Aston Martin Formula 1 boss Mike Krack says the team is “not concerned” by Fernando Alonso’s age, after admitting its interest in extending his current contract.
Having walked away from F1 entirely at the end of 2018, Alonso returned to the sport for a third stint with the Renault-owned squad, now run under the guise of Alpine, in 2021.
The Spaniard was in talks during 2022 to renew his deal, but amid reported doubts over his age, Alpine was hesitant to offer him more than a guaranteed one-year contract.
Sebastian Vettel’s retirement ahead of the break opened up the chance for Aston Martin to pounce on Alpine’s indecision, with Alonso swiftly penning a two-year deal.
Alonso capitalised on Aston Martin’s resurgence in competitiveness to amass eight podiums in his debut campaign with the squad, ending fourth in the standings.
With Alonso responsible for accumulating 74% of the Silverstone marque’s points total, Krack declared that the team wants to retain the two-time World Champion beyond 2024.
“I think I don’t have to answer that question. Absolutely yes!” Krack responded when that topic was put to him in Abu Dhabi.
Pressed to expand on the reasons why Aston Martin would want to keep Alonso and whether it shared Alpine’s previous apprehension, Krack replied: “So, I think the answer is obviously clear. And the second question is no, I’m not concerned.”
Although it tailed off from the storming start that had it competing for second in the Constructors’ Championship, Aston Martin scored more than 225 points than in 2022.
Meanwhile, Alpine endured a tumultuous season that resulted in both Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer and long-serving Sporting Director Alan Permane exiting in July.
Along with Szafnauer and Permane, Pat Fry departed his role as Chief Technical Officer to move to Williams, citing that Alpine lacked the “enthusiasm” to progress forward.
Criticism has been targeted at Alpine for prioritising the marketing of its road car division, but Alonso highlighted that Aston Martin’s main priority is landing F1 success.
Questioned on the balance between the two at Aston Martin, Alonso, who blamed a “lack of professionalism” for his switch, said: “Different than Alpine for sure.
“I think this team is very focused on winning and racing for the next few years. This doesn’t mean we don’t want to sell cars and that will help the project.
“But first priority is to win in Formula 1 and then the rest of the things will unfold naturally.
The Anglo-French outfit amassed 160 fewer points than Aston Martin to drop two places to sixth in the standings, having harboured ambitions of retaining fourth position.
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