Mohammed Ben Sulayem has decided he cannot let Fernando Alonso walk away.

The Spaniard’s Aston Martin contract runs out at the end of the season, and he has said, repeatedly, that whether he stays in Formula 1 depends on what the new-generation cars actually feel like from the cockpit. Behind the scenes, the governing body has begun assembling a rules concession package aimed at accelerating Honda’s progress and, with it, keeping Alonso interested.

“There’s no way we can allow Fernando to leave,” Ben Sulayem said.

“I saw him very sad. I said, Fernando, I understand that it’s not acceptable.”

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The FIA president met Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll last week to discuss options. On the table: expanded homologation freedoms for Honda, extra spending allowances, and further Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities, the manufacturer catch-up mechanism that has already handed Honda extra test-bench hours and a $19 million spending waiver earlier this year. Any wider concession would need sign-off from the rival power-unit manufacturers, so it is not a call Ben Sulayem can make alone.

Alonso wants the rules changed too

Alonso is not asking for a personal favour, but he is not hiding his frustration either. He has told reporters that the current formula has drained the sport of driver input, with the 2026 power unit split close to 50/50 between the internal combustion engine and the battery.

“We cannot wait for 2031 to have a proper sport,” Alonso said.

Ben Sulayem has previously promised a lower-hybrid, V8-heavy engine formula for 2030 or 2031. Alonso’s point is that F1 cannot spend the next four seasons waiting for a rewrite that is still years away.

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Endurance racing is the fallback at Aston Martin

If Alonso does walk, endurance racing is where he is likely to go. Aston Martin already runs two Valkyrie hypercars in the World Endurance Championship, and asked whether WEC was an option for 2027, Alonso answered in one word: “Yes.”

He is not short of pedigree in the category. He won the WEC drivers’ title with Toyota in 2018-19 and has two Le Mans victories on his record. If Aston Martin chooses to move him from an F1 cockpit into its hypercar programme, the team keeps him without needing anything from the FIA at all.

Newey expects Alonso to stay

Team principal Adrian Newey has said he expects Alonso to stay.

“I’m pretty confident that Fernando is enjoying his time with us and that we will continue with our relationship,” Newey told reporters over the summer.

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The team sits 10th in the constructors’ standings, and it is banking on Honda’s promised upgrade cycle and the switch to next year’s car to change how Alonso feels behind the wheel. Sky Sports, which first reported that the FIA was exploring targeted rule tweaks to accommodate him, has stressed that any such changes are speculation rather than confirmed policy, and that most 2027 seats are already locked in.

Alonso himself has said an announcement on his future is “not soon”. The next test is the Madrid Grand Prix, where Honda’s latest engine spec is set to appear and where Alonso and Ben Sulayem have yet to sit down together.

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