At the start of the new F1 season Fernando Alonso insisted he only needed a few races and for the first time the wily Spaniard has kept his word on his own team’s future. After just four races, the 42-year-old driver, who is fast becoming Formula 1’s answer to Tom Brady, has decided to extend his career into his mid-40s with a “multi-year contract” with Aston Martin, which was signed on Thursday. . But as Alonso himself puts it, this is “a project of a lifetime.”
It’s somewhat interesting that Alonso, who has such raw talent yet an innate ability to rub people the wrong way, has taken this long to make it to his sixth team and 21st.st A year where you will feel at home in sports. It appeals to a man who is relaxed and comfortable in his current position: the undisputed No. 1 rider of a team on the precipice of the leading teams’ collection. And as this new deal shows, it’s a team that strives for more.
Ultimately, with Alonso’s long-term commitment to his love of Formula 1 (he’s previously flirted with IndyCar and endurance racing) left no room for doubt, the decision was simple. “It was easy,” he said Thursday. “I am extremely excited to continue racing with this team. It was also a sense of loyalty that I wanted to express to my team.
“This couldn’t be the end of the journey for me and Aston Martin.”
Alonso looks rejuvenated since making a shock switch from Alpine to Aston at the end of the 2022 season. A decision derided at the time as an unwise gamble, another example of Alonso making the wrong choice, actually turned out to be the two-time world champion’s biggest team change. In a year where Red Bull enjoyed unprecedented dominance, last season’s eight podiums show this. If it weren’t for Max Verstappen’s brilliant final sector in qualifying in Monaco, his 10-year winning streak might have been broken.
Since then, Aston has remained somewhat sideways. At best they are currently the third fastest teams; The worst is fifth. While Ferrari stands out as the best of the other teams behind Red Bull, Aston is currently competing race by race with McLaren and Mercedes for a place in the top 10.
It’s okay for now, but Alonso will want more. And frankly there’s a feeling there’s more to come at Aston and Alonso.
Team owner Lawrence Stroll’s (father of the team’s co-driver Lance Stroll) acquisition of former Red Bull aerodynamicist Dan Fallows, as well as Tom McCullough and Luca Furbatto, rejuvenated the team formerly known as Racing Point. They opened a new state-of-the-art factory at Silverstone last year and have a new set of wind tunnels to be completed this year.
Aston will use Honda as its engine partner in 2026, when new engine regulations threaten to shake up the order of the game. As a reminder, Honda currently leads the power unit behind Red Bull’s current dominance. Alonso had a torrid few years working with Honda at McLaren less than a decade ago, but the relationship was not irreparable. In summary, Alonso believes that Aston is a team that will achieve good things and Aston wants Alonso to take his team to the top.
But Alonso’s decision means a lot across the paddock, especially for Mercedes, which has a seat to fill in 2025 ahead of Lewis Hamilton’s move to Ferrari. Alonso said the vacant seats “do not look very attractive” for him next year after another negative weekend for the Silver Arrows in Japan. Alonso has now put his future on hold.
Gone is the time when a vacancy at Mercedes was the most valuable seat in Formula 1. The eight-year success of the hybrid era shows this; Six of these saw Hamilton win the championship. But not now. Now they haven’t won for almost 17 months. Hamilton hasn’t won in two years. After such success, Mercedes regressed and fell asleep during this period of key rule impact, remaining firmly in the doldrums following Adrian Newey’s rocket ship at Red Bull.
Meanwhile, Alonso did not see any future involvement at Red Bull, whether as Verstappen’s teammate or as the Dutchman’s replacement. No matter how adverse the decision may seem, Sergio Perez is increasingly likely to extend his time in the world championship.
But Red Bull isn’t the only one left behind by Mercedes. Ferrari stole a march earlier this year. McLaren, whose long-term squad was secured with Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, managed to get to the podium ahead of Mercedes. And Aston are just one point behind the sport’s former giants, despite having the number 2 driver.
So how far did Mercedes fall? In quite a way. The number one option for Hamilton’s seat looks like Carlos Sainz, who is leaving Ferrari in 2025 despite his current excellent form. So will Wolff want to sign a driver that the Scuderia has overlooked? Alternatives include a rapid rise from F2 for Mercedes’ 17-year-old junior Kimi Antonelli or a move for Alex Albon at Williams. Given Mercedes’ current form, a dramatic move for Verstappen is certainly out of the question next year.
Frankly, Alonso felt it was better to stay put than play one last time with Toto Wolff’s beleaguered team. His long-time rival Hamilton has run out of patience, exemplified by his move to Maranello next year. With his world-class pace and hunger for excellence, Alonso looked the obvious choice to replace the Briton next year, but the Spaniard must believe at his core that his dreams of a third world title have a better chance of coming true at Aston than at Mercedes.
Rather than a sign of faith in his current team, Alonso’s new deal is a damning indictment of Mercedes’ fall from grace.