18/04/2024
NEWS STORY
With a new contract agreed, Aston Martin boss, Mike Krack has admitted that he thought Fernando Alonso was on the verge of quitting F1.
One minute the Spaniard was insisting that he could envisage racing into his fifties, weeks later he sounded as though he was on the verge of walking away... then came last Thursday's 'announce'.
With Aston Martin being Honda's partner team in 2026, new regulations aimed at (sigh) levelling the field and a team owner - unlike some one could mention - fully prepared to dig deep in order to achieve success, Alonso's decision to remain with the Silverstone-based outfit makes perfect sense, even amidst talk of interest from Mercedes and Red Bull.
However, Krack admits that ahead of agreeing the deal he and the team were concerned that the two-time world champion was on the verge of quitting the sport.
"When you see how he is working, when he is there, how he is interacting, you see that there is only 100%," he said of the Spaniard. "When he says there is no life around that, it is true.
"Considering that, I had some concerns that he was going to say, 'You know? I want to do something else with my life', and I was very happy to see that he loves Formula One more than a private life at this stage."
Asked what he thinks it was that persuade Alonso to commit his future to the team, Krack said: "I think what we have here is his desire and absolute passion... and even rage to win. Which many, many drivers at this stage of their career do not have."
Check out our Thursday gallery from Shanghai here.