Fernando Alonso to Red Bull
In an F1 career that has spanned over 400 Grands Prix so far, Fernando Alonso has won races for the likes of Renault, McLaren and Ferrari. A leading team not on that list, however, is Red Bull – but had things turned out differently, the Spaniard could have potentially joined the Milton Keynes-based outfit several years ago.
After a tension-filled campaign alongside rookie team mate Lewis Hamilton saw Alonso leave McLaren at the end of 2007, the two-time World Champion came close to partnering with Red Bull for the following season.
While he instead returned to Renault, Alonso says that further talks took place with Red Bull over the possibility of signing for 2009. The 43-year-old told F1’s Beyond The Grid podcast: “2008 was the closest [I came to joining Red Bull]. 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 [Vettel, who] was in BMW at that time, doing some Fridays and some test driving in BMW.”
That partnership between Vettel and Red Bull proved hugely successful, yielding four consecutive championships, while Alonso failed to achieve title success with Ferrari. But the Spanish driver does not dwell on this, stating: “I didn’t think too much about that. Never. Not those years and not even now. I never regret anything.”