MELBOURNE, Australia — Fernando Alonso plans to remain in Formula One for another “two or three years”, meaning he is looking to sign a new contract this summer before his current one expires at the end of the 2022 season.
Alonso, who made his F1 debut in 2001, returned to the sport with Alpine last year after two seasons out of F1 in 2019 and 2020.
The 40-year-old’s two-year deal with Alpine is set to expire at the end of this season, but he plans to remain in F1 beyond that — either with Alpine or another team.
“I will race, I guess, a couple more years, two or three more years,” Alonso said. “If it is with Alpine it will be good, if it is with another team it will be good as well, but I will find out and I will start these discussions probably in summer. Let’s see.”
Alonso’s comments came in response to a question about his presence at Alpine holding up the promotion of reigning Formula 2 champion Oscar Piastri, who is a junior driver for the team.
But Alonso said decisions on race drivers in F1 should always be linked to performance and he believes he is still performing on a level worthy of keeping his place at the team.
“I think obviously if I was 25 there will not be this talk, it’s an age thing, that people try to find a way for the young talents, but I think this is about performance,” he said. “Last year I think I did well, I finished slightly in front of Esteban [Ocon], let’s see this year how the battle goes.
“But this is about performance not about age, and I will as I said, at the beginning of the year, I still feel competitive and fast and feel I am enjoying time in Formula One.”