Aston Martin are in crisis but Alonso would never 'throw in the towel like Lewis Hamilton'

A composite image split down the middle with Alonso in Aston Martin green with a green background on the left and Hamilton in Ferrari red with a red background on the right. Both are serious headshots with their cars behind them — Photo: © IMAGO

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Aston Martin are in crisis but Alonso would never 'throw in the towel like Lewis Hamilton'

Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin trials have made him a stronger driver

Dan Ripley Global Editor

Professional F1 journalist and analyst

Saturday 9 May 2026 09:44 Updated: 11:02

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Fernando Alonso may be struggling to get anything out of a woeful Aston Martin car but according to an insider, he is still just as motivated as if he was fighting for titles.

The two-time world champion would have been hoping over the winter that the first car designed by genius Adrian Newey could have given him a car worthy of fighting for the world championship again as well as his first race win since 2013.

Instead the Aston Martin project has proven to be a disaster, with the new Honda engine not fitting well with the chassis, which itself is not top of the range, and it has left the team as one of the slowest on the grid battling Cadillac pair Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez.

According to F1 journalist Antonio Lobato, although Alonso is finding the situation extremely tough, he refuses to give up knowing that staff morale could become even worse if the Spaniard shows any sign of defeat.

Aston Martin morale relies on Alonso

"Right now he’s not competing. He’s going out to do tests, and for a winner, a champion like him, that has to be very hard. It has to be very hard. But he knows he can’t let up because the morale of the troops, which is quite low, depends a lot on him.

"The charisma he has, the energy. The mechanics, the engineers, the people in the team can’t see him falter. They need to see that he’s motivated and excited.

"For me, regardless of what happens in the future, what he has already shown… this wandering in the desert that he’s had, and (he's still) the guy with the same ambition, the same hunger, the same desire, knowing he has a car that’s for 14th place. He lowers the visor and gives his life to be 12th. Nobody does that.

Lobato even took a slight dig at Lewis Hamilton's negativity in comparison to Alonso and his perceived 'never give up' attitude.

"Look at Hamilton," he added, "Look at Hamilton in previous years, cursing himself, saying he should quit and that he was useless. Fernando will never throw in the towel in that sense. Never."