Alonso at Red Bull? According to information from the team, nothing has changed about the occupation of the second seat – F1sport.cz

Acclaimed Spanish journalist Albert Fabrega was packing his bags in Mexico before heading to Brazil when he published a post in Spanish on the X network that has already had over 11.6 million views.

Loosely translated; in it he says that he does not want to believe that the speculation being talked about in the paddock is true.

Fabrega is a respected journalist with good information and is not one to throw words to the wind for the sake of greater reach of posts.

Since it is a Spanish journalist, theories have started to emerge that Fernando Alonso is the subject of the speculation.

Since then (and to some extent independently of this) the snowball effect has worked. Various speculations about Aston Martin began to circulate. For example, such that Lawrence Stroll sells the team to investors from Saudi Arabia. Others are so scary that you could use them to haunt a Halloween party. Aston is said to have run out of money and is not developing a car for next year, etc.

In addition to the speculation that Alonso sees the future of the team pessimistically and thus decided to hang up his overalls, there is also a theory that he will replace Checo Pérez at Red Bull…

The year 2024

Red Bull is in a strange situation today. If Pérez’s points were deducted, Verstappen alone would lead the Constructors’ Cup by 120 points. You can’t say that Red Bull doesn’t need Pérez. His points ensured an early title win and in Milton Keynes they can fully focus on next year. But his role was less important, not only because of the dominance of Verstappen, who has already won 16 races, but also because of the situation behind him.

If we look at the season as a whole, Verstappen’s rivals in the rearview mirror changed like statues on a clock – Alonso, McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes drivers. They were fighting each other for points, but… we also have a larger number of rivals who can step forward over the winter and with stable rules and make it difficult for Verstappen next year.

If Red Bull are going to have a challenger, a strong teammate who regularly finishes races on the box will be important. Pérez is not such a colleague this year.

He is currently fighting for second place in the championship. Although his (un)earning is seen as an important element in the discussion about Pérez’s future, it actually has zero impact.

Red Bull wants second place because it has never won the double. But if Pérez gets him and he gives bad results next year, it won’t help him in any way. After all, Christian Horner also confirmed it from the opposite direction: “We will give him all the support to secure second place. But there’s no decision that he’s out if he doesn’t achieve that,” the Red Bull boss said.

Red Bull repeatedly assures that Pérez has a contract for next year and it will be honored.

Alonso on the scene?

Other events are also a catalyst for speculation. Christian Horner and Alonso’s manager Flavio Briatore were caught in Qatar (see below). Red Bull España then released a strange post on the X network. We can also mention Helmut Mark’s recent statement that Alonso is the only one who could compete with Verstappen today.

But of course there is more to it and that includes Aston Martin’s slump in form during the season…

Christian Horner and Flavio Briatore in Qatar.
Photo: Activepictures / Jiří Křenek

It’s no secret that Helmut Marko is looking for a strong rider. Lando Norris could be a hot commodity in this case. Not only Red Bull is reportedly interested in him, but also Audi. However, Norris is under contract with McLaren until the end of 2025. Alonso could thus be a good temporary solution.

On the other hand, Alonso has a reputation as a driver who can break down any team he enters and it is a question whether he would accept the role of the team’s number two. Last but not least, there is Honda, which will continue to supply power units to Red Bull for the next two years and does not have the best memories of Alonso.

According to Motorsport-Total, Red Bull assures that Alonso is “not an issue” and that neither Briatore nor anyone else in his management has made any contact with him, so even if Alonso wanted such a change would be “absolute nonsense”.

According to the AS agency, the current speculation should not concern Alonso. The Spaniard remains loyal to Aston Martin.

Late this afternoon, Albert Fabrega also called again. According to him, the speculation he has heard has nothing to do with changing drivers between teams or leaving F1.

Pérez’s seat is uncertain

Sergio Pérez is almost certain to be Max Verstappen’s teammate at the start of next season. It is less certain that they will be at the end of the season.

Red Bull has an advantage that no one else has. He has a second team on the starting grid. If Ricciardo performs like he did in Mexico, he could replace Pérez. And even during the season. In that case, Pérez would most likely finish and Ricciardo would be replaced by Lawson in the AlphaTauri.