Aston Martin’s two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso says he will start the 2026 Formula 1 season treating it like his final year in the series.
The 43-year-old is contracted to Aston until the end of 2026, the first year of F1's new rules cycle.
Expectations for 2026 are high given some high-profile arrivals to the team will be in place before then such as Red Bull’s Adrian Newey and Ferrari’s Enrico Cardile.
That’s what Alonso’s hopes of capturing an elusive third world title rest on, given Aston has been firmly adrift of F1’s top four teams in 2024 and would need a huge leap over the winter to be a frontrunning force in 2025.
And Alonso’s now revealed he’ll go into that 2026 season treating it like it will be his last.
"Expectations will be high because it is a new car, change of regulations, car made by Adrian," Alonso told the BBC.
"Probably - or at least to start - it will be my last season in F1 because my contract finishes at the end of 2026. It is the time of delivering and the time of truth. High expectations."
That’s far from an absolute declaration that 2026 will be Alonso’s final season. Before signing a two-year extension with Aston in April this year, Alonso hinted he could walk away from F1 if he didn't have a competitive enough car.
He obviously didn’t walk away in the end and isn’t ruling out staying beyond 2026 either.
"If 2026 is running smoothly and we are having a good time and there is a possibility to race one more year, I will be open [to it] for sure,” Alonso added.
"I will not close the door beforehand. But I will not start thinking that and I will take every race as if it is my last race and I will enjoy every second."
Alonso said he will “probably raise my hand and stop racing” if he starts becoming slower than his team-mate or what he believes the car is capable of.
But he added he still has the hunger to win that third title because he believes he has never had a dominant car in F1; even his two world titles with Renault he says were against Kimi Raikkonnen’s faster but less reliable McLaren in 2005 and against Michael Schumacher’s Ferrari that was “very similar” in 2006.
The only time he’s had that experience is when he drove a Toyota to successive Le Mans 24 Hours victories as part of a dominant World Endurance Championship campaign in 2018-19.
He said he hopes Newey - who has produced many of the cars that have blown Alonso’s title hopes away - and Aston’s other star signings will finally give him that luxury in F1.
The one downside to Aston success
If Aston’s ‘superteam’ delivers in 2026 you can bet Alonso will take full advantage. There’s been very few signs of any decline and when he’s had a competitive Aston in 2023-24 he’s often snuck a podium or a big points finish that other drivers simply wouldn’t have.
Alonso has had a consistent advantage over Lance Stroll across their two seasons together and there’s no reason to think that would change in ‘26.
But what could - and likely already is - changing is the appeal of Aston’s 2026 project. Works Honda engines, Newey, Cardile, former Mercedes engine architect Andy Cowell plus the huge infrastructure investment that Lawrence Stroll has pumped into the team.
If that potential is realised in early 2026 - or there are hints that it will be before then - you can bet there will be plenty of drivers sniffing around a 2027 Aston seat.
If we’re to presume Stroll’s seat is stable then it would be Alonso who is under threat.
Oscar Piastri’s long-term McLaren deal expires at the end of 2026, the likes of Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon will be desperate to get back into a frontrunning team, and you can’t discount Max Verstappen’s frustration with Red Bull leading to an exit prior to his contract expiring in 2028.
So Aston will have no shortage of potential suitors. Alonso will back himself to beat any of them but ultimately if he’s already indicating 2026 could be his last, retaining his seat beyond then even if he wants it could be tricky if he finally gets that championship-challenging car.