Fernando Alonso has confirmed that he did hold conversations with some other Formula 1 teams on the grid before opting to extend his contract with Aston Martin.
Alonso entered the final term of his previous deal with Aston Martin this season and had conceded that he was unsure on whether he wanted to remain in the series.
The Spaniard had been linked with Red Bull, while Mercedes was touted as a possible destination amid Lewis Hamilton’s impending move to Ferrari from next season.
However, Aston Martin has announced that Alonso has renewed his deal to remain with the Silverstone-based squad heading into the sport’s new regulations in 2026.
Alonso has revealed that there were tentative discussions elsewhere as he sought to review his options, but Aston Martin represented the optimal choice for his future.
“I did speak with other people as well, yes. I think it’s normal when you enter negotiations, you need to balance a little bit the market,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“You need to listen to everyone else as well. It’s just a normal procedure, and I think it’s fair to listen to all the proposals and see how the market moves.
“I don’t know, in my head, Aston was the logical thing for me to do. At the end, it was also the best and the most, I felt the most wanted in Aston Martin.
“All the other conversations were just light, and never came to any conclusions or something like that.
“Maybe more time was needed, all these kinds of things. While in Aston, it was a clear desire to work together, which was the same that I had. That’s why it came very easy.”
Rumours had continued to persist that Alonso had been angling to take a place at Red Bull either alongside or in place of reigning World Champion Max Verstappen.
But Alonso refused to disclose which teams he had spoken to up and down the pitlane, citing that it’s a normal occurrence to have dialogue during a contract period.
“I will not be specific of which teams I speak as I think this is not any more important now and it’s a day for Aston Martin and a day for good news for Aston Martin,” he added.
“But it’s a normal conversation to have, same for teams, when they are searching for a driver, they touch everyone, just to know their position and their contract situation, even if they are not super interested they always want to know everything and for me it’s the same, but without any cleat targets, and [the] first priority was Aston.”
Despite exploring external avenues, Alonso has established how the feeling that there is unfinished business at Aston Martin was a factor in his eventual renewal.
Asked whether it was a simple or hard decision-making process, Alonso replied: “It was easy. I think it didn’t change much from when we spoke in February on the car launch.
“I needed a few races or few weeks to really think about myself, if I was ready to commit for more years in Formula 1, because the calendars are just a little bit more intense now, the car as well, the commitments. My love for Formula 1 and my love for Aston Martin didn’t change, but I just wanted this time to really speak with myself and make the decision and the commitment.
“Formula 1 takes all your time, all your energy. You have to give up basically everything in life to keep racing, and I wanted just to speak with myself if I was ready to do so.
“Once I took the decision, I think it was after Australia, something like that, I sat with Aston, which again is exactly the same as what I said in February, that would be my first priority, and it was not too difficult. We both wanted the same. I wanted to keep racing with Aston Martin, Aston Martin also wanted to keep me on the seat.
“When two parties, they want something, at one point you reach an agreement. So I’m extremely excited to keep racing and keep racing with this team, at which I feel at home.
“It was also a sense of loyalty that I wanted to express to my team, one year and a half ago, we started together and we achieved so many things, some of them probably unprecedented in Formula 1 to reach so many highs in such a short period of time.
“I think, or I felt this is just the beginning of the journey. It could not be the end of the journey for me and Aston Martin.”
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