Fernando Alonso provides update amid wait over F1 future decision

Fernando Alonso has admitted he is still yet to decide whether he wants to continue racing in Formula 1 next season. 

The two-time world champion, who recently turned 45, has a contract with Aston Martin that is due to expire at the end of the current campaign, leaving him facing a major dilemma for 2027 and beyond. 

Alonso has repeatedly insisted on several occasions that any decision he makes will not be swayed by Aston Martin’s competitiveness, or the current F1 engine regulations. 

It was expected that Alonso would use the F1 summer break to consider what he wants to do next but speaking to media ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, he conceded: “I feel fast, I feel motivated but, honestly, I didn't think about my future until I entered now the room here.

“My head is completely into this weekend, not in the future. I understand the attention can be more into the future, but it's not my biggest priority now.” 

Honda is bringing a major power unit upgrade to Zandvoort that it hopes will boost Aston Martin’s fortunes, though Alonso insisted the performance of the new engine is “not important” when it comes to his future. 

"I hope we see some benefit for sure in terms of power, drivability, and the things that we were missing so far, but, for me it's more important like in Budapest, with the chassis side, to see that there is an understanding on what the needs are, and a step forward,” he said. 

“In Budapest, we knew that we would not compete for the top positions but we wanted to check that the direction on the chassis side was the correct one. I think we did that, so that's something that is encouraging for the future, that the correlation is good and what we expected was, was delivered. 

“Now with the engine, it's the same thing. They made some changes to the engine, so it will be nice to confirm that everything is working as expected. And if it’s one tenth or one second, it doesn't matter really the number. We are too far behind to really care about a number. We just want to see that what we expected is, is delivered.”

When asked what exactly it is that he wants to tick off before making a final decision about his future, Alonso replied: “My head.

“I said many times, the regulation is what it is. It's not the best and the most fun cars to drive, but it’s still my life and Formula 1 will be always my life and my heart is here. 

“I will be with this team in one role or in another for the long term. So it's not about myself or who is driving next year, or if I'm driving next year or three more years. 

“It’s sitting with Lawrence [Stroll] and with Adrian [Newey], and if the need for the team is for me to drive, I will consider, I will be happy. If I can be more valuable in another position, I will consider, and I will be happy as well.

“But I need to drive something. That's something for sure. I need to race, I need to feel the adrenaline. I'm a competitor. I have other challenges in my head, as I said many times, to win one day Dakar or to try again Indy 500 or whatever is coming next. 

“Also winning in Formula 1 a third World Championship, that will be obviously the ultimate dream. Is that possible? I don't know how long it will take to achieve that performance for this team. 

“If it's going to be a very long time, maybe I'm not behind the wheel, but it's all in my head.”

And Alonso would not be drawn into setting a timeline on when he wants to have made a decision by. 

“I don't have any [timeline]. I just came from holiday now, so I will see in the next, days, or weeks, or months. Let’s see,” he stressed. 

“I know Lawrence is coming this weekend, so I will have a nice lunch with him or coffee. I will have to go to the factory soon as well to do Madrid simulator, so maybe if Lawrence is around, or Adrian, I will sit also with them. So maybe in the next weeks.”