Fernando Alonso contract discussions on going for ‘many months’

Aston Martin expects Fernando Alonso to make a decision on his F1 future in the coming weeks.

The 45-year-old’s current Aston Martin deal expires at the end of the season and Alonso is yet to decide if he will look to renew it.

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Following confirmation that Max Verstappen will remain with Red Bull next season, and that Williams has retained both Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz, Alonso remains the last big unknown in the F1 driver market.

The two-time world champion joined the squad in the hope of being part of its charge to the front of the grid.

He suggested ahead of the F1 summer break that a decision would need to be made in short order.

“The discussion has been going on for many, many months already,” said Mike Krack, Aston Martin’s chief trackside officer.

“I think Fernando was always saying that he will take a decision around the summertime, and I think we will see a decision in the coming weeks.”

Alonso, however, has insisted that he’s spent no energy thinking about the future.

“Honestly, I didn’t think about my future until I entered the room here, and I’m answering all these questions,” the Spaniard insisted.

“We have this new engine. I saw the forecast for the weekend. We have a small upgrade also, I think, on the on the chassis as well. There is a new comfort thing around the knee areas that I was speaking with the engineers…

“My head is completely into this weekend, not in the in the future.

“I understand the attention can be more into the future but it’s not my biggest priority.”

Alonso joined Aston Martin in 2023 with a view to help drive it to the front of the F1 grid.

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While there were promising early signs during his first two seasons with the squad, progress has faltered in the opening half of F1 2026 as Honda initially struggled with its power unit, compounded by chassis issues and a lack of early upgrades.

Gains were made in Hungary on the chassis front, and this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix sees Honda introduce a new-spec power unit.

Encouragingly, the Hungarian upgrade package delivered what was hoped for, a crucial element that points to strong correlation and therefore confidence when it comes to the next wave of developments.

It’s against that backdrop that Alonso is weighing up his future, with another consideration being the style of racing that F1 has evolved into under the current rules cycle.

“A lot of things are more fun than this,” observed Alonso, who has made no secret of his desire to become a well-rounded racing driver with experience away from F1.

“But even the old Formula 1 cars, they have they are very specific.

“In Formula 1, you have to repeat perfection every single lap for 60 or 70 laps.

“You go to qualify and you put new tires and you just try to find half a 10th in in every new tyres.

“That’s a very specific way of driving; trying to be close to perfect every single lap.

“In other categories, it’s just about surviving every lap you do.

“So there are different types of fun.”

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