“I felt like it’s just the beginning of the journey with Aston Martin”
The Spanish Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso explained this Thursday the reasons that led him to renew his contract with Aston Martin until 2026, something that was “easy” once he confirmed his desire to continue in the ‘Great Circus’ and with a project which was always his first option, although he had other conversations.
“It was easy. I think not much has changed since we spoke in February at the car launch. I needed a few races or a few weeks, to really think about myself, if I was ready to commit more years to F1, because the calendars are a a little more intense now, the cars too, the commitment,” he said in a speech shortly after the news of his renewal.
“My love for F1 and my love for Aston Martin did not change,” added Alonso who, of course, made it clear that he did not consider “retirement” seriously. “Not really. I don’t think retirement ever crossed my mind. I had 99% confidence that I would continue competing next year, so retiring was not an option,” said Alonso, who will turn 45. green.
“This is the longest contract I have signed in my career, so it is something that will keep me linked to Aston for many, many years to come. Let’s see in what role, let’s see how many more years I will drive. But even after driving “I will use more than 25 years of experience in F1 plus another 10 or 15 outside of F1, that is, almost 40 years of experience. I am very motivated,” he said.
The double world champion explained that he did have conversations with some other team, without giving names, but insisted that continuing with Aston Martin was always his priority, without reaching anything with the others. “Once I made the decision, I think it was after Australia or something, I sat down with Aston, which as I said in February was my first priority, and we both wanted the same thing,” he said.
“When two parties want something in a moment an agreement is reached, so I am very excited to continue competing and continue competing with this team, with which I feel at home. It was also a feeling of loyalty that I wanted to express to my “I felt like this is just the beginning of the journey, it couldn’t be the end of the journey for me and Aston Martin,” he added.
“Yes, I also spoke to other people. I think it is normal when you start negotiations, you need to balance a little what the market is, you also need to listen to everyone else. It is a normal procedure and I think it is also fair to listen to all the proposals and see how the market moves. But in my head, Aston was the most logical thing I could do,” he explained.
Additionally, the Asturian driver explained his team’s significant investment in its F1 program, which includes a new headquarters, a wind tunnel and a power unit partnership with Japanese automotive giant Honda starting in 2026. “Committing to a project, a one-year project, didn’t make sense to me,” he said.
“It’s not that I had a one-year proposal somewhere else or anything like that, I just made it very clear to Aston in the first conversations that the attractive part of this project is everything we are building,” with faith in Honda after his bad past with McLaren. “Honda is a company I’ve always respected,” he said.
“They currently dominate the sport and have been world champions for the last few years (with Red Bull). I think they will have a base for 2026 that is already very solid, but they also have in Sakura the ability to build something really good. Obviously, with the sustainable fuels that we will have in 2026, this is something that I would also love to experience,” he added.
Finally, Alonso was motivated to extend his career regardless of age. “I will be 45 years old or older and I will continue to ride. If one day I feel that I am not motivated, or if one day I feel that during the race I am not in good shape, or I feel that I am not fast, maybe I will reach a period of the season in which I don’t feel fast, I have a very honest relationship with Aston Martin,” he concluded.