Ferrari shuts the door on the Fernando Alonso rumour for 2020: “We are very happy with our current line-up”. The former Ferrari driver retired from F1 after the 2018 season.

Two-time Formula 1 champion and former Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso retired from Formula 1 after the 2018 season concluded, but he left the door open to the possibility of returning to the sport if the right opportunity arises.

After spending the final four seasons of his career driving for a struggling McLaren team, Alonso shifted his focus to becoming the second driver to win all three races of the Triple Crown of Motorsport, the Monaco Grand Prix, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Indianapolis 500. While Alonso has stated that he still may return to Indianapolis Motor Speedway to attempt to compete in the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” once again, another attempt in this race may have to be put on hold for him, as rumors have recently emerged that he may return to Formula 1 as early as next season.

Here is what Alonso had to say about the possibility of returning to Formula 1 in the 2020 season: “I achieved a lot more in F1 than I dreamed of and I had great opportunities outside F1 to do something unprecedented. That’s why I took the decision. So coming back is not in the plan. If something happened and a great opportunity arrives, I probably will consider [it]. I don’t close doors 100 per cent to anything in the future.”

If an opportunity arrives for the 37-year-old Spaniard to return to Ferrari, would that qualify as a “great opportunity”?

Recently, the Spanish newspaper Marca claimed that Toyota is simply waiting on the Spaniard’s decision about 2020 before green-lighting a full Dakar Rally effort for Alonso, further fuelling rumour of a return to F1. Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto wanted to silence those rumours that Fernando Alonso might return to Ferrari in 2020. Asked by Sky Sports, Mattia Binotto took the opportunity to deny the rumour of Fernando Alonso’s possible return to Maranello in 2020, and at the same time confirmed the Italian team’s line-up for next season.

“I can only confirm what Sebastian (Vettel) has already said: we have two pilots with ongoing contracts. ” said Mattia Binotto, Director of Scuderia Ferrari – “Our line-up for next season is fixed, we are very happy with it and we have no reason to change it. I think things are clear. ” concludes Binotto, who confirms that the driver duo will remain unchanged next year at Ferrari.