Red Bull chief explains why Fernando Alonso snubbed them as F1 star left red-faced
Helmut Marko has shed light on the time Red Bull looked to join forces with Fernando Alonso.
Red Bull chief Helmut Marko believes that Fernando Alonso did not take the team seriously when they approached him in 2008. And Alonso may have cost himself several more world titles by snubbing the team who went on to achieve so much success in F1.
The Spaniard was fresh from a turbulent season at McLaren, during which his tense battle with team-mate Lewis Hamilton opened the door for Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen to storm in and clinch his only Drivers' Championship.
Alonso ended up re-joining Renault ahead of the 2008 season but only after Red Bull, who were up-and-coming at the time, held discussions with him about joining forces.
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"(It was) before we started winning," Marko told the Inside Line F1 Podcast. "I don’t know exactly which year, I think it might have (been) 2008, we had been talking to Alonso. But he didn’t take us seriously I guess, and so yeah, it didn’t happen."
While Alonso slumped to fifth in the 2008 Drivers' Championship and ninth the following year, Red Bull were starting to build up a head of steam. And only two years after Marko claimed that Red Bull were not taken seriously by the two-time world champion, they had ascended to the very top of the spot.
Sebastian Vettel sealed his first of four consecutive world titles in 2010 to kickstart a period of Red Bull dominance. The red-faced Alonso, meanwhile, has not won a championship since 2006.
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Red Bull and Alonso's paths nearly collided again earlier this year when rumours suggested that Sergio Perez was on thin ice. But Red Bull opted to stick with Perez and Alonso decided to commit his future to his current team, Aston Martin.
"At the start of our time together we achieved so many things, some of them probably unprecedented in F1, to reach so many highs in such a short period," the 43-year-old told Goodwood after signing his new Aston deal.
"I felt this was just the beginning of the journey. It could not be the end of the journey for me and Aston Martin. The ambition of this project is just something else."
Alonso's loyalty could end up paying dividends as Aston Martin are set to announce the arrival of legendary F1 car designer Adrian Newey over the coming days. Newey effectively left his post as Red Bull technical director in May and will spearhead Aston's design team in 2025, which could allow Alonso to fight towards the very front of the pack once again.
