Fernando Alonso’s rival contract offer uncovered in Briatore admission

Fernando Alonso received a surprise contract offer from Williams before deciding to join Aston Martin for the F1 2023 season.

That is the claim of Alonso‘s manager Flavio Briatore, who has lifted the lid on how negotiations over a contract extension with Alpine “suddenly” stalled in the summer of 2022.

Fernando Alonso received Williams offer before Aston Martin switch

Alonso completed his second season with the Aston Martin team at last weekend’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with the F1 2024 campaign failing to hit the heights of 2023.

The Spaniard enjoyed his most successful season in a decade with Aston Martin in 2023, claiming a total of eight podium finishes to help the Silvestone-based team claim fifth place in the Constructors’ Championship.

Alonso’s move to Aston Martin for 2023 came after an acrimonious departure from Alpine, with whom he embarked upon his F1 comeback in 2021 following a two-year sabbatical.

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After claiming a first podium finish in seven years at the 2021 Qatar Grand Prix, Alonso was set to extend his stay with Alpine as the 2022 season reached its halfway point.

However, the veteran confirmed on the morning after that year’s Hungarian Grand Prix that he would join Aston Martin – just four days after his predecessor Sebastian Vettel announced his intention to retire at the end of the season.

Alpine’s situation went from bad to worse when Oscar Piastri later rejected the opportunity to replace Alonso in favour of a move to McLaren, with the Enstone-based team eventually signing Pierre Gasly as Alonso’s successor.

Briatore, who this year returned to Enstone as an executive adviser to Renault boss Luca de Meo, has revealed that Alonso was ready to sign an extension with Alpine at the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix before then-chief executive Laurent Rossi “suddenly disappeared.”

Alonso then stepped up negotiations with Aston Martin, with the Spaniard receiving an offer from Williams – then headed by Jost Capito and en route to finishing bottom of the 2022 standings – before reaching a decision on his future.

Asked how his return to Alpine materialised, Briatore told German publication Auto Motor und Sport: “In the beginning, the idea was to help a little. I wasn’t sure because so much has changed in Formula 1.

“We talked about the last few years at Alpine in a very non-committal way. Losing two drivers like Fernando Alonso and Oscar Piastri in one summer was a bit of an inability.

“Fernando wanted to stay because the season before wasn’t that bad. We wanted to sign the contract in Canada.

“Then Laurent Rossi suddenly disappeared. We could no longer reach him. That was the moment when I started talking to Lawrence Stroll from Aston Martin.

“We even had an offer from Williams. I said to them: get your house in order first.

“In the end, we signed with Aston Martin because we couldn’t get a green light with Alpine’s management.

“The faults lay with the management. I said to Luca: If I get full responsibility, I’ll do it.”

Speaking to Spanish radio programme El Larguero last year, Alonso confirmed that he had agreed terms on a deal to remain with Alpine beyond 2022, but the team’s “lack of professionalism” during negotiations drove him to move to Aston Martin.

And he explained how his deal to join Aston Martin developed rapidly after Vettel announced his retirement three days before the Hungarian GP.

He said: “The first [act] was that Vettel retired.

“The second was that Alpine had been negotiating for several months and nothing was ever finalised.

“We agreed on everything, but the paper didn’t arrive and I noticed a lack of professionalism.

“At Aston, we had everything clear on Saturday after Vettel’s announcement on Thursday, the role on the table. This willingness to have me seduced me.

“It was an adventure. There was a risk, but it worked out well and the hunch worked this time.

“There were a few hours with both offers on the table, but I saw more ambition in Aston Martin.”

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