02/11/2023
NEWS STORY
Fernando Alonso has warned of "consequences" in the wake of media speculation linking him with the second seat at Red Bull.
Recent weeks have seen lots of speculation over Sergio Perez's future including claims that he was to announce his retirement from the sport over the Mexico City weekend.
However, in the wake of Sunday's race there was social media speculation linking Alonso with the Mexican's seat.
Asked about the rumour today, Alonso was initially reluctant to speak but then became angry as the speculation has led to the questioning of his loyalty to Aston Martin.
"Nothing to say... just normal paddock rumours from people who are just trying to make fun and gain some followers, and these kinds of things. But I'm not into that game," said the Spaniard.
"I'm not enjoying," he added. "In this room, I appreciate that all of you are journalists, professional people who have been in Formula 1 for so many years and you gain your respect, and this is how it should be.
"All the rumours are coming from people who are not in this room, are just here to make fun, but it's not funny when they play with anything.
"I will make sure that there are consequences," he warned.
When asked what those consequences might be, a member of Aston Martin's communications team spoke out: "No more questions about the rumours please!"
While Aston Martin's form has dropped off alarmingly since the summer break, more worrying is the fact that Alonso has retired from the last two races. Furthermore, he has said that rather than fighting back to reclaim fourth from McLaren, or even attempt to defend his position in the drivers' standings, Aston Martin will use the remainder of the season to gain data for 2024.
"Obviously we are not as competitive as we wanted, we all try to get to our best level which is obviously not the one we are showing now," he said.
"But we are analysing some of the upgrades that we brought lately, here in Brazil we have a Sprint format so maybe it's a more traditional weekend for us, not experimenting as much as the last two.
"Obviously we are not happy, Mike is not happy, no-one is happy with the current form," he admitted. "But at the same time I said a few races ago that this team was 250 people two years ago, now we are in this transition to hopefully be a contender for the future, 800 people, new factory, seven podiums this year, 200 more points than last year, all these kind of things which are not the current form.
"We should not be happy but we cannot be too dramatic about the situation when this 2023 campaign has been a super season for us."