"Formula 1 is not a toy for us, it is a business"- Alpine CEO on why the team couldn't give Fernando Alonso a multi-year F1 contract

Fernando Alonso announced earlier this season that he will be parting ways with Alpine to join Aston Martin in the 2023 season after being denied a long-term contract by the French outfit. Alpine offered the Spaniard a one-plus-one contract despite his desire for a greater level of commitment from the team. Team boss Laurent Rossi, however, insisted that it was in the best interest of the team to make this decision.

Speaking to Auto Motor und Sport about Fernando Alonso's ultimate departure from the team after the two parties came to an impasse, Rossi said:

“We couldn’t give Fernando what he wanted. The wording of the one-plus-one contract we offered him was practically the same as the one he signed with us two years ago. So he rightly said that it was a matter of five minutes to come to a conclusion. More than two years were not responsible. And do you think two or three years makes a big difference for him? He is now moving to a racing team that is ninth in the World Championship.”

Rossi further elaborated on how Alpine ended terms with Fernando Alonso on an amicable note, saying:

“That means rebuilding work that he has already done with us. Alpine would certainly have been the lower risk for him in terms of sport. Fernando’s time is also limited. There are also other things that we couldn’t offer Fernando. I can’t set the bar arbitrarily high. We ask our employees in the factories to make sacrifices. We can’t go too far in Formula 1. Formula 1 is not a toy for us, it is a business. We would have liked to continue with Fernando. He is the greatest champion to have driven for Renault. In the end, we agreed that we didn’t agree. Without angry words, without slamming the doors.”

Fernando Alonso currently stands ninth in the drivers' championship with 59 points to his name.

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Fernando Alonso knows he may not "win the first race" with Aston Martin, says team boss

Several fans were shocked to hear that two-time world champion Fernando Alonso decided to move to Aston Martin, despite the swiftly growing success of his current team. Clearly, the Silverstone-based team were able to offer him a more attractive contract in terms of length of time, but Aston Martin boss Mike Krack has revealed that the Spaniard knows exactly what he is getting into in terms of expectations.

As reported by the BBC, Krack claimed that he understands the struggles of offering a car to a driver who has set high standards for himself in the past in terms of pace and results, in this case, Fernando Alonso. He said:

“It will be challenging for us. Normally, drivers with this experience, they do not have this desire to win. Normally, this desire goes down, especially if they have won already. Fernando has this unique combination of speed, hunger, motivation, and experience. For us, it makes the perfect candidate. The downside could be that if the car we deliver is just not good enough, then we know it gets difficult. But it gets difficult with every driver if the car is not fast enough. We think having someone like Fernando is really, really important to make the next step as a team.”

“You need to learn to manage champions, which we already did with Sebastian [Vettel]. Because these drivers are very demanding, they are quite difficult to manage. I would not even say Sebastian is that difficult to manage if you are transparent, honest, and straight. And I think the same goes for Fernando. Difficulties arise when expectation does not match deliverables, or when it’s not outspoken. He knows very well when he comes here that we will probably not win the first race together.”

Aston Martin currently stands ninth in the constructors' standings, while Alpine remains at the front of the midfield in fourth place.