Fernando Alonso admits “talks” but puts a stop to Mercedes or Red Bull “rumours”

Fernando Alonso has admitted to “light conversations” with rival F1 teams before committing to Aston Martin.

The two-time world champion last week signed a multi-year contract extension with Aston Martin which will take him to at least 2026, when he will be 45.

The vacancy at Mercedes, and the possible opening at Red Bull, were ignored as a result.

“As I said last week, there is no point to really talk too much, because now it’s done and I am with Aston and I would like to talk only about Aston,” he said.

“There were some talks with everyone. It is normal for everyone in this moment but they were just light conversations.”

Alonso had been mentioned as a key option for Mercedes to replace Lewis Hamilton when he goes to Ferrari next year.

Red Bull were also heavily linked, with Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen’s futures both coming under scrutiny this year at various points.

But Alonso will instead stay with Aston Martin who he now expects to be his final F1 team.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix, Alonso conceded the extension is “probably my last contract, so I wanted to make sure that it was the right decision.”

The timing of the announcement took many by surprise given the nature of this year’s volatile and unpredictable driver market.

Asked if getting things done early was important to him, Alonso replied: “Not really. We just sat together after Japan and we arrived to a conclusion and an agreement in one or two days. It was very, very simple.

“Once we got the agreement, we announce it. Everything is a little bit more simple than it looks from the outside.

“There are a lot of rumours, a lot of things going on for different teams and different drivers and deadlines here, deadlines there.

“For us we were just loyal to each other, we just kept our word and once we signed it, we announced it. For us, it was much more simple than maybe for other people.”

Alonso shot straight onto the podium when he joined Aston Martin last year, but has found this season slightly tougher going so far.

His best result was P5 in Saudi Arabia, and Aston Martin have found the Ferraris to be regularly ahead of them.