Red Bull Formula 1 chief Christian Horner has publicly acknowledged his team held preliminary talks with Fernando Alonso at the start of 2024 as both the Spaniard and the team weighed up their future options.
Alonso signed a new contract with Aston Martin until the end of the 2026 season in April, which also includes provision to stay with the British brand beyond his grand prix driving days as an ambassador, calling it a "lifetime commitment".
At the time, Alonso explained that he had tested the waters at other teams before committing his future to Aston Martin, saying: “I did speak with other people as well. I think it’s normal when you enter negotiations, you need to listen to everyone else as well.
"It’s a normal procedure and I think it’s fair as well to listen to all the proposals and to see how the market moves. But in my head, Aston was the logical thing for me to do."
Horner has now confirmed that Red Bull was one of the parties Alonso and his manager Flavio Briatore had held exploratory talks with. Back then Red Bull was deciding on whether or not to extend Sergio Perez's contract and at the time it also didn't seem guaranteed that Max Verstappen would stay put while Red Bull was going through political upheaval.
"At that time, Sergio's contract hadn't been extended, so as Fernando is a seasoned operator, he always wants to know all of his options," Horner said. "Between him and his manager or advisor of many years, Flavio, they're always testing the market, and it just shows how hungry and competitive he is.
"He's still delivering at 42 years of age, or 43. He's still in great shape and it just shows that age is just a number. He's still a very, very capable grand prix driver and given the tools, I'm sure he'd be at the front."
Alonso's 400th grand prix appearance is being celebrated by Aston Martin and F1 at this weekend's Mexico Grand Prix, which led Horner to reminisce about two previous opportunities to sign the two-time world champion to his Red Bull outfit.
"At the end of his McLaren stint in 2008, I remember going to Madrid and pushing to get him in the car," Horner reflected. "We wanted to do a two-year deal, and he was only prepared to sign for one year. We were convinced he had a Ferrari contract in his back pocket at that point, so we didn't get to a deal.
"Had he come to us in 2009, maybe things could have looked slightly differently. Even halfway through the 2009 season, he was convinced if he got in our car, he could still win the championship that year.
"We then had a conversation; I remember meeting with him with Adrian in the back of a hire car at Spa Airport. I think that was around 2011 or 2012, about coming across from Ferrari and then even as early as the beginning of this year. So, it's incredible the longevity that he's had, the competitiveness that he has, and the ability he has.
"Two world championships don't do him justice. He should have won more than that."
