Fernando Alonso shared that he won’t let other people influence him on the decision of what to do next in Formula 1, and to keep racing or retire is something he will decide “on my own”, he said.
The Spaniard’s contract expires at the end of this season, and he has many options on the table. One of them is to join Mercedes, considering Lewis Hamilton’s departure at the end of 2024. On the other hand, he could also remain at Aston Martin.
His final decision will be based on whether he will feel ready to commit 100% to racing..
“I’ve been always that way,” he said about the fact that he always made decisions without listening to other people. “Sometimes it did help me, sometimes it did hurt me, to be the owner of my destiny.
“I chose when to go from a team when to join a team, I chose when to stop F1. And I chose when to come back.
“And now I will choose what I do next year. I will not follow what others do, and they dictate my destiny. I will do it on my own. For good or for bad, this is the way I am.”
Alonso said that there is still nothing new about his future, he doesn’t want to rush things, but he also doesn’t want to wait too long. Possibly before the summer break would be a good time for the decision.
“It didn’t change much,” he said. “And it will not change in the next few weeks or races. I don’t want to wait maybe until summer, because I think that will be unfair for me, and for the team, if they have to find more options, and things like that.
“But I don’t want to rush, as well, and to make a decision while my head is not into next year.
“My head is so focused now on the things that I will love to test on the car after the learnings of the first few events. Everything is so exciting about the performance that if I need to think about next year, it’s like, ‘ah, this is not the right time now to think.'”