Mark Hughes on the possibility of Alonso joining Red Bull

In Australia, Fernando Alonso was asked direct questions about his possible negotiations with Red Bull, but the two-time world champion chose not to answer. Famed British journalist Mark Hughes discusses the likelihood of such a scenario in the pages of The Race.

There are rumors in the Formula 1 paddock that Fernando Alonso is making a very serious attempt to find out whether there is a possibility of signing a contract with Red Bull, and only then will he explore other possible scenarios for the future.

In Melbourne he gave a rather poetic and detailed answer to the question of whether he has a desire to stay in Formula 1. However, you should not be mistaken about Alonso, although he is always interesting to listen to. Part of his charm comes from the kind of myths he creates himself, and to guess what he’s really thinking about, you have to read between the lines.

This is what he said at the time: “As a young man I won my first world championship (with Renault) and signed a contract with McLaren, which we announced a year before my move to this team. I was 24 years old at the time and nothing has changed for me as I’ve gotten older.

When I competed in karting, I thought I would work as a mechanic in this sport all my life, and Formula 1 was not my priority. It was too far from her and I hadn’t reached this level yet. I was an ordinary boy from the north of Spain and it seemed that nothing could connect me with Formula 1.

I love motorsport in general, I love racing with any type of car. Rally raids, Dakar, endurance racing, Indycar. Formula 1 is simply the pinnacle of motorsport, there are fantastic cars here and you can learn a lot from the people who work in this championship. They are very smart professionals, and overall everything here is great. Formula 1 is addictive.

But I still don’t think I fit into this environment, I am much more normal than this premium class of motorsport.”

In general, Alonso portrays a kind of modest man who says he is not suitable for Formula 1, but who managed to make it despite all obstacles, and therefore should be happy with what he has already achieved – is there more? to be desired?

But at the same time he seems to be looking into his soul and preparing internally to take the next step, because he simply cannot do otherwise. When he attacks, he looks a bit like a scorpion, whether on the court or off.

Therefore, when he talks (as he did in Melbourne) about trying to understand himself to understand whether he has a desire to continue his career, and that everything else will depend on this, and not on external circumstances, this is an excellent example of a distracting maneuver.

In fact, he is driven only by the desire to evaluate all possible vacancies in the championship teams and realistically weigh the chances of winning a third title, which would be incredibly cool.

When Alonso talks about how important it is for him to be the master of his own destiny, it is very easy to believe him. He really chooses everything himself. However, when he starts talking about how he won’t allow outside circumstances to influence his decision to stay in the championship or retire, it’s hard to believe.

Fernando likes to act against everyone’s expectations and at the same time try to exceed them. For example, few believed that after missing several seasons he would return to Formula 1. And when he managed to return, few believed that in a few years he would again compete for places on the podium, but at the beginning of last season it was exactly the case.

Probably, even now, few people believe that he will find an option in which he can claim a third title. But I don’t recommend betting that he won’t succeed.

The current shifts in the driver market are related to Lewis Hamilton’s upcoming switch to Ferrari, and the uncertainty surrounding Max Verstappen and Red Bull plays perfectly into Alonso’s hands.

According to him, he is ready to continue his career until almost the age of 50 (Fernando is now 42 years old) as he can still perform at the highest level. As long as he sees an opportunity to fight for the title, he doesn’t have to convince himself to stay in Formula 1. He will only refuse this if circumstances do not favor such a scenario.

It is clear that Alonso, thinking about the future, is considering the possibility of extending his contract with Aston Martin, and assessing his chances in relation to Red Bull. If the slightest opportunity arises – Verstappen is about to leave, or the champion team refuses the services of Sergio Perez – Fernando will grab it with both hands. That’s the kind of person he is.

Aston Martin makes no secret of the fact that they want to extend the contract with him. However, Alonso is still taking a wait-and-see approach. When he says that he must first decide for himself what he wants, that is not entirely sincere. His desire to stay in Formula 1 mainly depends on how he assesses his chances. Of course, there is a risk that this wait will take too long and that time will be lost.

Probably little will depend on Fernando. But if he rushes and signs a contract with Aston Martin, and then a vacancy suddenly opens up at Red Bull, he cannot take advantage of it. Therefore, it is now important for him not to overestimate his ability to dictate terms.

It is believed that he was constantly in the wrong place at the wrong time throughout his career, although in fact this mainly dates back to his first contract with McLaren, which was terminated at the end of 2007. And then it was really his own choice.

And any other career moves were more likely attempts to smooth over the consequences of that decision, rather than a conscious desire to surprise everyone with eccentricity. Before Fernando returned to Formula 1, it was impossible to imagine that he would want to fight for a third title twenty years after winning the first, and now this is already part of the myth he himself has created.