Alonso is too quick to retire, says Aston Martin's Krack

SPIELBERG, Austria, June 25 : Aston Martin want double Formula One world champion Fernando Alonso, now 44 years old, to continue with them after his contract runs out at the end of the season, chief trackside officer Mike Krack said on Thursday.

"Fernando decided that around the summer break he will take a decision, and we're happy with the drivers," he told reporters ahead of the weekend's Austrian Grand Prix.

"Fernando should not retire. He is too quick."

Aston Martin are struggling this season, the first of a new engine partnership with Honda, and their car has been slow and unreliable. They are 10th of 11 teams, ahead of newcomers Cadillac with one point, scored by Alonso whose teammate is Canadian Lance Stroll, from seven rounds.

Spaniard Alonso, Formula One's oldest current driver, has also been linked in the media to a possible move back to Renault-owned Alpine, run by his title-winning former Renault team boss Flavio Briatore.

Alonso said Krack's comments did not change anything and he knew he still had the speed to compete at the top.

"I have not taken any decision, I will wait until probably summer break, which is August, and after summer it's Zandvoort, Monza — I think around that time I will probably decide what to do next year," he added.

"I will keep racing because I'm feeling fast, I feel motivated, and I love what I do, and I will not stop now, because I don't feel uncompetitive or I don't feel that I don't enjoy racing," he added, clarifying that racing did not necessarily mean Formula One.

"I still love Formula One. I'm committed to this team also, so even if I don't race, commitment with the team and with the project is the same and still the same as what it has been for years now," said Alonso.