Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing and second-placed Fernando Alonso of Spain and Aston Martin F1 Team celebrate on the podium during the F1 Grand Prix of The Netherlands at Circuit Zandvoort on August 27, 2023 in Zandvoort, Netherlands. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos | Getty Images)
A piece of the Formula 1 Silly Season domino set has fallen as the two-time World Drivers Champion Fernando Alonso will be sticking with Silverstone, United Kingdom-based Aston Martin Racing through at least 2026. Alonso, who joined AMR ahead of the 2023 season, helped the team jump from seventh in the point standings to fifth with stellar finishes that almost made him an early contender for the championship that season. Yet, he fell back as Red Bull Racing and Max Verstappen became borderline unstoppable.
Alonso’s decision to stick with AMR through at least 2026 keeps two possible seats open after Lewis Hamilton’s shock move to Ferrari looms large in 2025, and a second Red Bull seat may open up. For a short time, Alonso was linked to rumors of replacing Sergio Perez as Verstappen’s teammate or replacing Hamilton at Mercedes. But with Alonso out of the picture, the rumor mill can continue for both of those seats, with Carlos Sainz looking to remain on the F1 grid in the future, even as he is currently the only non-Red Bull driver to win a Grand Prix since Brazil 2022.
Yuki Tsunoda of Japan driving the (22) Scuderia AlphaTauri AT04, Kevin Magnussen of Denmark driving the (20) Haas F1 VF-23 Ferrari and Fernando Alonso of Spain driving the (14) Aston Martin AMR23 Mercedes battle for track position during the F1 Grand Prix of Mexico at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez on October 29, 2023 in Mexico City, Mexico. (Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli | Getty Images)
The decision to switch from Alpine to Aston Martin before 2023 was initially seen as strange, given how strong Alpine looked going into 2023. However, it seems the double world champion made a move at the right time as Alpine faltered in 2023, and he helped elevate his new team. Alonso had a strong 2023, bringing home multiple podiums and three second-place finishes (Monaco, Canada and the Netherlands). However, the team fell behind in development as the season wore on, and Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren all made substantial gains.
So far, 2024 has been steady but not spectacular for Alonso and his team. Alonso has yet to score a podium so far this year, but he has currently finished in the Top 10 to gain points for every race so far. The team hopes to continue improving through the rest of 2024 and look ahead to 2025 and 2026 when it moves from Mercedes as their engine supplier to Honda in 2026.
The commitment to Aston Martin through at least 2026 does create an interesting reunion for Alonso, as he will join back up with Honda. During his second stint with McLaren between 2015 and 2018, the team was partnered with Honda, and there were consistent issues that created moments like the ever-quotable “GP2 engine, GP2” moment when the underpowered McLaren was not able to do as Alonso wanted. However, that is almost the distant past for Honda as they have been the powerplant for Red Bull since 2019 and are reigning back-to-back Constructors Champions.
