Fernando Alonso fires back at ‘following the money’ accusations

Fernando Alonso has faced claims throughout his career that he has made poor choices due to his focus on following money over success.

41-year-old Fernando Alonso has a long and storied history in Formula One, having raced for multiple teams since he entered the highest tier of motorsport in 2001. 

Fernando Alonso initially joined Formula One as a driver for Minardi, where he pushed the underperforming car to a 10th place position in Germany, before being recalled from loan to drive for Renault.

Having become Formula One’s youngest double World Champion with Renault, Alonso moved to McLaren from 2007 but returned to the team where he won his titles after one season.

In 2010, Alonso joined Ferrari but, following disagreements with the then-team principal Marco Mattiacci, he left the team to sign with McLaren from 2015. 

READ: Fernando Alonso accused of chasing money over championships

The Spaniard’s stint at McLaren would end in 2019, leaving him without a seat in Formula One until Alpine signed him up for the 2021 season.

Despite contract negotiations at Alpine being ongoing, Alonso would announce during the 2022 season that he planned to abandon the team in favour of his current multi-year deal with Aston Martin. 

Former Formula One team owner Eddie Jordan has claimed that, if Alonso had “picked his teams better,” he would have secured “four, six or maybe even eight” world championships, rather than just the two he won.

“In his 30s, Alonso went for the money when he could have gone a different route,” Jordan claimed.

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However, Alonso has firmly rebuffed accusations that he’s driven by financial gain, telling Soy Motor that “for 16 years I’ve been fighting for podiums and wins and that’s quite unique.”

READ: ‘What’s happening with my son?’: Lawrence Stroll concerned by Fernando Alonso

“I would say that out of the 20 years I’ve been in F1, I’ve only had four frustrating years in a McLaren-Honda that wasn’t competitive,” the Spaniard explained. 

While some speculated he moved to Aston Martin due to the salary on offer, Alonso said the seat change had come after focusing on who would be best placed to capitalise on the 2022 regulation change.

“I was waiting for the new rules to be closer to victories,” Alonso explained. “It did not happen in 2022 with Alpine, but it was a year to prepare well.”