Alonso Commits to Another Year at Aston Martin — SkimNews
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- Fernando Alonso committed to at least one more year in F1 with Aston Martin, announced Tuesday, telling BBC Sport: "I still feel as fast as anybody" — and saying giving up while he still had that self-belief "should not be like that."
- Aston Martin's 2026 season has been "close to rock bottom," with Honda's engine the worst in the field on the Japanese manufacturer's official return — though a massive car update at the Hungarian Grand Prix cut roughly two seconds off lap times.
- Adrian Newey's arrival as managing technical partner in March 2025 was "probably the biggest contributor" to Alonso's decision; giving up after one "highly compromised" year with the legendary engineer "felt senseless," Alonso said.
- Alonso has been one of the sharpest critics of the 2026 hybrid rules (alongside Verstappen and Norris), calling F1 the "battery world championship" and dismissing some of the year's most demanding corners as "the charging station for the car."
- Alonso finished P9 at the Dutch Grand Prix, holding off faster cars from Alpine's Pierre Gasly and Racing Bulls' Yuki Tsunoda in the final stint — one of his few chances this year to publicly demonstrate his pace.
- Alonso became a father in March (son Leonard, with partner Melissa Jimenez) but said family was "not really a key factor" in his decision, and hinted the extension could run beyond one year: "I see that it would not be only one year."
Why it matters: For Aston Martin, retaining a driver of Alonso's stature buys time to integrate Newey's design philosophy and address Honda's engine problems — though Alonso himself acknowledged there are "no guarantees" the engine will be fully fixed next year. The decision also binds Aston Martin's rebuild narrative to one of the sport's most decorated careers through what is likely to be another transitional season.
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