The Aston Martin Formula 1 team on Monday named Fernando Alonso as its replacement for Sebastian Vettel, who will leave the squad and the sport at the end of the 2022 season to spend more time with his young family.
Alonso, who turned 41 this year, signed a multi-year contract with Aston Martin starting in 2023. He will be paired with current driver Lance Stroll, son of Aston Martin Chairman Lawrence Stroll.
"I have known Lawrence and Lance for many years and it is very obvious that they have the ambition and passion to succeed in Formula 1,” Alonso said in a statement. "I still have the hunger and ambition to fight to be at the front, and I want to be part of an organization that is committed to learn, develop and succeed.”
The double-world champion currently drives for Alpine and has shown some promise against younger competition in the midfield since his return to F1 last year after a two-year break. His replacement at Alpine is yet to be named.
It was with Alpine, racing under its former Renault name, where Alonso won his two world championships back in 2005 and 2006. He's also driven for Minardi, McLaren and Ferrari in a career that has seen him make 346 starts, second only to the retired Kimi Raikkonen with 349 starts.
Alonso in recent years has also dabbled outside of F1. The highlight was with Toyota in the World Endurance Championship during the2018 and 2019 seasons, each time winning overall at the 2024 Hours of Le Mans. He also raced with McLaren's IndyCar team in the Indy 500 in 2017 and 2020 in a quest to gain motorsport's triple crown (wins at the Monaco Grand Prix, 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Indy 500), though didn't find much success there.
