Alonso expands on F1 future beyond 2026 amid retirement plan comments
Addressing his F1 future Fernando Alonso outlined he still has no plans for retirement.
“I don't need to race now to prove anything.”- Fernando Alonso
The F1 veteran of 421 races revealed he still has the desire to race and has not ruled out a F1 future beyond 2026 despite turning 44 years old this July.
Alonso’s current contract with the Aston Martin F1 team expires at the end of 2026 and he has yet to declare whether this will be his final F1 contract after almost 25 years in the sport.
Aging like a fine wine
Speaking to the media during the Singapore GP weekend, Alonso outlined that age has not impacted either his abilities or desire to drive in F1.
He said: “I think drivers they get better with time.
“The thing is that with age, you start losing motivation.
“You start losing the hunger of training every day and go to the factory and jump in the car and perform at your best.
“And at the moment, that didn't arrive to me.
“I think that's the problem. I don't think that with age any driver becomes slower unless you have a problem with reflexes or vision or you are not at hundred percent.
“But at the moment it seems that didn't happen."
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A relaxed approach to the 2026 project at Aston Martin
Alonso also indicated that the performance of next year’s Aston Martin could have an influence on his ambitions to stay in the sport beyond 2026.
He said: “For next year you know that's my feeling, if I have a car that I have fun and get some results I think maybe I will discuss with Lawrence and with the team what their needs are.
“The team will be first and myself second.
“I don't need to race now to prove anything. I'm happy with my career and I consider myself very lucky to be here for so many years and now is a moment to help the team and to have fun. That's something I need to see day by day next year."
‘Better than ever’
Responding to the question of whether he is still performing at his best, the two-time world champion stated he's driving ‘better than ever’.
He continued: “Last year and this year, probably the car is not where we see in the standings.
“I think we have some issues behind [the scenes] and we've been dealing with some weaknesses that I think are not too obvious sometimes from the outside.
“But I think personally some of the performance of this year and last year were not possible 20 years ago.
“That's my opinion. That's why I'm relaxed, I'm happy, I'm enjoying and I'm confident for next year.”
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