Alonso: I talked to Toto after Rosberg quit

At that point, the Spaniard's career had stagnated amid the failed Honda partnership, so it was obvious to call the boss of the sport's most dominant team.

In an interview with Man in Town magazine, Alonso revealed, "In the past, I have had contact with Mercedes."

"Already in 2016 when Nico Rosberg decided to quit, I talked to Toto Wolff but in the end, we never reached a definitive yes, I was McLaren and it was not easy to find solutions."

Instead of joining Mercedes and partnering up again with Lewis Hamilton (remember McLaren 2007?) Alonso remained at Woking while Valtteri Bottas got the silver ticket to the best team of the modern era.

Nevertheless, the two time F1 World Champion and recently crowned WEC Champion is not writing off a return to the top flight, but if he does so it will be on his terms, "In future, I am open to interesting proposals."

"If I decide to return to F1 it will only be if there is a real chance of winning the world championship, I'm not interested in projects that start from scratch, I want a winning car right away.

"I do not close the doors to anything for the future, I love cars very much. I don't race in F1 but every weekend I find myself with a steering wheel in my hands.

"I still want to aim for the Triple Crown. So far only Graham Hill has done it and doing it today, in the modern era, would be a great thing."

After winning F1 titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006, Alonso's career plateaued and remained that way until he made his return to McLaren. Thereafter everything, except his salary, went south until he quit F1 with the once mighty Woking outfit in a bad way.

Some question his career decisions, but Alonso has no regrets, "F1 goes to cycles, for some years we have seen Red Bull dominate, for others the Mercedes, then Williams, Ferrari, McLaren."

"There are five or six top teams that have periods of dominance, it is difficult to predict which is the right one in what year and where it is best to go. I still feel lucky, even if sometimes I have missed out on a winning car.

"Twice I was very close to the world title but by then I had already won two. There are drivers who are talented and have never had the opportunity to make it.

"When you look back on the careers of drivers, you always have different choices to make however you cannot foresee the future. So it's ok.

"I am instinctive and if in a moment I feel like making that choice it means that I have to do it. I have no regrets in that sense because I did what I felt was right at the time."

Alonso departed the sport last year as an elder statesman, at 37 almost twice the age of several new generation F1 drivers currently on the grid.

He acknowledges that age does take its toll, "Like all sports, there is no expiration date but you feel that your body responds better when you are between 25 and 30. Those are the years when I felt physically strongest and at my best.

"Then, of course, the experience that comes with the passage of time has its importance," reasoned Alonso.

https://www.grandprix247.com/2016/03/01/alonso-i-tried-to-swap-ferrari-for-mercedes-with-hamilton/