The twists and turns that life takes, and in this case Formula 1. What seemed highly unlikely a few weeks ago, has taken a significant turn of the screw. We refer to the continuity of Fernando Alonso in Alpine. And it is that, despite the controversial statements of Luca de Meo, CEO of Renault, in the Spanish Grand Prix, the pieces of the puzzle fit again so that the player from Oviedo continues as the flagship of the French team’s project.
Let us remember that then Alpine did not have anything clear whether to bet on the Oviedo or do it for his reserve pilotOscar Piastri, for 2023, to be companions of an already signed –until 2024– Esteban Ocon.
“We love Fernando very much. We are going to have to find a solution for everyone, because we also have Esteban and Oscar, which are very good, and we want to protect our riders and find an ideal solution for everyone. I think the work that Fernando has done and is doing is incredible,” De Meo told DAZN at the time.
That solution that I was talking about and that is vox populi in the paddock since it was published by the Dutch touring car driver Tom Coronel, is the cession to Williams by the Australian Oscar Piastri, the great candidate to replace Fernando Alonso in the event of an exit from Alpine. Piastri would arrive at Williams to replace Nicholas Latifi.
This possibility, it should be remembered, was already pointed out by Laurent Rossi, CEO of Alpine, in Barcelona last May. “A transfer of Piastri is possible. Obviously. And I’ve always said that if I get a chance to scout and it’s compatible with my driver line-up, I’ll try to optimize it. As long as Oscar can drive, which is very important to me, because Oscar is a driver who counts a lot for the future of Alpine”, he assured in statements to ‘Mundo Deportivo’ less than a month ago.
Renovation practically closed
Well, the dominoes are falling and in Italy it has already begun to be rumored that the future of Fernando Alonso is already defined in Formula 1. According to this information, the Asturian will not only be on the grid of the ‘great circus’ in 2023, but will do so for the third consecutive year as Alpine’s main driver.
And it is that with the via Piastri covered, the best option for Alpine continues to be Fernando Alonso. Among other things because much of the development of the single-seater is going through his hands. Thus, and according to Motorsport Italia, the renewal of the two-time world champion is practically closed. There are only small details left to solve before making it official.
It is also a great opportunity for the Spaniard in order to try to win his third world championship because, the other options to continue in the ‘great circus’ were far from promising if it finally ended up in teams like Alfa Romeo or Aston Martin. Of course, it fit option of McLaren if there is a break in Daniel Ricciardo’s contract, or much more complicated in Mercedes if this course is withdrawn Lewis Hamilton. Both very difficult to venture today.
In this way, once its renewal with Alpine is officially confirmed for 2023, Fernando Alonso will play his 20th season in Formula 1. Already in this 2022 he will surpass Kimi Raikkonen to become the pilot with the most prizes disputed in the history of the ‘great circus’. What’s more, last weekend in Baku he already surpassed another of Michael Schumacher, the one with a longer career (in time) in the top category.
The legend of Fernando Alonso, therefore, will continue to get bigger, but the icing is missing, the one for which he returned to Formula 1 and which is part of ‘The Plan’. He will be world champion again. And meanwhile, this weekend he will race again, the Canadian Grand Prix, where he hopes to continue making history and climbing positions in the standings.
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