“It was easy,” came Alonso’s unequivocal reply. “I think not much has changed since we spoke in February at the car launch. I needed a few races, or a few weeks, to really think about myself if I was ready to commit [to] more years in F1, because the calendars are a bit tighter now, the cars too, the commitment.
“My love for F1 and my love for Aston Martin didn’t change, but I wanted this time to really talk to myself and make the decision and the commitment. Obviously F1 takes all your time, all your energy, you basically have to give up everything in life to keep racing and I just wanted to talk to myself [to see] if I was ready to do it.
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“Once I made the decision, I think it was after Australia or something, I sat down with Aston, which again is exactly the same as what I said in February, that it would be my first priority. It wasn’t too difficult. I think we both wanted the same thing. I wanted to continue racing with Aston Martin, Aston Martin also wanted to keep me in my place.
“When two parties want something at one point, you come to an agreement, so I’m very excited to continue to compete and to continue to compete with this team, which feels like home [with]. It was also a feeling of loyalty that I wanted to express to my team. I felt this was just the beginning of the journey… it couldn’t be the end of the journey for me and Aston Martin.”
Pressed on whether he considered retiring, weighing up the demands of traveling around the world, various marketing commitments, media duties and everything else that comes with being an F1 driver, Alonso said: “Not really. I think it never crossed my mind, retirement. I was 99% confident that I would continue to compete next year, so retiring was not an option.”