F1 Belgian GP: Fernando Alonso Confirms Rejecting Red Bull Offer

Fernando Alonso confirmed on Thursday he had turned down an offer from Red Bull Racing before deciding to quit Formula 1 at the end of the current campaign. The Spaniard will leave F1 at the end of the season in search of a new adventure after admitting it was difficult to find motivation on a daily basis in a sport that has become predictable.

Alonso was named as one of the contenders for the Red Bull vacancy after Daniel Ricciardo chose to leave the Austrian team at the end of the season to join the Renault factory team in 2019.

But, Red Bull team principal ruled out a move for Alonso after suggesting he caused too much chaos in every team he joined. With Max Verstappen their de facto number one at the moment, they were not willing to risk bringing another driver who would demand number one status.

“I have got huge respect for Fernando. He’s a great driver, a fantastic driver," Horner said speaking on a podcast on the official F1 site. “But I think it’s very difficult to see… he tends to cause a bit of chaos wherever he’s gone. I’m not sure it would be the healthiest thing for the team for Fernando to join the team.”

Alonso is not one to hold back when it comes to speaking his mind and immediately reacted to Horner’s comments by suggesting he had rejected their offer first and not the other way around.

On Thursday, the double F1 Drivers’ champion confirmed there had been an offer on the table from one of the top three teams on multiple occasions during the course of the 2018 campaign. Despite admitting in the past that he wants to drive a race-winning car before he calls time on his career, he chose not to accept it, saying this was not a time for a new adventure in F1.

“From one of the top three teams, l had the offer a couple of times this year,” Alonso told Sky Sports’ Ted Kravitz during an interview in the paddock.

“It was not the case for me to join that adventure and at the moment Formula 1 is not giving me the challenges I’m looking for.

“Outside Formula 1, I’m discovering different series of motorsport that give you different challenges and makes you a more complete driver and that’s what I’ll try to find in 2019,” he added.

“Yes,” Alonso said when asked if the team in question had been Red Bull Racing.

The Austrian team, who have won three races this season, eventually decided to stick with their philosophy of promoting from within and have confirmed Scuderia Toro Rosso driver Pierre Gasly as Ricciardo's replacement.