Alfa Romeo Sauber team representative Alessandro Alunni Bravi has said he would always consider signing Fernando Alonso, with the team to become Audi for 2026.

Audi are in the process of buying the Sauber outfit ahead of 2026, where they will then enter the sport as a works team with their own power unit.

It's a very exciting time for the sport to be heading towards, with huge manufacturers joining the grid like Ford, alongside Red Bull, and Audi, who are obviously owned by VW.

Currently, the Sauber team carries the Alfa Romeo name and has Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu driving for them with them getting as much as they can from the car - with the latter enjoying a really strong performance last time out at the Spanish GP.

What the driver line-up will be for 2026 remains to be seen, though, with plenty of driver market changes surely in the offing between now and then.

Fernando Alonso will be into his mid-40s by that point, too, and may well decide to retire from the sport - though the way Aston Martin are going he could well be tempted to stick around for a bit longer - and it appears they are not the only admirers of the Spaniard's talents.

Indeed, speaking recently to Mundo Deportivo, Alunni Bravi has said how he would always consider Alonso for a drive, in terms of the Audi project or otherwise, given the talents the Spaniard has.

“I would always sign Fernando, even at 45 years or more,” he said.

“I was able to get to know him well at McLaren, when I was the manager of Stoffel Vandoorne, who was his team-mate. I was able to see first-hand the work he can do on a day-to-day basis as a driver, his ability, his great determination.

“He is a champion. You don’t win two F1 world titles if you don’t have certain characteristics.”

In fairness, very few would turn down Alonso given what he can still bring to a team, and so Bravi isn't saying anything particularly surprising - nor should this be considered a clear sign Audi are gunning for Alonso.

Even so, if he is still in F1 by 2026 then who is to say Audi wouldn't be interested in potentially bringing him in as one of their drivers.

Bravi did add, however:

“We are satisfied with our current driver pairing and our aim is to give them competitive material."

It's crystal ball stuff at the moment, but Alonso is driving as well as ever and a project as ambitious as Audi's would surely want to get in the best drivers to lead them on track - and Alonso falls into that bracket.