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Aston Martin’s Team Principal, Mike Krack, has shared his insights on Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari for the 2025 season.
The 2024 silly season kicked off with Lewis Hamilton announcing his departure from Mercedes in 2025. The Brit will be moving to Ferrari, which leaves a seat open at the Silver Arrows. Since the announcement, Fernando Alonso has been revealed to be a driver under consideration for the Mercedes seat.
Alonso’s contract with Aston Martin ends this year after he joined the team in 2023. Rumours about Alonso’s future have intensified recently and now, Mike Krack, Team Principal of Aston Martin, has given his insights.
The ripple effect
Initially reported by Crash.net, Krack recently discussed the significant impact of Lewis Hamilton’s choice to join Ferrari in a forthcoming interview with Sky Sports F1 during the AMR24 launch. In the interview, Krack delved into the far-reaching consequences of this decision. The Team Principal said:
“With Lewis’ signature, the whole market exploded! We knew there would be a silly season this year. We have not even turned a wheel, and the driver market is in full swing.
“We love Fernando. We have a great relationship based on openness and trust. It would be fantastic if we could continue into 2025 and 2026.”
Krack’s words reflect the domino effect the news has had with driver line-ups becoming a central focus even before the season kicks off.
The product of our hyper-focus.#AMR24 pic.twitter.com/2SI0zA3RgX
— Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team (@AstonMartinF1) February 12, 2024
Alonso gives his take
Two-time world champion Alonso has been at the centre of speculation. When asked about the possibility of moving to Mercedes next year, Alonso said:
“Let’s see. I am focused on the start of the season. I am concentrating on performance, not the future.
“If I race in the next few years, I will try to take a decision at the start of the year. I don’t want to [stall] the process too much into the season. It always affects, a little bit, the performance.”
He emphasises his deliberative process, stating: “I am aware that there aren’t a lot of world champions available with Max with Red Bull, Lewis with Ferrari. There is only me left, without a contract.
“I need to feel, myself, whether I want to commit, to keep racing.
“If I feel that I can give 200% to a team, on and off track. If I do so, Aston Martin will be my first priority. The first team I will sit down with. There is a sense of loyalty to them.”
The Spaniard has previously spoken about the duration of his career with Motorsport.com. Alonso noted that “a few years ago” he would have said that “40 to 41 was the limit”. However, after the impressive 2023 season, he feels that he can keep racing “for a few more years.”
Headline image: GettyImages