Just over 2,000 days after announcing his retirement from Formula 1, Fernando Alonso signed what he described as “the longest contract I ever signed in my career” to keep him with Aston Martin until at least the 2026 season.
The most experienced F1 driver in history will remain with his team over at least the next two seasons, taking him into the next generation of technical regulations.Alonso is not just staying in Formula 1 for fun. He is also choosing to remain with Aston Martin for a reason. That being, he feels that he is still capable of competing for that elusive third world champion well into his forties – and that Aston Martin are his best chance of doing so.
Aston Martin have invested many millions over recent years to try and build themselves up into a true championship contending team – with Alonso forming a big part of that investment. But will Alonso be able to achieve his dream of becoming a three-times world champion before his new contract ends?
Have your say in this weekend’s poll.
For
Alonso may not have won a world championship since 2006 – or a grand prix since 2013 – but even in 2024, he still demonstrates that he has the ability to race at the very top of the Formula 1 field.
In the last round last weekend in Japan, Alonso described his performance where he took fifth on the grid and finished sixth as one of the best of his unparalleled career. So there’s little doubt he has the ability to fight for wins and championships even at 42.
With Aston Martin investing in a new factory, hiring many great technical minds from other teams and improving their resources, the team are much better placed than many to become a true contender in the years to come. So if they continue that trajectory, all Alonso may need is a car that can win races and he can make the difference.
Against
As much as Alonso may have the skills to fight for a world championship if he had the car, that’s the crucial factor; if he has the car.
Aston Martin may have scored eight podiums with Alonso last year, but they didn’t win. They also don’t look any closer to doing so this season and will need to show real improvement if they are to become a threat to the likes of Red Bull and Ferrari.
Then there’s also Alonso’s age. He will exceed the age that Michael Schumacher reached during his final stint in the sport by the end of this new contract and it’s inevitable that his elite abilities will eventually begin to fade.
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I say
When it was announced that Alonso would be returning to Formula 1 in 2021, it was easy to be cynical about resuming his pursuit of that third world title. He was surely past his best and unlikely to measure up still against the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc.
With so many major moves made by the Silverstone-based team over the last few years, it feels like Aston Martin have given themselves the best chance they can of achieving that goal. With a major partnership with Honda for the new power units in 2026, it feels like the expectations will only increase over the next few seasons.
But even if Aston Martin achieves their aims of becoming a top three or even a top two team, they can’t control how good their opposition will be. With Red Bull and Verstappen continuing to look almost unstoppable, it is either going to take something very special from Alonso and Aston Martin, or some kind of implosion from Red Bull, to give Alonso the chance to achieve what he rejoined Formula 1 to do.
You say
Do you think Fernando Alonso can win a world championship with Aston Martin over the coming years? Have your say in this weekend’s poll.
Will Fernando Alonso win a world championship title with Aston Martin?
- No (78%)
- Yes (22%)
Total Voters: 142
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Debates and polls
- Will Verstappen race on with Red Bull until the end of 2028?
- How long should Red Bull give Ricciardo to prove he’s not lost his touch?
- Were stewards right to penalise Alonso over his driving before Russell’s crash?
- Are Williams right to bench Sargeant so Albon can race after crash?
- Is the FIA right to make ten seconds the new standard for penalties?
HUHHII (@huhhii)
14th April 2024, 12:18
Never clicked No in a survey this fast before
earthling (@34rthl1ng)
14th April 2024, 12:56
They did not ask about Kimi, that’s why
Jere (@jerejj)
14th April 2024, 15:27
Same. An easy choice.
Nick T.
14th April 2024, 22:38
It’s a pointless survey. If they asked will Max win a WDC with Aston I’d answer the same thing. I’d give higher odds only cause he could stick around for longer and Newey must be retiring within the next 3-4 seasons.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
15th April 2024, 5:48
There’s no need to be an alonso detractor to vote no in this survey, the first thing I thought about was: the realistic question isn’t if he’ll win a title with aston, but a race, that’s how hard it is to win a race at this (or most) teams, let alone a title.
Asd
14th April 2024, 12:49
F1 = the best car wins the WDC
Aston Martin = not the best car any time soon
SjaakFoo (@sjaakfoo)
14th April 2024, 13:03
I wonder. They’re still in the middle (though nearing the end) of their transition from backmarker to front running team. The investments take a long time to start working, after all. They had to build a factory, all the facilities therein, hire the right people, etc.
Right now, they have some of the top designers in F1 working for them, and in 2026 they’ll have the best engine in F1 at the moment in a works deal. They might just end up being very competitive in 2026, which is only two years from now.
So, I’d say yes, Alonso definitely has a shot at the WDC soon.
Asd
14th April 2024, 13:55
You’re absolutely right. But right now – for as long as they have Newey – RedBull can be expected to be on top through 2026. Just behind them is Ferrari. And those two have to be favoured in our expectations.
And behind those two is the queue of 3 teams: Mercedes, AM and McLaren, that each are a candidate to make a leap forward, but may never make the leap in the next 2-3 years.
I think having a very well running organization is only enough to be among that group of three teams. To be able to fight for WCs, it takes a lot of luck with the most talented engineers you’re able to hire.
Kringle
14th April 2024, 17:35
I don’t think Newey as an individual is necessarily the golden bullet by himself but I reckon it’s psychological for the rest of his team. He is their golden fleece.
Ajaxn
14th April 2024, 21:30
Newly was always the ace on aero design, but this Gound effect car will only be going one more season and then its back to business as usual, where the engine comes first.
Markp
14th April 2024, 22:10
Rumour is Red Bull want to put Newey on the track car programme away from F1. Red Bull know his influence so maybe the buck has been passed on Newey and it’s others in Red Bull that have learnt from him that are leading the charge on design. Even in the past Ferrari defeated Newey for 6 straight seasons.
Nick T.
14th April 2024, 22:43
Newey clearly is the magic bullet. If it weren’t for unreliable engines with McLaren and underpowered engines 2014+, his RBR cars could easily have won 16 straight or every WDC since 2009 and even won almost every WDC since 1992. So, it’s beyond clear he’s the magic bullet if his chassis has a competitive and reliable engine.
MacLeod (@macleod)
15th April 2024, 7:55
After 2026 Alonso wil have a great chance (not Lance) but before that i would have to say no……..
F1statsfan (@f1statsfan)
15th April 2024, 7:35
For 2026 like it was for 2014-2016 and even the years after that – the best ENGINE wins the WDC and WCC.
In 2021 Mercedes had the best car and engine, certainly at end of season but Max won the championship because finally Honda came close enough to the Mercedes engine that Red Bull superiors chassis and Max driving could make the difference.
Yes Mercedes had customer teams but they didn’t get the best Mercedes engines nor was the engine measurement/specs optimized for their customer chassis but their own. Engines were build and tested and those with best test results Mercedes kept themselves and those with lesser results (very very tiny differences) went to customer teams.
Although even with identical engines Mercedes easily outspend them on the chassis design.
DavidDesu
14th April 2024, 13:24
You’d love to see it. What a story it would be. He’s absolutely still capable, that is in no doubt. Just needs the car. With the change up of regulations you just never know. Maybe Red Bull mess it up the way Mercedes have. Maybe Aston Martin absolutely nail it with all the investments they’ve made. It’s just exciting to think it is a real possibility. If Alonso was driving for Williams you’d say it’s just not going to happen. With AM it actually could I believe.
MichaelN
14th April 2024, 13:28
Unlikely. Aston Martin’s slide in 2023, and their subseqent drop in the 2024 pecking order, seems to confirm what many already suspected: Ferrari and Mercedes were compromised in 2023. McLaren is now also doing better than Aston Martin. Honda also played a very clever, and arguably somewhat deceptive, game with the current engine freeze and their ‘we’re leaving oh no we’re back’ theatrics. They won’t have that advantage in 2026.
And Alonso… I’m sure he’s still solid. But he hasn’t been able to be compared to the cream of the crop in many years. He hasn’t won in over a decade. No other winning team had wanted him in as many years. It takes more than a solid race to win a title, and even at the peak of his career Alonso still lost more title battles than he won.
It would be a fun story if they can pull it off, and fair play if they do it, but I’m not putting any money on it.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
15th April 2024, 5:55
It’s not alonso’s fault that he lost many title battles, arguably those ferraris shouldn’t have been in battle to begin with.
To say he didn’t win a race because of anything but the car is an exageration, however the question is still exagerated as well imo, a better question would’ve been “will he win a race with aston?”, and then that might be possible but still relies on having a car no worse than early 2023 and having opportunities: verstappen didn’t give any last year when aston was quick.
Neil (@neilosjames)
14th April 2024, 13:46
A driver with Alonso’s ability and strengths can carry on quite a long time because, even with some inevitable age-related decline, they’ll still be better than most of the other drivers. Like he is now.
I’d love to see it happen, but I don’t think he can make the difference he once could, so I’d have to look at it as ‘can Aston Martin build a better car than everyone else’ and vote no.
SteveR (@stever)
14th April 2024, 13:52
Unfortunately it’s not just having a car capable of winning, you also need a team mate who can grab some of the points and second places to help. As long as Stroll is one of the drivers, no chance.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
15th April 2024, 5:57
Well, we’re talking about the WDC, so stroll is not needed, if the car is good enough for alonso to beat verstappen that’s all that’s needed, as I doubt perez would be in the mix either.
kuvemar
14th April 2024, 14:39
My prediction:
– One win this year, in a chaotic race
– Three wins next year on pace
– Narrowly missing the title in 26
– Extending his contract by two years
– Champ in 27 & 28
– Retirement from F1 and return to WEC with Aston
Asd
14th April 2024, 14:43
Oh damn, so you’re saying Alonso never goes to IndyCar? :(
“– One win this year, in a chaotic race”
We would need a wet race for this, but there’s no wet races in F1 any more. :(
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
15th April 2024, 5:59
There are, but more like intermediate conditions and some of those can be boring cause there’s not enough water on track.
MacLeod (@macleod)
15th April 2024, 7:57
@asd and @esploratore – So last year Zandvoort and Monaco were boring? I found both very good.
Peter707
15th April 2024, 8:33
And a second return in 2031, by the age of 50.
Nulla Pax (@nullapax)
14th April 2024, 14:54
He is more than capable of grabbing a few more race wins I think, but his chances of another WDC is not going to happen unless every other team on the grid decides to hire drives like Lance and Logan.
Jere (@jerejj)
14th April 2024, 15:28
No, as I simply can’t see AMR becoming championship-winning capable soon enough for a third championship win to realistically happen.
Mick
14th April 2024, 19:17
In 2026 things will change big time.
Honda has a lot of time to develop their new engine and this go around they know what they are doing.
AM is investing a lot of $$ in facilities and personnel and will only get better.
RBR may be the big loser, dumping Honda and bringing in Ford. STUPID mixed with arrogance. They may likely stumble out of the blocks.
I think Alonso is still the best all around driver and would could give Max a run for his money.
I think Max is great but as we see with Hamilton it’s more about the car. Max is not exactly sharpening his racing skills with the lack of wheel to wheel he has gotten in the past couple of years.
I’d like to see him challenged and believe FA always finishes several places above his car’s capability.
If they can get Newey who claims he always wanted to work with FA and HAM well that would make things interesting:)
MacLeod (@macleod)
15th April 2024, 7:59
To be honest Red Bull didn’t dump Honda Honda quited the sport and when Red Bull had moved on with his engine production Honda came back…..
Depailler
14th April 2024, 17:48
I think it comes down to how good the Honda engine is.
If they make a GP2 engine then he won’t win anything.
If they make the kind of engine that has helped red bull dominate in a way they couldn’t with Renault then there is a possibility.
David BR (@david-br)
14th April 2024, 20:12
In the fastest car against Stroll, sure, Alonso wins a championship.
In a car more or less evenly matched by one or two other teams, nope. There’s an idea he’s some kind of championship winning monster waiting to be unleashed. History tells us otherwise.
So are Aston Martin going to best the entire field with their car over a whole season? Vanishingly likely.
David BR (@david-br)
14th April 2024, 20:17
Reasons: he’s not the fastest qualifier/one-lapper, he’s risk-adverse too often and he’s also prone to mistakes. A brilliant driver, sure, and amazingly good still, but over an entire season with multiple contenders (3+) he’s not delivered.
Nick T.
14th April 2024, 22:54
His quali rep is the most mystifying thing I’ve ever seen. He’s utterly smashed every single teammate he’s ever had in quali head-to-head with the exception of Hamilton who is maybe the greatest qualifier ever with the exception of Senna.
He’s been out qualifying his car this year and last year. And when the conditions allowed it, he could things like qualifying P2 in an Alpine.
Prone to mistakes must be the oddest assertion by far though. He’s one of the most cleanest, most consistent and mistake free drivers ever. His two WDC seasons at Renault that he actually had a car where he could win without driving way past the cars limits, he made almost zero mistakes. How many mistakes did he make last year? He beat + out qualified Kimi in every single GP at Ferrari except for Spa where he had a puncture. The same Kimi who was neck and neck with Seb two seasons later at Ferrari (though he fell off after that).
If he’s mistake prone. Who do you consider not mistake prone?
Nick T.
14th April 2024, 22:59
cleanest, most consistent* not most cleanest lol
I voted no because the question should be will AMR produce a car that is either the fastest or within two-tenths or better of the fastest car? And I vote no on that happening.
Nick T.
14th April 2024, 23:02
One additional note: if FA hadn’t underestimated Lewis in 2007, he doesn’t take so many crazy chances in the first third of 2007 and likely wins the WDC. He was way over aggressive in many incidents like the start of the Spanish GP because I don’t think he was considering Lewis a true rival yet. That was a big mistake.
David BR (@david-br)
16th April 2024, 0:38
Why would Alonso be over-aggressive unless he did see Lewis as a rival from the outset?
Remember he wasn’t expecting Hamilton to be signed and was unsettled by the whole idea.
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
15th April 2024, 8:26
You’ll struggle to find a more devout Alonso fan than I am, but for objectivity and balance I’ll challenge a couple of points regarding mistakes.
Last year he made an error at Pouhon and the start at Las Vegas. The Australia 2024 debacle, which I will defend him to the hilt, could have been actioned cleaner than it was. In 2005, he did hit the wall in Canada. In 2007 there were errors in Canada, Spain and Fuji. In 2010, Monaco practice cost the chance of victory, the China jump start, the British GP pass on Kubica and Spa spin cost vital points. Even in 2012 in Japan, he bears a small amount of responsibility.
I think that over a 21 season career, this is a small number of mistakes relative to most drivers. However, I’m not going to deny that Alonso, for all of his genius, can make a driving error every couple of seasons and arguably there have been more coming in the past 9 months than in most of his career. This is my only concern for Fernando’s performance – he has been borderline perfect for most of his career, but there are cracks appearing.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
15th April 2024, 6:05
Yes, absolutely unfair accusations to alonso, he made very few mistakes most of the times and while I also don’t think he’s the best qualifier, he’s surely strong even in that area, he said it himself, he’s 9.5 in all areas.
He’s driving at an incredible level nowadays when you consider how rapid decline gets once past 40.
David BR (@david-br)
16th April 2024, 0:44
Which I mentioned. BTW it’s not a list of ‘accusations’! it’s an opinion.
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
15th April 2024, 8:14
Qualifying criticism is a rather old trope now. This was levelled at Alonso about 12 years ago when Vettel, Hamilton and Raikkonen were seen as one lap specialists. Kimi’s reputation was built mostly on Montoya and DC, he was actually beaten 25-20 by Massa at Ferrari, and outscored by team-mates over his career.
Alonso has beaten his team-mate 282 – 101 in quali, against 8 GP winners and 3 WDC (+Massa). He’s only been beaten by Trulli 16-15 and Lewis 9-8. Hardly a poor record against 2 of the best qualifiers this century. His percentage is 74%. For contrast Vettel’s and Hamilton’s sit at 64% (SV against 4 GP winners, Hamilton 5). Schumacher’s, as an aside, is 76% against 7 winners and 2 WDC.
Nick T.
15th April 2024, 22:40
And Trulli is truly (no pun intended) up there with Senna and Hamilton when it comes to quali performance. The Trulli train was one of the dumbest insults on him. If it wasn’t because he was an amazing qualifier rather than a bad racer, why weren’t there any Timo Trains, Ralf Trains, etc.
David BR (@david-br)
16th April 2024, 0:29
@rbalonso (and everyone else who responded)
On qualifying, I’m comparing Alonso not to his team mates past and present like Stroll, Button etc. but the likely rivals for a championship any time soon: Verstappen, Leclerc, Hamilton.
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
16th April 2024, 6:54
You can only beat what’s put in front of you. Of course Max is incredible but his quali record was 46-35 over Ricciardo and Sainz, strong but not dominant. Lewis is currently at 25-23 against Russell, who I think had a very difficult 2023. Charles is obviously an incredible qualifier – an area I think he is better than Alonso – but for all the qualis that he’s monstered he’s also error prone, Baku, Miami, Monaco as examples.
I don’t think a driver with Alonso’s record can have qualifying performance levelled at him, particularly given his age. Compared to most former champions at this stage of their careers, Alonso is excelling in qualifying – as recently as last week.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
15th April 2024, 6:05
And about losing the titles at ferrari, those weren’t title contending cars to begin with, 2012 was an impressive season.
Nick T.
15th April 2024, 22:42
The most ironic part is Hamilton had far better cars in both those seasons. Probably why Button went in the second half of the season with the WDC lead in 2010 and Hamilton like basically tied with him.
stefano (@alfa145)
14th April 2024, 23:42
Nah. I think he’s only making himself more expensive for Red Bull 2026, and willingly so.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
14th April 2024, 23:56
Let’s see if he can win a race first, eh?
I just sensed a lack of killer instinct early in 2023, when McLaren (and to a lesser extent Ferrari) were in a right mess, and Aston Martin appeared to take a load of points and “a podium” rather than the coup de grâce. Now those two rivals have their act together, he’s having to big up his 6th places.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
15th April 2024, 6:08
Exactly, I thought the same thing too: winning a race is hard enough nowadays if you’re not in a red bull, there’s a single team apart from red bull and a single driver not driving that car that won a race in the last 1,5 years (or almost, russell brazil 2022 falls into that still for a short while, I guess), so yes, if the question had been “will he win a race with aston?” the opinion would’ve been more split, but this poll will be a slam dunk.
I didn’t feel the lack of killer instinct though, my opinion is all about the car.
Nick T.
15th April 2024, 22:45
They had their acts together then just as much AM. Their drivers just weren’t converting. Not sure how he lacked killer instinct in any way then. The only time you could say that was during Monaco when he didn’t risk staying out another lap.
Tommy C (@tommy-c)
15th April 2024, 1:23
I hope so but I doubt it. Red Bull would have to seriously mess things up. Maybe if Max ends up going to a dismal Mercedes Fernando might have a chance but I wouldn’t hold my breath!
Mayrton
15th April 2024, 7:00
If Aston can pull a Williams or BAR at the next regulatory change, then why not? All it takes is some kind of advantage.
F1statsfan (@f1statsfan)
15th April 2024, 7:45
For me the more interesting question will be – if Ferrari and Aston Martin build approx. equal performance engines and cars who will be more likely to win the championship Alonso or Lewis.
My bet would be on Alonso despite being 3,5 years older – Alonso performances have been more consistent, more stable with less off weekends than Lewis has had in last 10 years.
Lewis has advantage for driving for Ferrari who in recent years have become stronger in race execution (strategy, pit stops, set-up etc) – additionally they have 2 quality drivers to help development and in race weekends car set-up.
The factor of their team mates in the championship changes I am unsure which is a benefit. First reaction would be Alonso has benefit of weaker Stroll as less or no competition within his own team.
That said Stroll is far less likely to take points away from Lewis than Leclerc to take points away from Alonso. With 24 race season on a wide variety of tracks and conditions each team will have better and less good weekends – the championship might be decided on how many points you still get on less good weekends and on less good weekends of Ferrari Stroll is likely of little help to Alonso.
Same with race strategy, very likely Leclerc will outqualify Alonso in most races meaning Alonso will sometimes have to pass Leclerc on track to be able to chase Hamilton.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
16th April 2024, 8:18
Yes, this is really a strength alonso has that hamilton fans underestimate: hamilton proved plenty of times that he loses motivation or anyway doesn’t drive at top form when the car isn’t so good, alonso is more adaptable, so while hamilton impressed when they were team mates in 2007, alonso looked to me already better during the following years, when he was driving a mediocre renault car much closer to its potential than the mclaren cars hamilton had.
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
15th April 2024, 8:34
I’ll argue that Alonso is on the Mount Rushmore of F1 greats against anyone. But if one thing is clear in modern F1, the car is the limiting factor. I can’t see Aston getting a car competitive enough, with a team-mate strong enough to hurt his rivals, within the next 3 years. I honestly don’t believe age is a factor – the man is fully committed and always has been. Comparisons to Schumacher’s return are weak given that Michael came back for the fun of it, to massively different regulations, tyres and a new team.
I think Alonso is more than good enough to win the title in a dominant car with a weak team-mate. A 92/93 Williams scenario is the dream, but unlikely to be the reality. As an Alonso fan I’d consider a handful of wins before his career finishes to be an incredible achievement. I think the sport owe him another victory.
Nick T.
15th April 2024, 22:46
Good analysis.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
16th April 2024, 8:22
Yes, I’m a schumacher fan, but it’s undeniable alonso is now performing closer to his own peak than schumacher was on his comeback, his performance is really impressive cause mathematical models even in the last few years considered the age related decline to start at 35 and then become more steep at 40, and alonso doesn’t seem to feel any of that.
Severin (@severin)
15th April 2024, 10:17
As good as Alonso is, he has as much chance of winning the Drivers title as Andretti do the Constructors.
Salty (@salty)
15th April 2024, 16:56
He will if Lawrence has secured Adrian for the team. Honda has a proven record in F1. Adrian needs no introduction here. Alonso will outwit any teammate with the right combo.
I believe the vacuum, from the passing of Dieter, has left a power struggle which will derail the Red Bull team. A new big owner will be required to fix that ship.
Lawrence luring Max would be a real wake up for the formula and hugely entertaining.
Mahesh (@m47e57)
16th April 2024, 11:41
Why is no one asking whether Stroll will become world champion?!!
DMC
17th April 2024, 17:22
I think it’s amazing Alonso didn’t make more mistakes given the aggressive and mostly successful overtakes from lower positions at the start.