Fernando Alonso F1 retirement ‘very likely’ as Aston Martin crisis deepens

Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso F1 retirement ‘very likely’ as Aston Martin crisis deepens

The 44-year-old Spaniard is way off the pace in his under-performing 2026 car

Graham Shaw Consultant Editor

Digital sports specialist running global brands for 30 years

Monday 23 February 2026 09:55 Updated: 16:12

2026 was supposed to be a glorious F1 renaissance for Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin - instead it is ‘very likely’ to be the end of his glittering career in the sport.

The signing of £50m-per-year design genius Adrian Newey was meant to transport the team in green to the front of the grid. The man who has delivered rocket ships for decades was expected to provide another, and fast.

Instead Aston Martin is by consensus only 10th fastest of the 11 teams heading into the new season, but for newcomer Cadillac it would be at the very back of the grid.

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The two tranches of pre-season testing in Bahrain provided embarrassment after embarrassment, with only 334 laps completed over the six days on track.

The speculation about what has gone wrong is rife - particularly in Spanish media. The blame game right now is pointing the finger squarely at power unit supplier Honda.

When Aston Martin realised something was wrong

The latest revelations about Lawrence Stroll’s expensively-assembled team today comes from Spanish daily Marca, which carries an explosive column from Marco Canseco.

The column is headlined ‘Are we witnessing the final chapter of Alonso’s F1 career?’ and the answer it suggests is very much ‘yes’.

Canseco says that the team realised something was not right ‘three or four months ago’, based on what they were receiving from Honda. That feeling of impending doom was proved right in Bahrain as they trailed massively off the pace and struggled to even keep the car on track.

What will Alonso do next?

Fernando is 44 years old now - he will be 45 by the time we hit the summer break - and the man from Oviedo has been wandering in an F1 wilderness for two decades when it comes to title success. A pair of world championships with Renault in 2005 and 2006, and absolutely nothing since. You have to go back to 2013 for his last Grand Prix victory, with Ferrari.

The frustration must be massive for the brilliant Spaniard - so much was expected from Aston Martin in 2026 and instead we have massive disappointment so far. Canseco believes unless something changes fast, it is likely to bring about his retirement at the end of the current season.

He writes: “If, as it seems, he's not going to do any better than the fifth car again - and that's already a very high bar to clear - to have a decent second half of the year, it's very likely he'll definitively leave Formula 1 to dedicate himself to other goals, such as IndyCar, Dakar, WEC, IMSA... or whatever he wants, because seeing Carlos Sainz Sr., he could be at the highest level well past 60.”

What does Alonso need to race on in 2027?

Canseco concludes by explaining what he believes is necessary for Alonso to continue his F1 career in 2027.

“Only if the AMR26 ends up competing on equal terms with the best, Mercedes, McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari, fighting for pole positions at the end and for victories based on overall performance and efficiency, on true performance, then could I bet on extending its journey in F1 for another year.”

Right now that scenario appears about as likely as snow in Monaco in August. Enjoy every moment of Alonso while you can, there may not be much left.

F1 Aston Martin Fernando Alonso