F1 star drops retirement BOMBSHELL

One of Formula 1's biggest names has made a shock revelation about his plans for retirement.

The announcement comes just days before this weekend's Mexican Grand Prix at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

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With so much still to play for in both the drivers' and constructors' championships, excitement is already building ahead of the showpiece event this weekend, the 20th round of the 2024 F1 season.

Max Verstappen will aim to put more daylight between himself and title rival Lando Norris, having extended his advantage over the McLaren star to 57 points in Texas last time out.

The Red Bull racer will also hope both he and team-mate Sergio Perez can reduce the gap to the British outfit in the constructors' standings having recently been replaced at the top of the order.

Ferrari - fresh from their impressive one-two in the States - will also have their sights set on challenging their two main rivals as they target a first world championship since 2008.

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Alonso admits retirement plans

Further down the grid, teams are battling it out for the scraps, including Aston Martin, who have endured a disappointing campaign to date.

Led by former world champion Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll, son of team owner Lawrence, the Silverstone-based outfit have struggled to build on previous success which saw them upset the odds on several occasions last season.

While the highly anticipated arrival of design guru Adrian Newey in 2025 has given the team a much-needed boost as they begin to look to the future, Alonso has been reflecting on his past during a recent interview.

The 41-year-old is the oldest competitor in F1, and with the Mexican GP marking his 400th race in the sport, he has no intentions of retiring any time soon, but speaking on the Beyond the Grid Podcast, the Spaniard admitted he came close to bowing out in 2009.

“What I would say, when I won the championship in 2006 and then I joined McLaren, I had a three-year contract - 2007, ’08, and ’09," he said.

“I was 99 per cent sure that 2009 would be my last Formula 1 season. That was my plan - very clear plan in my head.

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"I won the championship in 2005, again in ’06, joined McLaren for three years, and that was my last contract in my head.”

When asked what he would have done should that decision have come to fruition, he replied: “I don’t know! Maybe there was no reason for it but, when I signed that contract, a three-year contract, so, in my head at that time, it was like a long-term contract.

“Okay, three years will feel maybe long, but, you know, this is the last anyway, you know? I’ve already fulfilled my dream, I won the championship two times.

"This is beyond my wildest imagination, to be a Formula 1 champion. So what else can I do here?

"But, after Formula 1, there is a different life outside, and even not so much about motor racing.

“I was thinking I will have a family, I will do normal things, normal days.”

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