Source: Aston Martin Aramco F1 Team Media
Since he made his debut 23 years ago, Fernando Alonso has proven to be an incredible driver.
In the 384 races he has entered, the Spaniard has taken 22 pole positions, 106 podiums and 32 wins. That's not even mentioning the two Driver's championships he captured in 2005 and 2006. Alonso has driven for some of the biggest teams in F1, including Renault, McLaren, Ferrari and now currently races for Aston Martin. The stats are brilliant, so much so that if Alonso chose to retire now, it would be considered as a succcessful career.
But retirement isn't happening any time soon as news broke out a few days ago that Alonso would remain with Aston Martin until the end of the 2026 season. This puts to bed a number of rumours surrounding the future of the two-time champion. Was Alonso thinking of switching to a new team for 2025? Was a better offer on the table elsewhere by a rival team? Was Alonso even motivated to continue racing in F1 given his ambitions for a third title has so far remained frutiless?
Whilst some of these questions have now been answered, I couldn't help but have even more questions on what this new deal means, both in the present state of F1 and for the future as well. So with that, here's some of the questions that I'm now mulling over following the news of this deal...
What is Alonso's motivation?
This may seem pretty obvious at first glance. Alonso, like all drivers on the grid, wants to be at front of the grid, claiming podiums, winning races and capturing world championships. That is everyone's motivation for being in F1.
But what is Alonso's motivation for specifically re-signing with Aston Martin?
Whilst the team has made big improvements in the last few years and provided Alonso with a handful of podiums in 2023, it's not yet at the level where it can fight the top teams consistently enough to challenge for victories and titles. Alonso has high expectations, and he wants to be in the fastest car possible to maximise his talents and enable him to capture the third championship he has been working for.
Perhaps Alonso is anticipating the Silverstone-based team to be in that race-winning position within the next two years. Aston Martin has (and still is) working on their new facility, the AMR Technology Campus, which includes a new wind tunnel that will help develop the car's aerodynamic capabilities. There is also the new engine regulations for 2026, which could bring the teams back to a more level playing field. With Honda becoming Aston Martin's engine supplier from 2026, the team that has helped deliver three Driver's titles for Max Verstappen, there is all the possibility that Aston Martin could find themselves at the front of the pack. We'll talk more about Honda later.
One other reason for Alonso re-signing with Aston Martin might be that this was the best offer he received. We know plenty of driver lineups in rival teams are still to be decided for next year, like Mercedes and Red Bull, but that doesn't mean those teams took interest in Alonso nor does it mean Alonso was interested in looking elsewhere. We know Aston Martin highly value the Spaniard after offering him a more lucrative contract than what he received from Alpine in 2022, so it would come as no surprise if Lawrence Stroll ensured Alonso was provided a contract he would find tough to turn down.
Whatever the reason for Alonso's motivation, it's clear he has confidence in the team and high hopes this can be converted into the front-row car he has been seeking for years.
Does Alonso know something we don't?
When the news broke out in 2022 that Alonso was leaving Alpine to join Aston Martin, a lot of people, including myself, questioned whether this was a good or bad decision. After all, we all remember when Alonso left Ferrari to join McLaren in 2015 and it was clear this was a step in the wrong direction for the two-time champion.
At the time, Alpine was fourth in the Constructor's championship with 173 points whereas Aston Martin was seventh on 55 points. These statistics alone would signal the switch would bring Alonso further to the back of the grid rather than the front. How wrong were we?!
In the 2023 pre-season testing, there was strong showings the Aston Martin looked competitive and the races that followed proved this was the race. In the first eight races of the season, Alonso would finish on the podium on six of them. Meanwhile, Alpine would only score one podium in the same amount of races. Although Aston Martin's strong form deteriorated as the season went on, Alpine's form did the same. Now in 2024, the Aston Martin remains a strong contender in the midfield whilst Alpine sits last with the slowest car on the grid.
Which brings about my question, did Alonso know something we didn't at the time? Was the relationship between Alpine and Alonso not as strong as we once believed? Was it more than just a better contract that turned Alonso away from the French manufacturer? What was it that Lawrence Stroll could offer Alonso beyond a longer contract and higher salary?
I touched earlier about the potential prospects for Aston Martin in the next few years regarding their new facilities and their new engine supplier, and variables like these might have contributed to the potential Alonso sees in Aston Martin. There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes and not always are they things that are visible to us as fans of the sport. Only time will tell what the future holds for Aston Martin and how it will impact on Fernando Alonso.
What will the relationship be like between Alonso and Honda?
For anyone who has been watching F1 in the last 10 years, you may recall the strained relationship between Alonso and Honda during their time together at McLaren. Alonso moved to McLaren in 2015 from Ferrari whilst Honda would replace Mercedes as the Woking Team's engine supplier. Whilst it sounded promising for McLaren, the relationship between all of them was less than harmonious.
Over the course of three years, the McLaren found their car to struggle with power and reliability. All of this resulted in frustration for the whole team, and Alonso wasn't shy of voicing his dissaproval publically over the team radio. One of his more famous quotes came in the 2015 Japanese Grand Prix, Honda's home race, where the Spaniard refferred to Honda's power unit as a "GP2 engine", implying the engine was nowehere near the quality of what was expected in F1. The fact it was on Honda's backyard rubbed salt into the wounds for the team.
In 2026, Alonso and Honda will be reunited once again and questions will be raised on the dynamic between the two parties. Will they be able to get over the challenges during their time at McLaren? Will Honda be able to move past the comments from Alonso?
Personally, I think they will. Here's why.
Firstly, the blame for the McLaren's poor performance wasn't all to do with Honda's engine. When McLaren switched from Honda to Renault power in 2018, it was expected that the car would be further up the grid given the boasting the team gave on their car's aerodynamic capabilities. And whilst it started off well in 2018 for McLaren, it soon became clear that the car's aerodynamics were not as good as they thought they were and soon found themselves at the back of the field once again. Alonso, likely understanding this now, didn't choose to stick around at McLaren and announced his temporary retirement from the sport at the end of the season. Alonso likely knows the struggles during his time at McLaren were not all at the fault of Honda, and if they can work well together with Aston Martin, they can have a strong car for 2026.
Which brings me to my second reason, Honda have proven that with the right team to supply, they can produce a champioship winning car. The proof is with Red Bull, who begun their relationship with Honda in 2019 and aided in capturing the Milton Keynes team to three Driver's titles with Max Verstappen and two Constructor's titles. Whilst it did take some years to get to this stage, it shows that Honda can deliver what is needed to win championships.
With these in mind, I believe that Alonso and Honda can succeed together with Aston Martin if they put the past at McLaren behind them. Clearly Aston Martin believes they can, otherwise they probably would have never entered an agreement with Honda or Alonso respectively!
Conclusion
Overall, I'm happy to see that Alonso will continue to be a part of F1 for the next two years. He's shown no signs of slowing down and his experience and consistency is paying dividends for himself and Aston Martin.
Will he win another world championship? Possibly. It will be a tough road with all these things in mind. The future does look bright for Aston Martin, so there is every chance that Alonso may very well be back in that fight in the near future.
For now, Alonso will continue to perform the maximum for the 2024 season. It may not be the race wins or title fights yet, but something tells me we may not be too far away from it in the next few years...
Do you think Alonso staying with Aston Martin is the right choice?
Absolutely!
Not really...