Alonso reveals secret meetings with Red Bull

Reflecting on the early stages of his Formula One career, two-time F1 champion Fernando Alonso has revealed that he was close to secure a race seat with Red Bull.

The Spaniard made his debut at the pinnacle of motorsport with Minardi in 2001 which was followed by a year that he spent with Renault as a test driver.

The Oviedo-born driver returned to the sport as a full-time race driver in 2003, clinching his first F1 victory in that season. With Renault coming up with an innovative car for the 2005 F1 season, Alonso secured his first F1 title, beating McLaren’s Kimi Räikkönen. The next season saw the Spaniard receive fierce competition from Ferrari’s Michael Schumacher, but he was able to add a second F1 title to his achievements.

Although he joined McLaren in the following season, he returned to Renault for the 2008 and 2009 F1 season before heading to Ferrari. Despite securing several sensational victories with the fabled Maranello-based outfit and getting close to further F1 titles in 2010 and 2012, he elected to part ways with the team to join forces with McLaren again in 2015.

Following a difficult period at the Woking-based outfit that saw McLaren struggle with its new engine partner, Honda, Alonso decided to leave Formula One at the end of the 2018 season before returning to the pinnacle of motorsport with Alpine for the 2021 season. The two-time F1 world champion left the Enstone-based team after just a single season to join Aston Martin.

Reflecting on the early stages of his Formula One career, Alonso has revealed that he was close to secure a race seat with Red Bull as he recalled two secret meetings with Adrian Newey and Christian Horner.

“I met Adrian [Newey] and Christian [Horner] in Heathrow Airport for a meeting. And then 2008 was the closest. I remember perfectly, we were in a car park at Spa Airport, the little airport on top of the hill.

“We were in that car park, sitting in the back seats, both of us at night, talking about the possibility. I was very close to Ferrari. If it was not [happening] in 2009, [it] would be for sure in 2010. We went into that road and they took Sebastian [who] was in BMW at that time, doing some Fridays and some test driving in BMW.

“It’s easy to say now but back in 2008, Red Bull had I think one podium with David [Coulthard] in Monaco, and Red Bull was an energy drink company. Great team, great members in the team, but I think to predict that they will win seven or eight championships in the next decade, it was not totally guaranteed.

“When Lewis changed from McLaren to Mercedes, that first year in 2013 [there were] a lot of critics, ‘why [have] you changed McLaren for a Mercedes that was only achieving one or two podiums until then?’ And now he’s a seven-time world champion. Now the same with Ferrari. You don’t know what Lewis will achieve next year. If Ferrari does well and wins a championship, it’s a great move,” concluded Alonso.

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