Flavio Briatore has admitted that he is unsure whether Fernando Alonso will elect to remain in Formula 1 beyond his current contract with Aston Martin through 2026.
Alonso, 42, stands as the oldest driver on the grid and the most experienced, having made a record 391 F1 starts and counting since he debuted with Minardi in 2001.
The Spaniard departed F1 in 2018, but he embarked upon a third stint with the Enstone-based side, known as Alpine, in 2021 and then moved to Aston Martin in 2023.
Alonso has shown in his comeback that he continues to operate at a high level as he capitalised on Aston Martin’s competitiveness last season to bag eight podiums.
Aston Martin announced in April that Alonso has signed a multi-term deal to remain with the team through 2026 when all-new regulations are introduced in the series.
The Silverstone-based squad, which will partner with Honda in 2026, is investing vast sums in facilities and personnel as it bids to turn into championship candidates.
Briatore, Alonso’s long-time manager, has acknowledged that the two-time champion will have several things to consider when it comes to weighing up his prospects.
“I don’t know [about his future],” Briatore, who has returned to Alpine as an Executive Advisor, said on the Formula For Success podcast.
“I believe [at Spa], for example, he was very smart. He did one pit stop and this was the way to go, because of his experience.
“If you ask me if Fernando wants to continue after we finish in the contract, our last year will be 2026 for the moment.
“What he wants to do after, I don’t know. Does he want to continue for one more year?
“The performance is there. You see the performance of Fernando, it’s there. It’s not a question of him losing concentration, during the race he’s always there.
“If he’s 11th, he wants to be 10th. If he’s 10th, he want to be ninth. He wants the car to be competitive. He’s qualifying well, he’s racing well.
“I don’t know, honestly, if he wants to stop with 2026 as his last year or if he wants to go ahead. Honestly, I don’t know.
“It depends on the feeling he has about racing and the timing, I don’t know if he’ll have a family at the time and whatever.
“But for sure, he is somebody unique. I’ve never seen somebody like that, so determined every day, every day, every day. Never give up. Unbelievable.”
Alonso, who is ninth in the championship, divulged prior to the campaign starting that his test results over the winter were the best that he has obtained in his career.
Briatore has highlighted Alonso’s committment to not cutting corners with either his diet or training regime as an integral part to the Spaniard’s continued F1 exploits.
“I’ve been managing Fernando Alonso for 22 years now,” he added. “We’ve had 22 years of marriage.
“Fernando is still very difficult to understand because Fernando is still motivated like a young driver.
“He’s super fit, maybe more fit now than when he was driving for me. He’s living in Monaco. I know he’s doing a bicycle ride every day, he’s doing 60-70-80 kilometres every day.
“He goes to the gym every day. Every time we go to dinner he’s very, very careful. He’s never cheating with the food. He’s unbelievable.”
Discussion about this post