The most awaited news is finally here! Fernando Alonso has extended his contract with the Alpine F1 team after teasing an encrypted message on Wednesday hinting a ‘BIG NEWS’ on Twitter along with his teammate, Esteban Ocon.

The duo even caused a banter through code language, but the fans decrypted what the messages were. The only announcement left to arrive from Alpine is their complete line-up for the 2022 season. Ocon’s future is safe until 2024. And, well, so is Alonso’s now.

The announcement was initially scheduled for Wednesday. However, with the Belgian Grand Prix around the corner, Alpine chose to push their announcement by a day and unveil their complete 2021 line-up on Thursday.

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Alonso’s new contract with Alpine

The Spaniard’s existing contract was technically set to expire by the end of 2021, as he only had the option of extending his stay by another season into 2022.

Hence, it initially looked like the 2-time world champion, already aged 40, would give up on his career after setting up a strong base for the French outfit amidst the oncoming new F1 era.

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However, he has certainly proven that age is just a number, as the Spaniard is enjoying the form of his life at the moment. So, why let it go to waste? Instead, Alonso is happy to continue until the end of 2022 with possibly an option to extend the contract by another year.

“I’m very happy to confirm the contract extension with Alpine F1 Team into 2022. I felt at home the moment I returned to this team and have been welcomed back with open arms. It is a pleasure to work again with some of the brightest minds in our sport at Enstone and Viry-Châtillon” Alonso said.

“I have been a big supporter of the need for a level playing field. And change in the sport and the 2022 season will be a great opportunity for that. I am looking forward to the rest of this year and racing alongside Esteban in 2022 for Alpine.”

Will Fernando Alonso retire after 2022?

Unless Alonso struggles from a sudden loss of performance and sees himself downgrading from others, he isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon. Earlier in June, Alonso affirmed that he would be staying with Ocon until the end of 2024.

“I’ll be here, for sure…as his team-mate,” he said, according to Planet F1. “Whenever I close my visor, for me at least, I want to be competitive. And I like to do things right. I like to maintain a high level of discipline and commitment.”

Also, Alonso may have had a slow start to the 2021 F1 season, which consequently led to concerns over his future. However, as weeks passed by, the real face of Alonso started to show up.

The typical highly defensive Alonso came to life at Hungaroring prior to the summer break. Despite holding onto a much slower car and on much older tires, the Spaniard showed immense grit against his former championship rival, Lewis Hamilton.

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So, are we in for more such battles starring Alonso over the upcoming 2022 season? Well, let’s wait and watch how the future unfolds for the Renault world champion.