Fernando Alonso has said he is “dreaming” about a good Formula 1 season in 2026, as he confirmed Aston Martin has shifted much of its focus onto next season’s car.
The Silverstone-based squad has endured a tough 2025 season, scoring just 36 points so far, leaving it eighth in the Constructors’ Championship.
The tricky AMR25 has been unable to propel Alonso and team-mate Lance Stroll to the front of the grid, amid Adrian Newey’s much-anticipated arrival at the team.
But the technical guru has been left to largely focus on the 2026 challenger, as F1 will begin a new era that will see Aston Martin begin a new engine deal with Honda.
Alonso revealed to media including Motorsport Week ahead of last weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix that the team’s attention is now mostly fixed on the forthcoming campaign.
“Actually, I think 80 per cent of the focus is already on 2026, in a way,” he divulged.
“Not only on the engineers and the design team. It’s also the drivers’ ahead, apart maybe from the two McLaren drivers.
“The rest of us, we are just thinking a little bit and dreaming about what could be a good season next year, because this year is going to change very little, I think, in the second part.”
Alonso recognised the team is still engaged in a battle with other teams in the midfield to finish as high as possible, with Aston Martin seven points behind Sauber in fifth.
“So, it is fun to see all the midfield so close, and maybe there is some action between all the midfielders in the second part of the season, and it will be a fight for fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth in the Constructors’ Championship,” he continued.
“But apart from that, I think there is not much more to do. Try to learn, keep improving, try to work with the team in the best way possible.
“And as I said, in terms of points every two or three weekends, try to see the Constructors’ Championship and have some fun there.”
Weather changes ‘not an excuse’ for poor Aston Martin performance at Spa
The highly controversial race at Spa, which was delayed by over an hour due to the changing weather conditions, saw Alonso finish 18th, with Stroll ahead in 14th.
The Spaniard has revealed the set-up on his AMR25 did change prior to the race to anticipate the wet weather, but said it was no excuse for the team’s poor showing.
“We did change the set-up since this morning to accommodate a little bit [for] the rain, but it’s not an excuse,” he conceded.
“We should not be that [much] slower in dry conditions with the changes we made.
“I think we were half a second from the Q2 cutoff time and we were not half a second slower because of the compromises we did.”
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