From Midfield Fighter to Legend: Alonso’s Final Pursuit

Fernando Alonso defies time, proving age irrelevant as he races toward 2026, determined to leave an enduring mark on F1.

Fernando Alonso is currently the veteran of the grid, and in 2026, during the final year of his contract with Aston Martin F1, he will even turn 45!

Yet, as his performances prove week after week, the Spaniard remains at the top of his game and in peak form, despite minor physical concerns (notably his back) beginning to surface.

Regardless, Fernando Alonso no longer thinks about his age. As he has stated, he pays no attention to the whispers behind his back subtly reminding him of his birth year (1981).

“I don’t think much about it. The media sometimes reminds me of certain statistics and figures, but for me, I feel like I’m 25 or 30 and I’m still racing in F1.”

“I don’t feel it. I feel motivated, fresh, and fit to drive and to keep following the same training I’ve been doing for the past 20 years, because it’s pretty much the same routine.”

However, the time will inevitably come when Fernando Alonso feels he’s no longer at his peak. When that happens, he won’t hesitate to call it quits.

“My confidence will always be there until the day I no longer feel comfortable in the car. If I feel—as you pointed out—that I’m slower than my teammates, or slower than what I think is possible with the car, if that day comes, I’ll probably raise my hand and stop racing because I won’t enjoy it anymore.”

At 43, Fernando Alonso remains every bit the racer… but for many younger fans, he has almost become a midfield warrior. The Spaniard is determined to remind them otherwise.

“I continue to deliver strong performances and stay motivated, and I don’t feel like I’m going in circles because every year, I still hope it will be the season when I have a fast car.”

“There’s a young generation of fans and followers who have just come to F1, and they don’t know much about me; they’ve never seen me win a race, or they judge me solely on recent results.”

“But I still hope to prove them wrong and have a fast car in 2026.”

The frustration of not having a dominant car

If Fernando Alonso persists in staying in F1 year after year, it’s to recapture the joy of driving a dominant car. Due to multiple poor career choices, this hasn’t been the case for him since 2007, when he left McLaren F1.

“I’ve never had a good car that allowed me to dominate anything, except for my season in the World Endurance Championship with Toyota [in 2019-2020].”

“That season, I realized how amazing it would be to have a dominant car in F1 as well, because you could achieve so much and drive the way you want.”

“My entire career, I’ve driven cars that weren’t necessarily the best at the time, even during my two World Championship titles. In 2005, the McLaren was the fastest car, but their reliability was poor, so we compensated for that and won the championship.”

“And then in 2006, the cars were very similar, but Ferrari and Michael [Schumacher] had a few too many retirements, especially in Japan at the end of the year, and I won the championship.”