Just as Aston Martin pulled the wraps off his 2024 car, a big hint was dropped that Fernando Alonso is very much in the frame to succeed the Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes.
Flavio Briatore, who still oversees the 42-year-old Spaniard's overall management, posted on Instagram a photo of himself meeting for breakfast with none other than Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.
Just one day earlier, Spanish sources reported that Alonso has put his 2025 contract talks with Aston Martin on hold as the pre-season 'silly season' heats up.
"I know that I am attractive to other teams," Alonso said at the Aston Martin launch.
"I will not stay in Formula 1 just to have fun. I am not that kind of person and not that kind of driver. Let's see what the options are."
Alonso insisted that he knows his "very unique" status on the 2025 driver market - as the only world champion on the grid who is currently a free agent after this year.
"On a move to Mercedes, there has been nothing at all," he said. "If I want to keep racing beyond this year, the first and only talk at the beginning will be Aston Martin.
"I trust this project and that will be my first priority."
He makes clear that he currently feels fit enough to keep racing all the way to his 50th birthday - the only question is whether he will have a car competitive enough to motivate him.
"Before I start negotiating, I have to ask myself whether I want to keep sacrificing my life for this sport. There are plenty of other things I still want to discover," said Alonso.
The former two-time champion thinks Aston Martin will struggle to take "such a big step again" like the meteoric one between the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
That said, the 2024 Aston Martin is clearly reminiscent of Red Bull's title-winning car philosophy - but even with radical innovations like the letterbox-slit new sidepod inlets.
As for the way his former nemesis Lewis Hamilton ripped open the 2025 driver market with his realising of the "childhood dream" of racing for Ferrari, Alonso couldn't help but throw out a cheeky jibe.
"It was not his childhood dream 12 months ago, no? Or two months ago, I guess," he smiled. "It was a different dream.
"It was a surprise because people had actually thought that Lewis was a loyal part of the Mercedes family." body check tags ::
