Reflecting on Lewis Hamilton’s blockbuster move to Ferrari in 2025 —a move Hamilton described as a ‘childhood dream’ Fernando Alonso offered a particularly...Fernando Alonso take.
“It wasn’t his childhood dream two months ago,” the two-time champ opined. Oh, Fernando. Never change.
Though Alonso does think that Hamilton —with whom he shared a highly charged season at McLaren—might just be the secret ingredient needed for the Scuderia: “Maybe Lewis can bring that little bit extra to fight for the championship. The car is there. Even at the end of last year, with a very dominant Red Bull car, Ferrari were still able to match their lap times and even be faster than them in most of the qualifiers.”
It makes for a tantalizing prospect for fans the world over, but it does raise the question of exactly who replaces Hamilton at Mercedes. To nobody’s surprise, the rumor mill has identified Alonso as one such candidate, and while he has reaffirmed his commitment to Aston Martin, he did make it clear that he was one of only three champions left ‘available’ on the grid. Could this be a come-and-get-me plea to Mercedes?
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“Now, after I saw myself last year, motivated and performing well, I was thinking I could keep racing for a few more years,” said Alonso. “This winter, I’ve exceeded the expectations in terms of the physical tests that I did. So I would say that if you’re committed, you can drive until you’re 48 or 49, or even 50.”
Make of that what you will, though it would be premature to rule out a bright future at Aston Martin for Alonso. Last year, en route to a fourth-place finish in the driver standings, he managed to secure eight podium finishes, proving the grey hairs have taken very little away from his ability to compete at the top.
The 2024 season kicks off in Bahrain in less than three weeks and will be the longest calendar year yet with a whopping 24 races scheduled. Will it be a fairytale ending to Hamilton’s Mercedes career, or will the Red Bull juggernaut continue its rampant form to a fourth straight title?
Who knows—maybe Alonso and the recently revealed AMR24 could even cause a major upset. It’s shaping up nicely indeed.
NOTE: This article first appeared on TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
