Why Fernando Alonso to Aston Martin Doesn’t Make Sense for Either Side
Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso rocked the Formula One world when it was announced Monday morning he will be moving to Aston Martin for next season and beyond on a multi-year contract.
This was a surprising move as all signs were that Alonso would re-sign with Alpine. Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer of Alpine thought negotiations with Alonso would be straightforward.
Everything changed when Sebastian Vettel announced his retirement from Formula One, leaving a seat open at Aston Martin.
Although the timing of Alonso's move was odd coming as Formula One enters its summer break, the move isn’t surprising when looking at the two parties involved.
First, look at Lawrence Stroll. The billionaire owner of the Aston Martin Formula One team wants to be looked at as an owner of a team who can win races and compete for championships.
That’s why Stroll signed Vettel two years ago. He wanted a proven race winner and champion to help catapult his team up the grid. It was a flashy signing which put the eyes on Stroll and his son, Lance Stroll, who continues to drive for Aston Martin.
So Lawrence Stroll did the same thing to replace Vettel. He signed a proven race winner and champion in Alonso to help push Aston Martin up the grid.
Second, let’s look at Alonso. The Spanish driver has never been afraid to change teams. He’s driven for Minardi, Renault twice, McLaren twice, Ferrari, Alpine and now Aston Martin next year. Alonso has liked taking on new challenges and will again at age 41 next year (do you remember when he said a couple years back that he was "retiring" from F1 and might go race full-time in IndyCar? We see what happened there).
The problem is, history has not been kind to Alonso’s moves over the last 15 years. After winning back-to-back championships with Renault in 2005 and 2006, Alonso moved to McLaren in 2007 and finished third in the championship, one point behind champion Kimi Raikkonen.
After issues with his McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton, Alonso moved back to Renault and down the grid. He finished fifth in 2008 and ninth in 2009.
Alonso then moved to Ferrari and came close, but never won a title with Ferrari as they lagged behind Red Bull between 2010-2014. Alonso finished second to Vettel by three points in 2012, as well as second in 2010 by four points and second in 2013.
After 2014, Alonso made a disastrous decision to move to McLaren in 2015. He finished 17th in the championship in 2015. Alonso drove for McLaren until 2018. During that time, his highest finish in the championship was 10th in 2016.
Alonso has made a habit of either going to teams in worse situations and/or leaving teams right before they improve.
Folks, he’s done it again.
The 41-year-old legend is leaving Alpine, the team in fourth in the constructors title chase, for the team in ninth in Aston Martin.
It doesn’t make much sense for him to go into a serious rebuild that’s a big roll of the dice at 41 years old.
On the Aston Martin side, they’re banking on old Alonso to be the one to put them over the top? It seems like a pipe dream as Alonso hasn’t won a race since 2013!
Aston Martin would be much better off taking a gamble on a young driver like Oscar Piastri, Logan Sargeant or Mick Schumacher. Alonso is a solid driver at this stage in his career but at 41 years old he doesn’t have the upside he once had.
It’s another suspect move for Alonso in a career full of them. He’s one of the most talented drivers of all time, but the trophy case doesn’t exactly prove it because of moves like this.