Lewis Hamilton feud stopped Fernando Alonso driving for Mercedes admits Toto Wolff
Fernando Alonso turned down Mercedes earlier this year, but there was previous interest from the Spaniard.
Toto Wolff has admitted that the troublesome relationship between Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso during their time as McLaren team-mates prevented the Spaniard from driving from Mercedes, despite considerable interest from his side between 2014 and 2020.
Alonso - who was a two-time world champion by this point - teamed up with the rookie Hamilton during the 2007 season. With the latter immediately on the pace, arriving in F1 as a genuine title contender, there were a number of on-track clashes and petty battles between the two McLaren drivers.
Discussing the rivalry in a DAZN documentary, Alonso explained: “There were many things that broke the relationship harmony of that year. We were young, immature, I was the first, and we had many clashes.” He later elaborated: “We had a boss who did not know how to control the situation.
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“This would not have happened with Flavio Briatore. Or with Lawrence Stroll. There are certain characters in F1 who are respected and others whose drivers have control of the situation. In that McLaren of 2007, the drivers had too much control and no one gave us serious warning.”
According to Wolff, Alonso’s history with Hamilton combined with the Spygate scandal stopped the veteran Spaniard from signing a contract with Mercedes during the second half of 2010s, during which time the two-time world champion pushed for the chance to reunite with his former McLaren team-mate.
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“I don’t think he could have signed for Mercedes after the McLaren episodes,” Wolff explained to Mundo Deportivo. “Dieter Zetsche [Head of Mercedes-Benz] was at McLaren and at Mercedes afterwards. So that door was pretty much closed.”
While the door was not previously open for Alonso at Mercedes, there was an opportunity for the 42-year-old to make the move to Brackley in 2025. After Hamilton’s departure for Ferrari was confirmed ahead of the season opener in Bahrain, Wolff made contact with the Spaniard, but he was not interested in advancing talks.
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“Of course, at the beginning of the year we considered the option of Fernando Alonso, but at that time Fernando was not interested in driving for Mercedes,” Wolff explained. “Also, he was offered a long-term contract at Aston Martin. That’s how we perceived it at the time.”
Instead of moving to Mercedes, Alonso opted to remain a part of the Aston Martin project, committing to a multi-year contract. The Spaniard will be joined by Lance Stroll, who also penned new terms ahead of the race in Austria two weeks ago.
