Fernando Alonso is “a Rottweiller” who would be in the title fight if he was driving for McLaren or Red Bull this year, according to long-time associate Flavio Briatore.
Alonso and Briatore, who now leads Alpine’s F1 team, have a long affiliation stretching back to before the Spaniard made it into Formula 1.
Alonso, who turns 45 next year, will race into 2026 with Aston Martin.
The big-spending British team added design legend Adrian Newey to the fold this year as part of its bid to win titles under the new set of rules coming into force next season.
When asked if he thinks Alonso can be an F1 winner again with Aston, Briatore told ESPN: “Sure, I hope. I hope.
“Aston has the top genius. Let’s see how the genius is doing. I’m very curious.
“But if Aston has a car competitive, we’ll see. All the time [when] the car is competitive, Fernando is there. He’s always there. If Fernando was sitting in the McLaren or sitting in the Red Bull [this season] I promise you, he’d still be in the race.”
Alonso has two F1 world championships to his name, which he won in 2005 and 2006 under Briatore’s stewardship at Renault.
He lost titles at the last race of the season in 2007 (with McLaren) and in 2010 and 2012 (with Ferrari), but has not won another despite being widely considered the most complete driver of the modern era.
Alonso’s last F1 race win came in 2013.
Briatore praised Alonso’s stint with Aston Martin and suggested it highlights why Alonso can return to competitive form if the car is in the right place next year.
“Sometimes the people put the news out that Fernando was very difficult to manage. And this is a lot of rubbish, really,” he said.
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“A lot of rubbish. I don’t know where it’s coming from. I was completely upset [whenever I heard that] because Fernando is always a teammate.
“The guy keeps the team together, makes everybody working together. And the demonstration is now in Aston Martin as well, you know. The car is not competitive.
“But him, he’s there all the time. He’s like a Rottweiller. You know, you go in one place and the Rottweiller bites you all the time.”
Alonso’s future beyond 2026 is uncertain. The two-time world champion has a contract to the end of next season and has said he would be inclined to walk away from the sport if he has one more complete season driving a competitive season, but more likely to stay if Aston Martin is off the pace.
Reports earlier this year suggested Aston Martin boss Lawrence Stroll, father of Alonso’s teammate Lance Stroll, has long-term aspirations of bringing four-time world champion Max Verstappen to the team in the future.
