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Alpine team principal Otmar Szafnauer was certain Fernando Alonso would stay with the team after the 2022 F1 Hungarian GP.
Before Alonso announced his move to Aston Martin for 2023 and beyond, the Enstone-based team principal addressed the onsite media, including Sportskeeda, and suggested that it was only a matter of time before they would announce the Spaniard as their driver for 2023.
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Upon being asked if Alonso’s future would be resolved by the 2022 F1 Belgian GP, Szafnauer replied:
“Yes, absolutely.”
Asked about when the discussions are scheduled to happen in the summer break, the Alpine team principal said:
“Well, we are continuing the talk with him and we are very close to doing something. But I think Fernando’s right, by Spa we’ll all know.”
In media sessions with Sportskeeda and other select media after the 2022 F1 Hungarian GP, the 57-year-old was certain that the negotiations with the Spaniard were ongoing and would be fruitful. Suggesting that contractual discussions were underway, Szafnauer claimed to not be worried about their ace driver leaving.
On being told Alonso wanted some downtime during the summer break and when those talks could happen, considering that, Szafnauer said:
“No those talks have been going on (for some time).”
Before Szafnauer’s media session, Fernando Alonso had suggested that if both sides agree on the terms and conditions, 10 minutes is all it would take for an agreement to be signed between him and Alpine.
The Alpine team principal also agreed with the double champion’s statements that it would only take as many minutes for both parties to sign an agreement if they were to be on the same page. He then suggested that by the 2022 F1 Belgian GP, it would be clear to everyone where the contractual scenarios stand.
Upon being asked if that's the period it would take to sign the double champion, Szafnauer agreed, saying:
“Ten minutes. He’s absolutely right.”
Alpine were certain Fernando Alonso would stay with them for 2023 and beyond
The Alpine team principal was certain Fernando Alonso was going to stay with them and that the contractual talks would reach a positive agreement, where both parties would sign. Less than 12 hours after Otmar Szafnauer spoke to Sportskeeda and other media presence at the 2022 F1 Hungarian GP, the Spaniard announced his move to Aston Martin, replacing the outgoing Sebastian Vettel.
On whether the talks between Alpine and the Spanish champion were going to be straightforward, Szfanauer said:
“Very straightforward.”
Asked if Fernando Alonso was going to stay with Alpine for 2023, he responded:
“Of course.”
Upon being asked if there were still any minute contractual details that needed to be agreed upon with Fernando Alonso, the Alpine team principal said:
“No, not really. We’ve gone through all that. It is just a matter of time. It’s the details... the little stuff.”
On why he thought Alpine and Fernando Alonso were in agreement with each other, Szafnauer said:
“We like him, we like him a lot. Cause he’s performing and he says he likes us and it is my first time working with him He’s absolutely brilliant and performing to a high level.”
Asked if financial terms were an issue while negotiating with Alonso, the Alpine team boss said:
“Not just Fernando, every driver I’ve ever negotiated with- it’s been a question of money and other things too. For whatever reason, they want the most money and we want to pay the least, and then we end up in some kind of unhappy place for everyone or a happy place where everyone is willing to sign.”
As the saga unfolded after Szafnauer spoke to the media in Budapest, the Alpine team principal also mentioned that they got to know about Fernando Alonso’s future through Aston Martin's press release. While they had just lost their ace driver, they promptly announced their reserve driver Oscar Piastri as his replacement for 2023. The Australian, however, denied signing with them for next season, making F1’s silly season sillier than usual.
