A life in F1 and beyond: Fernando Alonso is not stopping, he is thinking about 2026 with Adrian Newey and has made a major announcement. The Asturian driver, now 43, continues to think about his future in the sport. Victory number 33, long sought-after but seemingly out of reach, could soon become reality. His mind is on the next Australian Grand Prix, the first round of next season, but also on his beloved Barcelona.
It was the 2001 Australian Grand Prix, the season opener. Minardi lined up a very young Spanish driver alongside Tarso Marques. That was Fernando Alonso’s first step in Formula 1, and in 2003 he moved to Renault, where he claimed his first win in Hungary. His first title came in 2005, followed by another in 2006, again with the French team. Then came years of bad luck, but always with unwavering passion.
After spells with McLaren, Ferrari, and Alpine, his new (and likely final) adventure is with Aston Martin. In 2023, twenty years after his first win, he came close to returning to the top step of the podium. But the technical struggles of the Silverstone-based team soon brought him back down to earth—yet the arrival of Adrian Newey is the key to keeping the dream alive. And 2026 is just around the corner.
Driver, but also ambassador: the Monte Carlo announcement
Battling both on and off the track, Fernando Alonso will personally fight to preserve the place of his Barcelona in the Formula 1 calendar. He will do so as an ambassador, with the announcement made just days ahead of his home Grand Prix: “I’m really excited about it,” he told Mundo Deportivo. “It was planned since February, but we decided to keep it secret until now.”
“In Barcelona I first experienced ‘Alonsomania’, the grandstands lit up in blue, all those Asturian flags. I have many memories tied to that circuit that I share with fans and Spanish supporters. I have a strong emotional bond with all of it, and I want to pass it on to future generations, helping grow this sport throughout Spain.”
And even though the circuit’s future remains uncertain with Madrid arriving on the scene, the two-time world champion won’t give up: “F1 is going through a good period, but the Barcelona circuit is evolving, moving in the right direction. The track wouldn’t exist without F1 and its stories. And even F1, without the constant presence of Barcelona over the past 20 years, would be paralyzed—we’ve done more laps there than anywhere else in the world.”
The future with Aston Martin, Adrian Newey, and a contract to renew
The Spaniard will definitely be on the grid in 2026 with Aston Martin. What happens after that is still uncertain, but a contract renewal isn’t ruled out: “I don’t know if I’ll be racing in F1 in 2027 or not. At the moment, I only have a contract for 2026, and I’ll decide next year. We’re all working on the 2026 car, but with no references to the others—only based on what we see from ours.”
“We need to trust our staff, our facilities, our technicians, and Adrian Newey—and he’s perhaps the greatest guarantee we have. We don’t have anything reliable yet, but we have the best people building the car. That has to help us, in any case. F1 is never just one plus one—otherwise, winning would be easy. There’s still a lot of work to be done.”
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