Alonso has no timeframe on F1 future as Aston Martin contract talks with Stroll and Newey loom

Fernando Alonso arrived at the Dutch Grand Prix in Zandvoort without a decision on his Formula 1 future, confirming he has no timeframe for resolving his contract situation with Aston Martin, which expires at the end of the 2026 season.

The two-time world champion had previously suggested he would make a call “around summer time”, but the F1 season has resumed from its August shutdown with no announcement. Speaking at Zandvoort, Alonso made clear the process hinges on face-to-face conversations that have yet to happen. “I don’t have any [timeframe]. I just came from holiday, so I will see in the next days or weeks or months,” he said.

Alonso indicated that meetings with Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll and newly appointed technical director Adrian Newey are imminent. “I know Lawrence is coming this weekend, so I will have a nice lunch with him or coffee and maybe Monza or I don’t know when he is coming next,” he said. “I will have to go to the factory soon as well to do Madrid simulators, so maybe if Lawrence is around or Adrian, I will sit with them. So maybe in the next weeks.”

Aston Martin’s difficult 2026 campaign — the team has scored just one point — has fuelled speculation that the Spaniard could walk away from the sport entirely. However, Alonso downplayed the significance of the team’s upcoming performance upgrades on his thinking. The squad introduced substantial chassis updates in Budapest that produced an encouraging step forward, and Zandvoort marks the debut of revised Honda power unit components.

“I hope we see some benefit in terms of power, drivability and the things that we were missing,” Alonso said. “But for me it’s more important, like in Budapest with the chassis side, to see that there is an understanding philosophy on what the needs are and a step forward.”

Alonso stressed that the precise performance gain from the engine upgrade is secondary to whether the team’s development process is working as intended. “We are too far behind to really care about a number. We just want to see that what we expected is delivered,” he said.

The Budapest race had offered some encouragement, with Alonso noting that the team validated the direction of its chassis development even without competing for top positions. Whether that momentum — combined with the conversations still to come with Stroll and Newey — is enough to convince the 45-year-old to extend his career into a 2027 season remains to be seen.