement from Alonso here. Alpine has been doing well and is surely a better short term team for contention.
I wonder if Alonso and Seb spoke or if this is a classic Alonso opportunistic move, which as we all know haven’t planned out so well in recent years.
Manto
1st August 2022, 9:31
I doubt Seb would have retired if he knew the team investments could make AMR a race winner
Captain Pie (@captainpie)
1st August 2022, 10:08
@manto93 I believe there were multiple reasons for Seb retiring, but of course some of it must be related to performance.
That said AM are investing heavily in facilities and skills but maybe the forecast to regular points scoring / race winning / championship contention is too slow for Seb but acceptable to Alonso
Christopher Rehn (@chrischrill)
1st August 2022, 9:33
I think Alpine only offered a one-year contract without any driver clauses, Aston Martin probably rocked up with a 2+1 deal. Alonso wants to extend his career, and Aston Martin offered him the ability. It makes sense from that pov.
Captain Pie (@captainpie)
1st August 2022, 10:05
@chrischrill yes I’ve seen that as well, and I get that he wants security for a number of years. Maybe the Piastri threat was just too high at Alpine and he felt they were really pushing to get him in F1.
Manto
1st August 2022, 9:29
I wonder what the team sees in Ocon, they could have had Piastri to learn from Alonso which is one of the greatest, instead they have that guy that just as in RP fights teammates harder than rival cars.
Absolutely brilliant move when Ocon made Ric pass two cars in one corner
Andre
1st August 2022, 10:53
Indeed, to me it was already clear from the Force India days that Ocon wasn’t top-tier driver. He’s fast on occasions, but too inconsistent and a bit clumsy on the track. I am baffled that Alpine is letting Alonso go.
PT
1st August 2022, 11:07
It’s baffling, but not entirely out of the blue for me, considering some of the race strategies the team dished out to Alonso this year. I still can’t get over Canada. Alpine just didn’t want him. I feared something like this would happen when the top brass underwent a major shuffle. The venerable Alain Prost was shown the door. I was never a fan of Otmar coming in.
Mr Squiggle
2nd August 2022, 0:03
Indeed, Riccardo’s pass on two Alpines was a high-class stuff-up by Alpine.
I’m starting to wonder if Aston Martin’s deal with Alonso was done before Seb Vettel announced his retirement. Its all happened way too fast.
If Ocon knew that FA was leaving, it would explain his on-track behaviour.
I wonder what the chances are that Fernando misses a race or two, eg for COVID.
hunocsi (@hunocsi)
1st August 2022, 9:32
So Alonso said this weekend that he wants to continue with Alpine and they could agree in ten minutes, then gets upset with Ocon during the race and gets offered a ton of money from Stroll and signs immediately? That is an interesting mind at work for sure… To be honest I want to support Alpine but I can’t bring myself to like Alonso, so I’m not upset about this deal. And with Lance being feisty with his teammates I can’t imagine that partnership will be a dream for him either. Bring on Piastri.
Christopher Rehn (@chrischrill)
1st August 2022, 9:34
Seeing how fast this deal was announced, I’m sure Alonso had a deal ready to sign a long time ago. This wasn’t agreed upon on Sunday morning, right? So Alonso’s “10 minute” comments make very little sense.
hunocsi (@hunocsi)
1st August 2022, 10:01
They must have talked before, but with Vettel not deciding on his future until Wednesday evening, Aston couldn’t have given Alonso a real offer on paper much earlier than yesterday.
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
1st August 2022, 17:53
@chrischrill Alpine contract talks:
Alonso: “I’ve signed for Aston Martin.”
I wonder what they discussed for the other 9 minutes 50 seconds.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
1st August 2022, 20:18
The money!
JV
1st August 2022, 10:27
Him wanting to continue with Alpine and signing with a different team is not that far out there. Alpine could have not wanted to continue with him. Also he can’t talk about the switch until everything is done, which could have also been the reason for him saying that he wants to stay at Alpine.
pastaman
1st August 2022, 14:42
An interesting mind at work thinking this deal was done in a day. Just because Vettel only recently announced his retirement doesn’t mean that the team weren’t aware for probably months that it would happen. On the outside, the decision seems quick, but negotiations have been going on for at least weeks and probably months.
jff
1st August 2022, 9:34
I hope this time it works for him. Alonso still has a lot of strong drives in him. Maybe not as consistent as in the past, but when he’s on it he is difficult to beat.
Also good to welcome Piastri to Renault.
(we will have at least one Aussie in F1 :P )
bogaaaa (@nosehair)
1st August 2022, 12:30
Oscar will have to impress with up coming Friday drives ..he is seems likely replacement but ?
DB-C90 (@dbradock)
1st August 2022, 9:37
Surely that’s the end of Alonso as a so called “force”. He’s hardly shaded Ocon like everyone expected him to and seems to now be just setting himself up for retirement.
Hopefully Piastri will be put in his Alpine seat.
MichaelN
1st August 2022, 10:02
Alonso has definitely been stronger than Ocon, but he’s also had a woeful season from the team’s perspective. Plenty of good drives have been ruined by the team fumbling around.
Still, it’s totally fair for Alpine to think long-term and not let Piastri go to waste.
Depailler
1st August 2022, 9:38
FernanDOH!
petebaldwin (@)
1st August 2022, 9:41
Hmmmm….. On 2022 pace, it’s a clear step backward but I think we all knew that without a Mercedes to copy, Aston were going to be pretty slow this year. They’re doing better than I expected! This year’s Mercedes is starting to show itself as a pretty good car so I wouldn’t be majorly surprised to see the 2023, sidepodless Aston move up the field.
On Aston’s side, I’m surprised they’re willing to expose Lance by putting him up against Alonso. Vettel is a driver in decline who doesn’t have the raw pace, focus or desire to win that he used to have. Alonso is a different beast.
Overall though, I’m happy to see him sign a multi-year deal for whatever team will offer him one. His involvement always adds a bit of fun to ever race I watch and it’ll be a great bit of encouragement to all the engineers working for Aston knowing that one of their cars is going to be raced by someone who will be able to extract a lot more out of it.
MichaelN
1st August 2022, 10:05
On the other hand, either Alonso crushes Stroll and Stroll still gets to keep his drive and tell his kids he drove with Vettel and Alonso once, or Stroll stays quite close to Alonso, learns a thing or two from him, and everyone ends up rich(er) and pleased. Stroll knows he’s never going to escape the image that he’s there because his dad pays for his hobby, so why not enjoy his time in F1, learn from the best, and then move on to some other form of racing in a couple of years.
Lamalas (@lamalas)
1st August 2022, 10:15
Excellent comment MichaelN, I fully agree! COTD for me.
Also: I hope Oscar Piastri gets the other set at Alpine.
petebaldwin (@)
1st August 2022, 10:16
Yeah I guess that’s fair enough… He’s certainly now got one of the best to learn from in the team with him.
Patrick (@paeschli)
1st August 2022, 12:08
We all know Stroll is here because of his dad’s money, but he hasn’t looked too out of place in recent seasons.
ttongsul (@ccpbioweapon)
1st August 2022, 13:45
@paeschli is this a joke? i don’t want to sound disrespectful but lance is useless, you could take any random young person off the street and invest $200m usd in their racing career and they would most likely have better results than lance. But I guess in this modern liberty media “everyone’s a winner” era finishing a race is considered an Ayrton Senna level of achievement now..
to answer op post, why is alonso beating lance a given? Alonso will be 42 next year and is already declining performance wise so I could see lance beating him.
This is why daddy Lawrence signed alonso, do you think after the amount of emotional and financial investment he has made in bringing his son to the position he is at he would hire a driver that will embarrass him? This is why stroll snr signed alonso, hes an established multiple wdc winner past his peak and beatable by his precious son. 2005 alonso would destroy lance, a 42 year old 2023 twilight year racing for the money only alonso is more than beatable by a younger journeyman.
petebaldwin (@)
1st August 2022, 14:27
We’ll see. I think present day Alonso is loads faster than present day Vettel.
Patrick (@paeschli)
1st August 2022, 15:42
@ccpbioweapon What you said applies to Mazepin but not Stroll IMHO.
Stroll is batter driver than Mazepin or Latino ever will be. He’s not the worst driver on the grid.
Tommy C (@tommy-c)
1st August 2022, 9:42
Did anyone else come to racefans to verify a headline they saw elsewhere? I couldn’t believe it at face value but if it’s reported here, I guess it must be true! I must say I thought this would be Alonso’s last year and his only reason for sticking around would be a realistic shot at the title. I can’t see that happening at Aston Martin next year but stranger things have happened I suppose!
MG1982 (@mg1982)
1st August 2022, 10:40
Me.
Simon
1st August 2022, 11:37
Not me. Probably 4th or 5th on the list.
Piastri announced at Alpine in due course
Tiaki Porangi
1st August 2022, 11:57
Haha. Same here.
Racefans is where I go to confirm F1 stuff, including whatever Andrew Benson writes over at the Beeb.
This is home!
mrfill (@mrfill)
1st August 2022, 9:42
‘Stroll said he has “known and admired Fernando for many years and it has always been clear that he is a committed winner like me.” ‘
He hasn’t won an F1 race for nearly 10 years…. That’s not very committed.
SHR Modding
1st August 2022, 11:22
That says a lot more about you than him to be honest
t1redmonkey (@t1redmonkey)
1st August 2022, 9:45
Wow, I actually misread the headline at first because I was so sure he was going to resign for Alpine so just read it as ‘Alpine’ not ‘Aston Martin’. Very surprised, hope it works out for him, but going off his track record, it probably won’t! I do think he will destroy Lance in qualy/race performance levels though, I didn’t really expect Vettel to do so very convincingly, but Alonso definitely will.
Patrick (@paeschli)
1st August 2022, 12:09
Same here. I glanced over the headline and closed the tab.
Reopened the site a few hours later and only realized then it said AM and not Alpine.
RandomMallard
1st August 2022, 9:46
This aged well.
But in all seriousness, this seems to have been completed very quickly, considering Vettel apparently only told the team he intended to retire on Wednesday. Either that or AM had been planning a replacement for Stroll for a while (though for some reason I doubt that).
This I think gives a big opening for Piastri though. You have to think Alpine would want him to have a bit more track time though considering he’s not raced since December. He’s not allowed back in F2, so could they get him an Indy seat or something I wonder, just for a few races towards the end of the season to get him back used to proper racing? I don’t know, it could be interesting.
Trying to think who else could take that seat. Possibly Ricciardo, if McLaren end up wanting to replace him after all, and he knows Team Enstone very well already, or could Zhou move back into the Alpine camp (having been a junior driver with them in F2), which could free up room for Pourchaire at Alfa Romeo if they’re desperate to get him into F1. This is all pure speculation of course.
bernasaurus (@bernasaurus)
1st August 2022, 9:57
Re: This aged well.
2 days is a long time in politics it would seem.
petebaldwin (@)
1st August 2022, 10:22
Sounds like he wanted to stay with Alpine but when he spoke to them, he realised they weren’t as keen to offer him the contract he was expecting. He’s in a position to get signed up to a multi-year deal currently but in 12 months, perhaps that won’t be the case. Aston could have signed someone else so that seat is gone, Alpine could go for Piastri and Ocon and the where does Fernando go? Williams or Haas etc… He’s now tied in to a team that will be somewhere in the midfield – if they get their photocopying right, they could even be near the front of the midfield.
Phil Norman (@phil-f1-21)
1st August 2022, 12:39
A sensible analysis I think.
ttongsul (@ccpbioweapon)
1st August 2022, 13:57
@petebaldwin Looks like my comment was true . It was a no brainer alonso moving to AM, huge paycheck towards the end of his F1 career, stroll snr gives his son an established old past his peak beatable multiple wdc team mate so when he does beat him he can claim he beat top drivers, frees up a seat at Alpine for Oscar..
Miltiadis (@miltosgreekfan)
1st August 2022, 9:47
I really don’t get that move… Alonso claimed that his return to the sport only happened for the 2022 regs shakeup, expecting to fight at the front if possible. While Alpine ain’t a top car this year,they are a top midfield car and their package is quite decent. Aston Martin on the other hand, are going backwards since Lawrence Stroll bought the team and i really doubt they’ll be able to become something better than best of the rest in 2023(AM has a lot of new stuff for 2023 but I can’t see them fighting the top 3). A weird move from Alonso’s side imo.
SHR Modding
1st August 2022, 11:24
Don’t think he had a choice. Looking at how alpine botched some of his races this year and the pressure to put piastri in the car it was clear alonso was the only one who wanted to stay at alpine.
Patrick (@paeschli)
1st August 2022, 12:14
The answer you’re looking for is money.
Two years being paid as the two-time champion he is, is better than maybe one year with Alpine.
LosD (@losd)
1st August 2022, 9:47
Aston Martin… Where racing careers goes to die.
knightameer (@knightameer)
1st August 2022, 13:04
Wrong. Racing careers die at Ferrari. Their disgruntled drivers switching to other teams is just an exercise to stay sane!!
Ruben
1st August 2022, 9:49
Alonso is gonna out race and out-politic Lance here.
Matt (@hollidog)
1st August 2022, 11:08
If he can’t get preferential treatment in a team with which he won two championships, what makes you think he can get it in a team where the other driver is the owners son?
Ruben
1st August 2022, 13:29
You’re right, I’m not sure if he can actually get preferential treatment. But I think (or: wouldn’t be surprised) he will either try (which can make life for the other side of the garage difficult and put a strain on inter team relationships) or become very cynical (which will have the same net result). Or both.
Ipsom
1st August 2022, 9:52
Might as well retire than go to AM. Pointless move that brings him nothing.
If Alonso is that interested in F1 maybe he should try out a team managerial role somewhere…
And pretty surprised from Alpine not wanting him to that extent. He’s been driving well since his comeback
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
1st August 2022, 20:25
I suppose with a decent salary, why not sta