Otmar Szafnauer compared Fernando Alonso to Michael Schumacher as he explained why Alpine decided against offering a guaranteed two-year deal to the Spaniard.
Aston Martin announced their capture of the two-time world champion on Monday, shocking the Formula 1 world. It had been widely expected that Alonso would extend his third spell with the Enstone team, with which he secured those world championship successes in 2005 and 2006.
But instead he chose to join Aston Martin, who were more ready to commit long-term to Alonso. Reports suggest his multi-year deal with his new employer may guarantee him a seat on the grid until 2025.
Alpine wanted to keep the Spaniard, but did not want to commit to such a lengthy new deal. The idea of a multi-year commitment to a driver who turned 41 at the end of July was a worrying one to team chief Szafnauer.
"We offered a one-plus-one deal," he told Autosport. "And we discussed with Fernando that 'look, if next year at this time, you're performing at the same level, of course, we will take you'. And that could have carried on.
"But I think he wanted more certainty, independent of performance – 'I want to stay for longer'. And I think that was the crux of the going one-plus-one as opposed to two-plus-one or three-plus-one or three years."
Alonso has made it clear that his age is not important as long as he continues to perform. But Szafnauer knows that even the very best sports stars are not immune to the effects of ageing, and suggested that the story of one of F1's greatest ever drivers proves his point.
"There does come a time where something happens physiologically to a driver, and you don't have the same abilities you did when you were younger," he added. "I think it happened to Michael. I think it's fair to say Michael Schumacher at 42 was not the same driver he was at 32 or 35. And it happens to other sportsmen too.
"For cricketers, it's not such a physically strenuous sport. It's all about eye hand coordination, moving the bat to the right millimetres such that you protect [the stumps]. But after 32, 33 or 34, the best batsman in the world can't do it anymore. And that's because something happens to them. And it happens to race car drivers too.
"So we were in favour of 'yes, if you're performing to the high level, for sure we'll keep you – but let's do it one year at a time' and I think he wanted a longer duration."
