Regardless, Thursday in Hungary marked a four-time world champion saying goodbye to the sport. It was a very big deal. Fellow drivers lined up to give their tributes, Lewis Hamilton’s being particularly heartfelt: “There’s no lack of bravery in Sebastian. He has been one of the few drivers in racing history that has stood for much more than himself. He’s used his voice in things that I’ve fought for and stood by me, he’s taken the knee, he’s gone on his own journey and stood on the grid and fought for things that he believed in, and for the greater good. I think he’s just a really beautiful human being and I’m really grateful to have been here in a time that he was racing.”
That became history on the Monday after Budapest. Fernando Alonso, 41 years old, and having told Alpine he was basically ready to sign its contract offer, would instead be heading to Aston Martin in 2023, replacing Vettel to begin a ‘multi-year agreement’.
It’s easy to imagine Alonso feeling slighted at a one-year contract offer
In hindsight this was predictable. Alonso has been driving at a sometimes extraordinary level this year, qualifying the mid-grid car second-fastest in the rain of Canada, threatening a similar position in Melbourne until a systems failure-induced crash. His stunning racecraft, the habit he has of outsmarting those he’s racing against and the raw speed are all still there.
So when Alpine boss Laurent Rossi baulked at Alonso’s request for a multi-year deal and suggested one year at a time, it’s easy to imagine Alonso feeling slighted. Rossi had a problem of fitting three into two, with Esteban Ocon already on a long-term deal and a commitment to give Alpine Academy driver Oscar Piastri an F1 seat in ’23 or risk losing him. Piastri could be placed, but Rossi clearly wanted him back at some point. He’s highly rated. Alonso’s age was obviously a factor in Rossi’s thinking.
Meanwhile McLaren, thinking about the possibility of a post-Daniel Ricciardo era starting as early as next year, was interested in Piastri. Let’s say here that Piastri is shrewdly managed by Mark Webber who used to be shrewdly managed by Flavio Briatore, as did Alonso…