32-win F1 driver told he should have signed for Red Bull during his career

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In the 20 years that Red Bull Racing have been on the Formula 1 grid, they’ve had two distinct periods of domination.

Sebastian Vettel retired as a quadruple world champion and Max Verstappen is on his way to matching his achievement.

Given the level Jaguar were at when Red Bull completed their takeover at the end of the 2004 season, it’s incredible that they’ve been able to record 120 victories and counting in that time.

Red Bull have had some phenomenal drivers but arguably the most prestigious they’ve ever signed from another team are David Coulthard, Mark Webber and Sergio Perez.

All very good drivers at their peaks, but only Coulthard was a regular race winner before joining the team.

Instead, Red Bull have continued to develop their most impressive drivers and Helmut Marko thinks they have two more drivers in their academy who are F1 quality.

However, speaking on the Beyond The Grid Podcast, Red Bull chief engineer Paul Monaghan was talking about another driver who should have made the switch to the team.

Red Bull could now attract the strongest drivers on the grid if they wanted them, although that might impact the balance in the team with Verstappen very keen to stay as the established number one driver.

Monaghan has now suggested that double-world champion Fernando Alonso should have joined Red Bull back in 2008.

The Spanish driver was very close to his peak and coming off the back of winning two titles with Renault.

However, the 42-year-old with 32 race wins to his name has made some poor decisions in his career when it comes to choosing teams.

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Fernando Alonso told he should have signed for Red Bull in 2008

Talking about working his Alonso during his time at Renault before joining Red Bull, Monaghan said: “He was so calm, a race win was just an automatic event.”

Monaghan was then asked how Alonso has only won two championships in his career and continued: “Should have signed for Red Bull in 2008!

“Ask him about that, I’m not sure he’ll have a polite answer. He is a competitive driver, he wants the best out of himself every day.

“As I say, he doesn’t have a bad day, he doesn’t have a bad session.

“He’s a phenomenal competitor, his confidence is unshakable, he’s a wonderful person to be around, I enjoy his company enormously.

“He got close in 2010, he was nearly a Ferrari world champion. I saw him the Sunday night of Abu Dhabi and it was a double-edged sword.

“Seb [Vettel] had won his first world title with Red Bull and I saw Fernando on the Sunday night and I was sort of pleased I was in the team that had won and pleased for Seb and I was sorry for Fernando.”

Monaghan explained he felt guilty for denying the Spaniard a third world championship but admitted that that’s the position you’re in when changing teams.

READ MORE: Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso’s life outside F1 from net worth to Cars 2

Fernando Alonso looking to end his decade-long wait for F1 race win

In 2008, Red Bull were working with Coulthard and Webber but on the precipice of something brilliant.

Coulthard explained why he retired after the 2008 season and in his place, Sebastian Vettel was promoted from Toro Rosso.

The rest is history, with Vettel winning four titles on the bounce and Red Bull dominating the Constructors’ Championship.

Alonso, meanwhile, moved back to Renault in 2008 after a campaign with McLaren that looked good on paper but was tumultuous behind the scenes alongside Lewis Hamilton.

A move to Ferrari followed in 2010 where he finished 2^nd to Vettel on three separate occasions.

Another terribly judged move to McLaren followed before Alonso took a break from F1 entirely in 2019.

Alonso has since worked with Alpine and Aston Martin and is putting his faith in the British team to return to the front of the grid in 2026 when the regulations change.

However, it would have been thrilling to have seen Alonso and Vettel racing against each other at their peaks for Red Bull when they had the best car in the paddock.