Red Bull Formula One chief Christian Horner has openly said that his team held preliminary negotiations with Fernando Alonso at the start of 2024 as both the Spaniard and the team considered their future choices.

In April, Alonso signed a new contract with Aston Martin until the conclusion of the 2026 season, which includes a provision for him to stay with the British brand as an ambassador after his grand prix driving days, referring to it as a “lifetime commitment”.

At the time, Alonso claimed that he had tested the waters with other teams before committing to Aston Martin, saying: “I spoke with other individuals as well. I believe it is normal to listen to everyone else during talks.

“It’s a normal procedure and I think it’s fair as well to listen to all the proposals and to see how the market moves. But in my head, Aston was the logical thing for me to do.

Horner has now stated that Red Bull was one of the parties with which Alonso and his manager, Flavio Briatore, had exploratory talks. Back then Red Bull was deciding on whether to extend Sergio Perez’s contract and at the time it also didn’t seem guaranteed that Max Verstappen would stay put while Red Bull was going through political upheaval.

“At that time, Sergio’s contract hadn’t been extended, so as Fernando is a seasoned operator, he always wants to know all of his options,” Horner told reporters. “Between him and his long-time manager or advisor, Flavio, they’re constantly testing the market, which demonstrates his hunger and competitiveness.

“He is still delivering at the age of 42, or 43. He’s still in great shape and it just shows that age is just a number. He’s still a very, very capable grand prix driver, and given the tools, I’m sure he’d be at the front

Aston Martin and F1 are celebrating Alonso’s 400th grand prix participation in this weekend’s Mexico Grand Prix, prompting Horner to reflect on two earlier attempts to sign the two-time world champion to his Red Bull team.

“At the end of his McLaren stint in 2008, I remember going to Madrid and pushing to get him in the car,” Horner told me. “We sought a two-year contract, but he was only willing to commit for one year. We were confident he had a Ferrari contract in his back pocket at the time, therefore we did not reach an agreement.

Aston Martin and F1 are commemorating Alonso’s 400th grand prix appearance in this weekend’s Mexico Grand Prix, prompting Horner to reflect on two previous efforts to sign the two-time world champion to his Red Bull squad.

“At the end of his McLaren stint in 2008, I remember going to Madrid and pushing to get him in the car,” Horner once told me. “We wanted a two-year contract, but he was only willing to commit to one. We believed he had a Ferrari contract in his back pocket at the time, therefore we did not negotiate an agreement.