Fernando Alonso has always been distinguished by his speed, determination, and samurai spirit: he was born to be a fighter in this fast-paced motorsport we call Formula 1. Since joining Aston Martin, the Spaniard has had to struggle with inconsistent performances due to a car that has been erratic over time. It was only in 2023 that he managed to outperform the competition, with Alonso almost always on the podium in the first part of the season, behind the unbeatable Max Verstappen.
But even in that season, the decline arrived, taking away Fernando Alonso’s hopes of maintaining his position as the second force. In 2024, difficulties began from the start of the season, with an Aston Martin far from the competitive positions, scoring only 94 points in total (374 points behind Mercedes, who are ahead of the English team in the constructors’ standings).
A slow start with emerging doubts
The 2025 season did not begin in the best way for the Spaniard: two retirements in the two races contested. A disappointing result, where problems with his AMR25 took over, but also the Spaniard’s behavior was no better. During the Bahrain tests, Fernando joked about the on-track performances, remaining vague about where he realistically saw Aston Martin on the grid. Now, the irony has disappeared along with the laughter.
The Spaniard admitted after the Chinese GP that we will often see an Aston Martin fail to score points, and regarding his performance over the weekend: “We need to see if we can develop the car adequately, that’s where the key lies. I missed Q3 by 0.80 thousandths of a second. A team that manages to bring two or three tenths of a second improvement with an aerodynamic package during the season doesn’t gain two positions, it gains eight. So, I hope for this. We will try to bring something new to every Grand Prix,” he revealed to SoyMotor microphones.
A Samurai without a sword, a fighter pushed to the margins: Fernando hopes for a miraculous update package to climb the standings and for a 2026 season to come as soon as possible. But are we sure he will stay with the team?
The Max factor
Rumors about a possible departure of Max Verstappen from Red Bull have been circulating since January and have not fully subsided. Speculation has placed the Dutchman close to Aston Martin and Mercedes, both of whom have been courting SuperMax for a potential move to their teams. However, at the moment, Aston Martin seems to be the team with the most possibilities, given the presence of Adrian Newey, a familiar figure for the Dutchman.
If these paddock rumors were to become a reality, the likelihood of Verstappen replacing Alonso is very high, considering Stroll’s connection with the English team. And what if the Spaniard were aware of these discussions? Alonso could express his displeasure on track, fearing being replaced, and possibly (though likely) bid farewell to Formula 1 much earlier than expected. While awaiting certainty, we look forward to the pinnacle of motorsport heading to the Land of the Rising Sun, where we hope to see both Aston Martin and Fernando Alonso more involved in the race dynamics.
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