Aston Martin F1 insider admits uncertainty over Fernando Alonso future

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin, Japan, 2026 — Photo: © IMAGO

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Aston Martin F1 insider admits uncertainty over Fernando Alonso future

Jenson: The Alonso show must go on

Dan Ripley Global Editor

Professional F1 journalist and analyst

Monday 31 August 2026 20:50

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Jenson Button has admitted he still has no indication over whether Fernando Alonso will stay in F1 for another year.

Alonso is one of the last dominos to fall during Verstappen, Mercedes and every driver move">this year's silly season, having hinted he could retire in 2026 depending on the performance of the Aston Martin team this year - which has fallen well below expectations.

The 45-year-old is already the oldest F1 driver since 1975, but is keen to end his career on a relative high, meaning he is open to the prospect of doing one more season.

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Currently he has scored all three of Aston Martin's points, including a season best ninth place finish at the Dutch Grand Prix last time out that earned two of those points.

However, the two-time world champion is also not shy on his love for other motor racing projects and will be keen to compete in many other formats while he can in the late stage of his career.

His former McLaren team-mate Button though has begged the Spaniard to stay on at Aston Martin to help the team get into a position of winning races.

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Button begs Alonso to stay at Aston Martin

Button, who is an ambassador for the Aston Martin team, wrote in his latest edition of 'Jenson's Journal' on the team's website on his desire to see Alonso continue.

Button said: Fernando's future is a hot topic of conversation right now. I have no idea whether he's going to commit to another year in the sport, but I do know whenever he does decide to retire he'll be rightly regarded as one of the true F1 greats – though personally I hope he'll stay a little longer.

Jenson Button is an ambassador for the Aston Martin F1 team (Pic credit: Aston Martin)

The 2009 world champion also added that Alonso has unfinished business working with design genius Adrian Newey and that there is a lot more to come from the project.

He added: There's still an exciting challenge in front of him. Obviously, this year has been tough, but it's still an exciting time to be at Aston Martin Aramco and to be working with people like Adrian Newey.

"Any F1 driver would love to race a car designed by him, and to experience firsthand him driving this team forward.

"I know how difficult it is to decide your future, and he's been there once before. He left the sport and came back, so he obviously left too early.

"Now, he will make sure that he's 100 per cent certain that he doesn't want to be in the sport before he leaves.

"Fernando's still got so much more to give in F1. I would love to see him in an Aston Martin fighting for wins. That's where he should be, and it's where this team is aiming to be.

"He hasn't won as much as he should have. He's found himself in unlucky situations a few times, one alongside me, but the talent and hunger is still there, which is the key to staying in the sport and being competitive."

Button and Alonso are pictured together at McLaren in 2016

Button and Alonso worked well in F1

Alonso and Button have a good relationship having worked together at Renault in 2002, while Alonso was a test driver, and also at McLaren in 2015 and 2016 when they were team-mates.

Button though admits that despite being in the same team, they didn't get to know each other as much as F1 fans might think they did.

He recalled: "We were also team-mates at McLaren and we got on well but actually we didn't spend a lot of time together.

"People assume that drivers, especially team-mates, are always together – perhaps because of how things seem now in the sport – but that isn't necessarily the case.

"In fact, my wife met Fernando in Monaco earlier this year and had to introduce herself because I never did when she was my girlfriend back in 2016!"

Written by

Dan Ripley - Global Editor

I've been a massive F1 fan since the mid 1990s and continue to study the history of the sport long before that. As an experienced motor sport reporter covering F1, MotoGP and the LeMans 24 Hour race, being part of GPFans has allowed me to work with a diverse team with all sorts of different backgrounds in watching the sport and given me a greater appreciation of F1.

View full biography

F1 Aston Martin Fernando Alonso Jenson Button