Fernando Alonso has pushed the timeline on his 2027 Formula 1 future further into the autumn, saying at the Dutch Grand Prix that the question was not even on his mind until reporters put it to him again.
“I feel fast, I feel motivated but, honestly, I didn’t think about my future until I entered now the room here,” the two-time world champion told reporters at Zandvoort on Thursday.
“My head is completely into this weekend, not in the future.”
The 45-year-old Spaniard is out of contract at the end of the season and has been widely expected to give an answer soon after the summer break. He refused to name a date.
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“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…maybe in the next weeks.”
Rules, not results
Alonso has been insistent for weeks that the switch to the 2026 power unit and chassis rules, not Aston Martin’s current pace, is what will decide the matter.
“My decision for next year is more about the rules,” he told reporters ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix. “Driving these cars in places like Spa today or Silverstone in the last race is not what I’m dreaming of for my future.”
Speaking at Zandvoort, he underlined that the framework is not going to change.
“The regulations will stay. We know the regulations, we know that next year is going to be the same,” Alonso said, per Sky Sports. “A small tweak on the power between the combustion increased a little bit, but the regulations stay the same, so it’s up to me if I want to have more or less fun.”
Alonso’s blunt Barcelona verdict
The backdrop is a season Alonso has already described in the harshest terms. After qualifying last at his home race in June, he gave a scathing verdict on the AMR26 and its Honda power unit.
“We knew we have the worst car and the worst engine and we’ve been very clear in every race so far that we have to work,” he said.
“We’re last, we know it, and we have no problem admitting it.”
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“We have a very poor engine, the worst one. We have very poor energy deployment. We have gearbox problems and aerodynamic problems.”
A role at Aston Martin either way
Whatever Alonso decides about the cockpit, he says his ties to the Silverstone-based team will not end. The next step is a conversation with owner Lawrence Stroll and team principal Adrian Newey.
“It’s sitting with Lawrence and with Adrian, and if the need for the team is for me to drive, I will consider, I will be happy,” Alonso said at Zandvoort.
“But I need to drive something. That’s something for sure. I need to race, I need to feel the adrenaline.”
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Asked what would still pull him back into the car for what would be a 24th season in F1, he pointed to a target he has never publicly abandoned.
“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.”
Alonso suggested Stroll would join him for lunch during the Dutch Grand Prix weekend, and hinted at Monza as the next natural checkpoint for the conversation.
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