F1 2026: Fernando Alonso on 'hard mental place' as Aston Martin nightmare continues

Aston Martin

Fernando Alonso on 'hard mental place' as Aston Martin nightmare continues

Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin are struggling in the early stages of 2026

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Thursday 12 March 2026 14:00

Two-time F1 world champion Fernando Alonso has opened up on his mental state following a difficult start to the 2026 season for the struggling Aston Martin team.

Alonso, now 44 years old, had hoped to once more be challenging for a 33rd career race victory in 2026, with wholesale new regulations and the arrival to the team of design genius Adrian Newey offering massive hope of improvement.

But the team's power unit partnership with Honda has not got off to a good start and just one race into the new season this appears to have all the hallmarks of another lost year.

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Having completed the fewest laps of all the teams during winter pre-season testing amid breakdowns and engine reliability problems, Aston Martin treated the season-opening Australian Grand Prix as an extra testing session.

Alonso did not finish the race, while his team-mate Lance Stroll was not classified in either qualifying or the race in Melbourne.

When asked during Thursday's press conference at the Chinese GP about Newey's comments and how difficult it is to be struggling at the back of the pack, Alonso said: "Less tough than what you think. I mean, not ideal, we all want to win. We are 22 drivers this year, one will win, 21 will be in a difficult and tough mental state, because for me to finish third or fifth or 17th, it really doesn’t matter much.

"I was lucky enough and privileged enough to live different eras in Formula 1 and to have fun driving, and eventually super lucky to have competitive cars for half of my career and achieving more than 100 podiums in the category. So now to finish, as I said, in any other position that is not first, for me it’s the same pain and the same struggle.

"Obviously, we are now in this journey with the team, which is not the ideal start, but it’s the first year of this collaboration between Aston Martin and Honda and we have to go through this moment in time, and I’m ready to help as much as I can."

When will Alonso retire from F1?

Alonso's last championship title came all the way back in 2006, and the Spaniard has not won a race since the 2013 Spanish GP, or been on the podium since 2023.

The last two seasons with Aston Martin have been bitterly disappointing, and the early stages of 2026 suggest that this one may be even worse.

With Alonso currently set to be out of contract at the end of 2026, there's no guarantee that we will still be seeing the man with the most grand prix starts in history on the grid next year.

Alonso has, however, previously stated that he will find it hard to give up in F1 before he is given another podium-challenging car, and that he would likely sign another contract if Aston Martin were not yet competitive.

In that sense, we can potentially be more hopeful that Alonso will sign a new deal for 2027, but he may see Aston Martin's current predicament as too long a project for a man approaching his 45th birthday.

Aston Martin Fernando Alonso 2026 regulations Chinese Grand Prix