During last season’s winter break, the announcement of Sebastian Vettel’s retirement sent the paddock into overdrive, with driver moves following the domino effect caused by the German.
Fernando Alonso was on the verge of extending his contract with Alpine but was controversially temped into a last-minute move to Aston Martin, with Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll managing to convince the Spaniard to make the switch.
At the age of 41, Alonso signed a two-year deal with Aston Martin, seeing him race well into his 40s and continue to defy the expectations put on him due to his age.
The Spaniard has aged like a fine wine and is arguably at the top of his game still, with Alonso stunningly scoring a podium on his debut for Aston Martin in Bahrain.
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This result was no fluke either, with the 41-year-old producing stunning overtakes on George Russell, Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton to jump up into the podium places.
Whilst Alonso is showing no signs of slowing down, the Spaniard’s girlfriend has claimed that his current two-year contract will Aston Martin will most likely be his last.
Alonso has been dating TV presenter Andrea Schlager since last year when the pair met in the paddock and their romance has quickly blossomed.
“He currently has a two-year contract and it will most likely be his last,” she told ServusTV during a recent broadcast.
Schlager has also revealed that Alonso’s winter was very full on, with the Spaniard going above and beyond to ensure he was ready for the new season.
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“The whole winter consisted of gym, tennis, skiing. It was impressive how he went full throttle,” she said.
Even though Alonso’s girlfriend has suggested that Alonso will walk away from F1 at the end of next season, nothing is ever certain with Alonso.
The 41-year-old initially retired in 2018 before making a comeback with Alpine, suggesting that Alonso finds it very difficult to say goodbye to Formula 1 for good.