Fernando Alonso turns nose up at Toto Wolff phone call after beating Mercedes in Japan | F1 | Sport
Fernando Alonso dismissed the idea of giving Mercedes boss Toto Wolff a call on Sunday night after his impressive performance at the Japanese Grand Prix. The Aston Martin veteran is keeping his options open ahead of next year, and although a move to the Silver Arrows has been widely touted, their lack of pace could force him to look elsewhere.
Alonso worked miracles to qualify in P5 for Aston Martin after his team-mate, Lance Stroll, failed to make it through Q1. His hot streak carried over into Sunday as he held off the challenge of George Russell, Oscar Piastri and Lewis Hamilton to secure sixth place.
Punching well above his weight and with a contract expiring at the end of the season, Alonso has refused to commit his future to Aston amid the possibility of moves to either Red Bull or Mercedes.
“I had a lot of fun, which is great,” Alonso told Sky Sports. “I had one of my best weekends ever, I think, [in terms of] driving, and I’m still 44 seconds behind the leader. It doesn’t feel attractive. Let’s see.”
When asked whether Aston’s relative lack of pace could prompt him to get on the phone to Wolff about a prospective switch to Mercedes, Alonso continued: “That’s a very good question but Mercedes are behind us, so it doesn’t feel that attractive [either].”
The 42-year-old was clearly underwhelmed with banking only eight Drivers’ Championship points while at the very top of his game. But Hamilton and Russell fared even worse, with the Mercedes pair finishing ninth and seventh respectively.
Despite mutual respect flowing publicly between Verstappen and Alonso in recent years, the Red Bull man recently questioned whether his team should hire the Aston Martin ace due to his age.
“If you ask me, I would find it strange to sign a 42-year-old driver,” he told De Limburger. “Red Bull has always had the tradition of training young drivers itself. The signing of Sergio Perez was a departure from that trend, especially with a 42-year-old driver. I can get along with Fernando, that’s not it. But I also look at the future of the team.”
