Formula 1: Ferrari rule out signing Fernando Alonso for 2020

Ferrari have ruled out bringing Fernando Alonso back to Formula 1 with the team for the 2020 season despite recent rumors.

Former Formula 1 and Scuderia Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso retired from the sport at the end of the 2018 season, but he has left the door open to returning if he can land a competitive ride with one of the sport’s top three teams.

One of these top three teams are Ferrari, for which the 37-year-old Spaniard drove from the 2010 season through the 2014 season. The two-time Formula 1 champion earned 11 of his 32 career victories during his tenure driving for the team, and he recorded three finishes of second place in the driver standings.

Alonso is reportedly a big fan of first-year Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto, and he had been rumored to replace Sebastian Vettel as Charles Leclerc’s teammate next year as a result of it.

As a result of his recent struggles and the pressure that Leclerc has put on him in his bid to become Ferrari’s top driver, Vettel had been rumored to retire at the end of the 2019 season despite the fact that he signed a three-year contract extension with the Italian team in August of 2017 to continue driving for them through the 2020 season.

However, Ferrari have officially ruled out Alonso returning to the team.

Here is what Binotto had to say about the matter, according to Sports Mole.

"“When did Ferrari win? With Michael and Eddie, with Michael and Rubens, with Kimi and Felipe. With a first driver and a second driver. We see Charles (Leclerc) as our team leader of the future. We have a strong driver duo already and I see no reason to change anything about it.“I have known Sebastian since our days at Toro Rosso. From outside, much cannot be seen, but Sebastian remains at the center of our project.”"

More from Formula One

• Formula 1: Top Red Bull threat identified for 2024
• Formula 1: Why the Max Verstappen retirement obsession?
• Formula 1: Williams ‘mistake’ hints Logan Sargeant’s future
• Formula 1 awaiting key confirmation for 2024 season
• Formula 1: The ‘championship’ Max Verstappen only leads by 3 points

With all things considered, this was expected. Ferrari clearly don’t have any open seats, as Vettel himself has never publicly discussed retirement and even insisted that he will return to the team next year, and Leclerc’s contract was reported as at least a four-year deal when he signed it last September.

For Alonso himself, returning to Formula 1 is clearly not a priority to begin with given his emphasis on winning the Indianapolis 500 to become the second driver to win all three races of the Triple Crown of Motorsport (Indy 500, Monaco Grand Prix and 24 Hours of Le Mans) even though he hasn’t ruled it out.

The only thing that would have made this scenario even remotely possible was Vettel triggering some kind of clause in his contract to leave the Scuderia one year early like he did at Red Bull Racing following the 2014 season to join Ferrari even though his contract with the Milton Keynes-based team did not expire until the end of the 2015 season.

This scenario stems from the rumors that Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner heated up in July suggesting that Vettel may return to the team next year depending on how their driver lineup situation plays out with Max Verstappen, who has been rumored to replace Valtteri Bottas at Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport by triggering a clause in his contract to leave Red Bull Racing one year before his contract expires, and the struggling Pierre Gasly.

With Ferrari having ruled out signing Fernando Alonso for the 2020 Formula 1 season, is there still a chance that he could end up returning to the sport next year? More than likely, he won’t be back, at least not in 2020.