Fernando Alonso says he expects to decide his Formula 1 future after the August summer break, when he will weigh whether to extend his record-long career into a 24th season in 2027. The two-time world champion, who turns 45 in July, is in the final year of his Aston Martin contract after joining the team from Alpine in 2023.
Alonso conceded that Aston Martin and Honda have had a difficult start under the new regulations this season, but he remains noncommittal about retirement. “At the moment I don’t feel it’s that time yet,” he said previously, and in Miami he gave a clearer timeline: “Sometime in the summer, I need to make a decision.” He added that he has not yet sat down to think deeply about it and wants to consult his family and close staff first.
The Spaniard said he is relaxed about the choice and believes another season could be stronger as the Aston Martin project enters its second year of development. “If I continue racing, I think it will be a better season than this one with the project in year two. If I stop racing, I know that I will race in other series,” he said.
Alonso said he will discuss plans with the team after the summer break and keep an open mind. “I’m open to everything. Until probably after the summer break I will not really sit down with the team and make the decision. We need to see also how the car improves and how we see things into next year. I am also linked with this team, with this project. I want to succeed here behind the wheel or not being the wheel. You will see me in the paddock even if I stop racing.”
On track, Alonso remains Aston Martin’s benchmark, having outqualified team-mate Lance Stroll across a long run of grands prix. He said his recent performances should help his case if he opts to continue: “I’m performing well enough to show the team that I can give them the results if the car is competitive. I’m helping the team as much as I can. I think it could be more up to me.”
Fatherhood has also influenced Alonso’s thinking. He and partner Melissa Jimenez welcomed a son in March, and the cancellation of some early-season races allowed Alonso extra time at home. Asked whether becoming a father had shifted his priorities, he said it has affected how he views the future: “I have some thoughts, I cannot lie. It does change the way you see life. I want to race so he sees me racing. But until he is aware of things, maybe it’s a couple of years and I don’t want to race four or five years again!”
Alonso explained he would like to continue at least until his son can understand or experience the paddock: “I would like not to stop before he is in the paddock, or he sits in my car. They are moments you will remember all your life, so it does change [your thinking] to be a father.”
When it comes to timing a retirement, Alonso is clear he does not want to linger until competitiveness fades. “Leaving the sport with a bad taste is not always the best thing but these things you cannot choose — when to stop racing,” he said. “I’m very happy with my career. Since I came back in 2021, it has been a gift to keep racing and to feel competitive. I also want to leave the sport one day when I feel fast. I don’t want to leave the sport when I’ve been beaten by everyone, I feel slow and I make mistakes. I know that I’m at my 100 per cent now and I want to leave also when I feel that way.”
Alonso has prior experience stepping away from F1: he missed the 2019 and 2020 seasons to compete in endurance racing, where he won the World Endurance Championship and two Le Mans 24 Hours victories with Toyota, and he also pursued further attempts at the Indianapolis 500 and a Dakar Rally debut. Looking ahead to a post-F1 career, he remains open to diverse challenges: “Dakar will be a possibility. If one day I can win endurance racing, Formula 1 and rally cross country, that will be probably unprecedented and that’s something that is very appealing.”
He recently drove the Aston Martin Valkyrie prototype and said the experience was enjoyable. Regardless of whether he continues driving in F1, Alonso expects to stay connected to the team in some capacity: “I’m not too worried when I stop Formula 1. I will keep racing somehow and I will still link with the team in a different role for sure in the future. Either way, I’m relaxed and I will be active in a way when I stop Formula 1.”
A quick summary of Alonso’s F1 record so far: 23 seasons, 429 race starts, 2 world titles, 32 wins, 22 poles, 106 podiums and 274 points finishes.
Formula 1 now moves on to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix, with Alonso expected to make his decision about 2027 after the traditional mid-season break.