Fernando Alonso to join Aston Martin F1 team from rivals Alpine next season to replace retiring Sebastian Vettel

ASTON MARTIN have confirmed Fernando Alonso will join the team in 2023 as a replacement for the retiring Sebastian Vettel.

The 41-year-old veteran will swap Alpine for Aston at the end of the current season.

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Fernando Alonso will join Aston Martin for the start of next seasonCredit: AP

Alonso is set to join the team on a multi-year contract.

The two-time F1 world champion revealed he still has the “hunger and desire” to be fighting at the front of the grid.

That’s despite Aston Martin picking up just 20 points in 2022 so far – the worst out of any team other than Williams.

Alpine on the other hand have been the best of the rest behind Red Bull, Ferrari and Mercedes.

Current Aston Martin star Vettel confirmed last week he will retire from F1 at the end of the season.

And Alonso is set to fill his shoes from 2023 onwards.

The Spaniard said: “No one in Formula One today is demonstrating a greater vision and absolute commitment to winning, and that makes it a really exciting opportunity for me.”

Alonso added: “I still have the hunger and ambition to fight to be at the front, and I want to be part of an organisation that is committed to learn, develop and succeed.

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“We all appreciate that there is much to be done to get to the front, and that we must apply all our energies in working together to find performance.

“The passion and desire to perform that I have witnessed convince me to maintain my enjoyment and commitment to the sport.

“I intend to win again in this sport and therefore I have to take the opportunities that feel right to me.”

Alonso has spent the last year with Alpine after initially joining the team for the 2021 season.

But the ex-Renault, McLaren and Ferrari driver will leave the French outfit at the conclusion of the 2022 campaign and join Brit side Aston.

Aston Martin executive chairman Lawrence Stroll – father of Aston driver Lance – said he and Alonso shared the same “ambitions”.

Stroll revealed: “I have known and admired Fernando for many years and it has always been clear that he is a committed winner like me.

“I have set out to bring together the best people and develop the right resources and organisation to succeed in this highly competitive sport, and those plans are now taking shape at Silverstone.

“It seemed natural therefore to invite Fernando to be part of the development of a winning team, and we very quickly established in our recent conversations that we have the same ambitions and values, and it was logical and easy to confirm our desire to work together.”