F1 LIVE: Fernando Alonso admits he is taking a ‘risk’ in moving to ‘attractive project’ at Aston Martin

“I’ve learned a lot from him over the years, massively talented. I’ve enjoyed working with someone who’s won races and scored more podiums than me at my current point. It’s a long second half of the season but we’ll keep working.

“I’m really not fussed, as long as it’s someone I can work together with well. I don’t know who yet, I look forward to it, new challenge. I don’t know yet, focus on this season.”

On details of Aston move: “You ask too many details. I have no problems to say everything started when Sebastian announced his retirement. They were happy with Seb but he decided to stop, they started to call some drivers they wanted, I was one of those. We started talking on that weekend on what we were expecting. Met quite quickly on our expectations. On Monday morning we signed and announced quite quickly before a leak.”

On whether he would’ve stayed at Alpine without Aston interest: “Every press conference I did this year I said we were happy with the journey we were making with Alpine. We won so many things together, that will be part of our history. What we achieved together but for one reason or another we were not moving forward for a couple of months already. It was a logical move for me because Aston had a lot of belief in me, on track and off track.”

On Africa trip: “I started this year, I’m quite bad at planning things. One of my new years resolutions was to plan things ahead. I planned it in February, it’s the place I wanted to go everywhere. It was incredible how welcoming everyone was, it was a very grounding experience. To see the landscapes and it was a very humbling experience to see people living with nothing. A house made with sticks, twigs. No shoes, no socks and going about their daily lives, not with social media or stuff in the western world. They didn’t take anything for granted which was beautiful to see.

On whether he can win a race this year: “I do, definitely. We’ve been improving with the consistency, the progress the team is making, the car is becoming more a racing car which is what it wasn’t in the beginning of the year. The last race was the best showing we’ve had so far which was a huge boost that we can close their gap. Naturally it will be tough, we’ll keep our heads down… I do believe we’ll close the gap.”

On the break: “I needed it! The first part of the season was highs and lows. I accumulated a lot of emotions. I was very happy to go on holidays, it was just great.

“We need to try and maximise every opportunity we have ahead. I still believe in the Championship, I believe until the end. I’ll give my best.

On Spa: “It is a very special track for me, I think the first victory is very special. I really enjoy driving all the time, more for a great result this weekend.”

On Aston Martin move: “I had this possibility, I had the phone call from Aston after Sebastian announced he was stopping. At that point we sat down and came to this agreement. I think the project is very attractive, a lot of investment in the last few years, a lot of talented people have come in the last few years, engineers and designers. They were very happy to have this possibility.

“There is some risk on every decision in F1. No one has the crystal ball to guess the future. At the same time in any sport, you win or you don’t. It doesn’t matter to be 4th or 9th – you are first or you’re not winning. We’re all here to be on top spot, I felt within the possibilities for next year this one was the right one. This project has some ingredients for the future for success, investment.”

Daniel Ricciardo won’t get another chance in Formula 1 after his stay at McLaren was cut short by a year, predicts former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher. Ricciardo had a contract at McLaren until the end of 2023 and put speculation over his future seemingly to bed last month when he insisted he wanted to see out his deal despite struggling this season.

But McLaren have been heavily linked with Alpine test driver Oscar Piastri since the start of the summer break, with the 2021 F2 champion insisting he won’t be driving for Alpine next season despite the team announcing him as their replacement for Aston Martin-bound Fernando Alonso, and McLaren confirmed on Wednesday that Ricciardo will leave the team at the end of the season.

Piastri’s statement has led many to believe that he has a seat lined up elsewhere, with McLaren the favourite for his signature and talk of the Woking-based team buying-out Ricciardo’s contract has been mooted.

But Schumacher, who raced for Williams, Jordan and Toyota during his time in the sport, believes 33-year-old Ricciardo won’t get another drive if he leaves McLaren, even though he has been linked with moving to Alpine to take that spare 2023 seat alongside Esteban Ocon.

“There is the question of Daniel Ricciardo,” Schumacher told Sky Germany. “Personally, I can’t imagine him getting another chance in Formula 1. But I wouldn’t know who Alpine should take at the moment.”

Alfa Romeo’s Valtteri Bottas says he is enjoying Formula 1 “more than ever” despite no longer challenging at the top of the leaderboard with Mercedes. The Finnish driver spent five seasons at Mercedes from 2017-2021, winning five straight constructors’ titles, before George Russell replaced him for 2022.

Yet Bottas, who is currently ninth in the Drivers Standings on 46 points, insists he is enjoying battling more teams further down the field despite only recording a top finish of fifth at Imola.

“In the past at Mercedes, normally it used to be only one team we battled against, so then it was just focused on those two cars,” he told Motorsport.com. “But now I can have six cars around that we need to be aware of. So that’s nice. This season is probably the most enjoyable so far. Okay, maybe you don’t always remember things, but it really feels like I’m enjoying F1 more than ever.

“When it gets to the racing it’s a lot of good fun, especially in the midfield and how different it is strategy-wise in the races. It’s more like one decision can jump you many places. It’s a different game.” The 32-year-old, who started his F1 career back in 2013 at Williams, added that having a “multi-year contract” at Alfa helped relieve stress about his F1 future too.

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali believes there won’t be a female driver in F1 within the next five years. Only two women have ever competed in Formula 1: Italian racers Maria Teresa de Filippis in the 1950s and Lella Lombardi competed in 12 races throughout the mid-1970s.

The female-only W Series was formed in 2019 and now regularly goes racing on Grand Prix weekends, with British driver Jamie Chadwick currently the runaway leader of this season’s Championship. But Domenicali, formerly team principal at Ferrari, says a woman making the step up to F1 by 2027 was “very unlikely.”

“[It’s] crucial to give the maximum possibility for women to come to F1 – we are totally dedicated to that,” he said. “Realistically speaking, unless there is something like a meteorite, I don’t see a girl coming into F1 in the next five years. That is very unlikely.

“We are very happy with the collaboration with Formula W. But we believe that to be able to give the chance to girls to be at the same level of competition with the guys, they need to be at the same age when they start to fight on the track at the level of Formula 3 and Formula 2.”

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff admits he still thinks about the controversial finale of last year’s World Championship at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix “every day.” Red Bull’s Max Verstappen claimed his first world title after overtaking Lewis Hamilton – chasing a record-breaking eighth crown – on the final lap at Yas Marina.

However, the enthralling finale only occurred due to a late safety car as a result of Nicholas Latifi’s crash, with Verstappen running in second place pitting for fresh soft tyres. Then-F1 race director Michael Masi originally decided not to allow lapped cars to overtake the safety car, with five cars in between Hamilton in first and Verstappen in second, before changing his mind on the penultimate lap and immediately ending the safety car period.

Masi was removed from his job ahead of this season as a result of not following the correct regulations, with a subsequent FIA investigation putting the decisions in race control that day down to “human error.”

Wolff, who was livid at the time and made his feelings known over team radio, admits he still thinks about the finale at a daily rate, but did admit that Verstappen was a “deserving champion.”

Red Bull junior driver Liam Lawson will participate in first practice this weekend at the Belgian Grand Prix in place of Pierre Gasly at AlphaTauri.

The New Zealander, who is currently competing in Formula 2 with Carlin, takes his spot in FP1 at Spa-Francorchamps with Red Bull’s sister team, with all teams this season required to give two practice sessions to junior drivers who have taken part in less than two Formula 1 races in their career.

Juri Vips took part in FP1 at the Spanish Grand Prix in May for Red Bull, with the Constructors’ leaders still required to hand out one more session to a junior driver. Lawson, 20, took part in the Young Drivers Test in Abu Dhabi following the end of the 2021 season but will now take to the wheel of an F1 car in 2022 for the first time.

“[I’m] super excited to say I’ll be doing my first FP1 this weekend at Spa,” he said. “I honestly couldn’t think of a better place to do it, there’s going to be a very exciting feeling. [It’s an] historic track and a place that I’ve always enjoyed driving. So in a Formula 1 car is gonna be incredible.”