Fernando Alonso’s confidence for Aston Martin’s future success in F1 is high

Fernando Alonso has admitted the 2026 season could be his last in F1 (Image: Getty)

Fernando Alonso said it is “guaranteed” that Aston Martin will be “fighting for and winning” the Formula 1 title in the future, but has admitted he may not still be driving when those opportunities come about. The Spaniard said the 2026 season is more likely to be his last in the sport if the team finds itself in a competitive position.

Aston have invested heavily in their 2026 project, including the signing of Adrian Newey to lead the design of their cars in the coming years. And Alonso, 44, is also playing a key role in helping bring the team out of midfield obscurity and into contention for success in the world championship.

He turns 45 next July, which is also the final year of his current contract, and has admitted his future beyond that deal depends on how the team gets on in 2026. “Let’s say that if we are competitive, there is more chance that I stop. If we are not competitive, it will be very hard to give up without trying again,” Alonso told the Aston Martin F1 website.

The two-time F1 champion has spent much of his season seeking a title-winning car since becoming, at the time, F1’s youngest ever champion in 2005. He followed up that success again the following year but then left Renault, only to be outshone by a rookie Lewis Hamilton.

Though he has come close on several occasions, finishing second in the championship three times with Ferrari, Alonso’s career is one of missed opportunities and team changes that have not worked out for him. But he says he is no longer driven by his personal ambition and is working instead with the goal of doing what he can to put Aston Martin in a position to fight for the title.

He said: “I will leave the decision for next year, and also how the team is in that moment and what they need from me. I’m open to helping the team as much as I can. It’s not about me now – I don’t need to keep racing – I’m just here to help Aston Martin become World Champions, whether that’s with me behind the wheel or without me behind the wheel, that’s the main purpose of this second chapter of my career.

“And yeah, I said I thought about it. If things go well, I think it’s a very good moment to stop because, as you said, I’ve been chasing a competitive car and a competitive racing for many, many years, and if I have that I think it’s a very good way to close my career.”

Fernando Alonso hopes Adrian Newey can design a competitive Aston Martin car for 2026 (Image: Getty)

Having worked closely with Newey on the development of their 2026 car, Alonso says he is “pretty convinced” that victory will be on the cards in the new era. He said: “The only thing is when – that’s probably my only question mark from this project. In my case, driving in the last couple of years of my career, obviously, I want to taste the success of the Aston Martin project. But I know that everything takes a little bit of time to glue all the pieces together and that’s my only question mark.

“Aston Martin fighting for and winning the world championship is more or less guaranteed in the future. We have everything that is needed to fight for a world championship. Then, to execute the job and to win it, you need some external factors as well: you need a little help from the competitors [with results not going their way]; you need a little bit of luck; you need to execute every weekend well.”