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Fernando Alonso has said that Formula 1’s rules are likely to decide his future, rather than Aston Martin’s performance for the rest of the season.
Alonso’s contract expires at the end of this year. He has previously said he will take a decision on whether or not to retire from Formula 1 after the summer break.
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Aston Martin began the sport’s new regulation cycle at the back of the field, though will be bringing a significant chassis upgrade to the Hungarian Grand Prix this weekend, as it seeks to claw performance back relative to the rest of the field.
Power unit partners Honda will be bringing an update of their own to the Dutch Grand Prix, meaning that the AMR26 will go racing with updated machinery throughout heading into the second half of the season.
Alonso has made no secret of his desire to add a third Drivers’ Championship to his collection at the Silverstone-based team, even more so with longtime McLaren and Red Bull rival, Adrian Newey, at the helm of Aston Martin’s designs moving forward.
The Spaniard said the Aston Martin’s potential is “much higher than what we see”, and any decision around next season will be based more on the sport’s regulations, rather than where Aston Martin sits in the pecking order.
However, following complaints from drivers around the new-for-2026 power units, Alonso said that his enjoyment at the top level will be the decisive factor when he makes his choice.
Asked what this weekend’s upgrades may do surrounding his future decision, Alonso told PlanetF1.com and others: “Nothing, because my decision was not about the the performance of this year.
“This year we started on the wrong foot, and I cannot base my decision for next year on a performance that is not realistic.
“I think this is not the true potential of the team, I think it’s much higher than what we see. I think my decision for next year is more about the rules.
“Driving these cars in places like Spa or Silverstone [at the] last race is not what I’m dreaming of for my future. So we’ll see.”
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Aston Martin is bringing a much-anticipated chassis upgrade to Hungary this weekend, opting for one larger upgrade package over incremental updates through the first half of the season, and the unknown remains over how much more competitive it will make them from the off.
Admitting the first half of 2026 has not been what he had hoped, Alonso hopes this package will be a change in trajectory for the team.
“We had high hopes for this set of regulations and for Adrian’s arrival with the team and Honda and things like that,” he said.
“The expectations were very high, and we didn’t meet the expectations. So, it was just disappointing to see the car in Barcelona and Bahrain.
“But, at the same time, everyone in the team took that as a challenge, and they want to make it happen. They come back, and hopefully Budapest will be the first step into that performance comeback, and I think hopefully the right direction is in the team.”
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
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