Fernando Alonso has no plans to announce his Formula 1 retirement during the Spanish Grand Prix weekend at the brand-new Madring circuit.
The 45-year-old will be heading into his second home race of the season this weekend, for the inaugural race at the Madring circuit in Madrid.
This would be Alonso’s first appearance at a Spanish street circuit since his incredible triumph at Valencia all the way back in 2012.
But the two-time F1 World Champion will do well to temper his expectations given the difficult start Aston Martin has endured to F1’s latest era.
13 rounds into 2026, Alonso has only been able to score three points for the Silverstone-based team.
Amid this slump, many expect Alonso to call it quits on his F1 career. However, the Aston Martin driver has insisted that a decision will be made in the context of what the team is capable of achieving in 2027.
When asked if he had any announcements to make during his home GP weekend, Alonso firmly refuted those suggestions.
“No,” he told media at Monza.
The works Honda PU struggled on the power-sensitive Monza circuit. Alonso had alluded to this after his stellar drive from 19th to ninth at Zandvoort.
But looking ahead to the race at the Madring circuit, Alonso believes that the AMR26 can have a better outing, given the inherent chassis-dependent layout of the track.
“Looking forward, I think from the remaining races, we know that there are weekends that we will struggle and weekends that will be better,” he explained.
“Maybe the next one is one of the opportunities.”
Fernando Alonso hints at 2027 Aston Martin decision after Monza disappointment
The Italian GP was yet another difficult outing for Alonso with the AMR26. He retired from the race on Lap 23 after picking up damage on his car in the run out of the second of the Lesmos.
The Honda engine at Monza was also only able to deliver 319 km/h as its top speed – something that prompted Alonso to even strip the circuit of its ‘Temple of Speed’ moniker under the 2026 regulations.
Looking at the remaining circuits on the calendar, the Spaniard weighed the team’s chances.
“I think Vegas is going to be another one of that type of weaknesses that we expose in these long straights, maybe back up,” he said.
“But there’s going to be some other weekends where we can have more fun, maybe in Singapore or Austin or something like that.”
Alonso pitted the team’s apparent lack of competitiveness in 2026 against its ambitions of competing closer to the front of the midfield next season.
“To be honest, we are at the back of the grid, so I’m not too stressed about this year,” Alonso concluded.
“If an opportunity comes to score one more point, OK. If it doesn’t, OK as well. It will not change our mentality, our determination to have a better 2027.”
Alonso’s laser focus on 2027 could be a sign that he has committed to Aston Martin, at least in principle, to compete in his 24th full-time F1 season.
READ MORE – The Aston Martin Monza Nightmare: Alonso’s Pit-Lane Start, Stroll’s 100th Q1 Exit
Discussion about this post