Alonso Stalls 2025 Aston Martin Talks, Eyes Mercedes Seat

Jarrod Partridgeon February 12, 2024

It appears that Fernando Alonso is not rushing into negotiations for a new deal with Aston Martin, especially after the surprising news of Lewis Hamilton leaving Mercedes for Ferrari in 2025.

At the age of 42, Alonso’s existing contract is set to conclude at the end of this season, which is also the case for most drivers on the 2024 Formula 1 roster. Toto Wolff, the head of Mercedes, has acknowledged that he’s receiving a significant amount of interest from various top drivers seeking to take over the spot left by Hamilton.

“We have had, as you can imagine, quite a lot of phone calls and Whatsapps,” Wolff told CNBC. “And we’re going to take our time.”

A leading candidate to succeed Hamilton in 2025 is the meteoric Wolff-managed teenage talent Kimi Antonelli, who is just 17. But also clearly in the running is the ever-resurgent two-time champion Alonso, who will be 43 in 2025.

Wolff said: “I think the spectrum is from the very young talent which could be the future for a long, long time, all the way to the other end of the spectrum, which is lots of performance and knowledge. So I’m not sure where this is going to end.

“But the next few months are going to be interesting in evaluating all those options.”

Marco Canseco, the top F1 correspondent for the Spanish sports daily Marca, says Aston Martin is keen to sit down for 2025 contract talks with Alonso.

“As we have learned, Fernando is not sitting down yet to renew with the bosses of the Silverstone team, since it is not a matter that he is in any hurry to address at the moment,” he said.

“Why? Because the panorama of stability that looked likely for the next few years in the paddock has been totally blown up (by Hamilton).”