It appears as though the Formula 1 driver’s market could finally be about to see some action with teams keen on securing the best line-up possible for 2025.
Lewis Hamilton set everything into motion by announcing his surprise move to Ferrari and that’s opened up some options on the grid that didn’t seem possible before.
A report from the German outlet Auto Motor und Sport has shared the latest possible stipulations.
As ever in F1, the teams currently at the front of the grid are going to have first choice over the drivers they want to move forward with.
That means Red Bull are in a position of power with McLaren and Ferrari already set on their drivers for the coming seasons.
Max Verstappen’s future should be set in stone considering his current deal doesn’t expire for four more seasons.
However, internal politics and exit clauses mean he could end up moving at the end of the year.
Christian Horner and Helmut Marko therefore appear keen to tie down one driver very soon.
It’s now being reported that Red Bull are putting pressure on Fernando Alonso to decide what next step he wants to take in F1.
The ‘incredibly fast’ Aston Martin driver has several options on the table but may lose out if he doesn’t choose a destination soon.
READ MORE: Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso’s life outside F1 from net worth to Cars 2
Red Bull putting pressure on Fernando Alonso to make 2025 contract call
This will make for worrying reading for Sergio Perez who has started the 2024 season more positively than he ended last year.
Despite securing Red Bull’s first-ever one-two in the Drivers’ Championship last year, the Mexican was way off the pace of Verstappen at times and regularly failed to reach Q3 before having to rescue his weekend during the race.
With Ferrari making big strides forward over the winter and putting pressure on the reigning champions, Red Bull appear to be keen to strengthen their line-up with the introduction of Fernando Alonso.
The 32-time race winner and two-time world champion would be a serious match for Max Verstappen.
However, that may be one of the reasons why he’s putting off making a career-defining call.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about Red Bull Racing from engine to Ford links
Fernando Alonso has a huge choice to make over his Formula 1 future
The report from AMuS suggests that both Alonso and Carlos Sainz can ‘play poker’ in the driver’s market right now.
Audi are continuing to push Sainz to decide where he wants to go in 2025 and Red Bull have also been made aware of this.
Both Aston Martin and Red Bull are pushing to sign Alonso, however, the Austrian team have given him an ultimatum that expires ‘the week after next’.
Alonso is under less pressure to rush into any decision given that whichever team he joins next – be it Red Bull or Aston Martin – is likely to be quite short-term given he’ll be 43 at the start of next season.
They go on to say that Alonso would sign ‘any contract’ with a team that’s capable of winning races.
However, a race seat with Red Bull is only attractive to Alonso if he doesn’t have to compete against Verstappen.
Alonso should make Red Bull leap regardless of Verstappen’s decision – opinion
Fernando Alonso’s Formula 1 career has been sensational but marred but making the wrong choice at the wrong time all too often.
He could add to his two world championships at Ferrari and endured some of very difficult seasons at McLaren.
The 42-year-old also narrowly avoided being stuck at a sinking Alpine team for too long by joining Aston Martin last year.
A chance to drive for the current champions doesn’t come around too often and Alonso would thrive under the pressure of driving for Red Bull and competing with Verstappen.
He might not be a fan of the internal politics that come with that, but he’s wise enough to know that he could simply do his talking on the track and finally end that decade-long wait to add to his 32 race wins.
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