F1 star tipped to replace Fernando Alonso at Aston Martin

Aston Martin have been linked with a driver to replace Fernando Alonso in their F1 team, if the two-time world champion does retire at the end of 2026.

Alonso recently admitted that he could well hang up his racing boots at the end of his current contract if Adrian Newey can work his magic and provide a competitive car under the new regulations coming in for next season.

The Spaniard is on the hunt for his third world title, after his last championship victory nearly two decades ago with Renault in 2006.

Next year’s Aston Martin will feature two major changes, being the first of the team’s cars designed by Newey and the first year with new power unit supplier Honda.

Alongside the arrival of the Honda engine, could Aston Martin also receive the services of another driver?

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Will Yuki Tsunoda join Aston Martin?

One F1 star whose future is shrouded in speculation is Yuki Tsunoda, whose nightmare year at Red Bull could lose him a full-time opportunity in the sport altogether.

When asked on the Sky Sports F1 podcast who she thought Red Bull and Racing Bull’s 2026 lineup should consist of, Jamie Chadwick opted for Isack Hadjar at Red Bull, with Liam Lawson alongside F2 championship leader Leonardo Fornaroli at Racing Bulls.

In this eventuality, it would leave Tsunoda without a seat, but as Honda departs Red Bull to Aston Martin, Ted Kravitz suggested the Japanese driver could follow.

“That’s the thing. Is Yuki Red Bull’s guy or is he Honda’s guy?” Kravitz pondered.

“That’s the question. Christian Horner and Helmut Marko always kind of felt that Yuki was linked to Honda, where Yuki was like ‘no, no, no I’m a Red Bull guy’. And it’s whether Laurent Mekies, Helmut Marko and Alan Permane think there is a future in Yuki.

“Or whether Yuki can get himself a third driver at Aston Martin Honda next year, maybe a third driver role? Maybe that’s the way he wants to go, does he want to stay within the Honda fold and not necessarily within the Red Bull family?”

“I don’t know? I’d go Verstappen, Hadjar [Red Bull]. I think Yuki will have a strong end to the year and Racing Bulls will think ‘you know what? Let’s get Yuki back if he’s scoring points again'. And it will be Lawson, Tsunoda in the Racing Bulls.”

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