Alonso, on his immediate future at Aston Martin: “Sometimes it is necessary to take a step back to take two forward”

Fernando Alonso announced a few weeks ago his renewal with Aston Martin until 2026. The Asturian driver chose the British team project despite rumors linking him Red Bull or Mercedes. And the team based on Silverstone continues to grow with the aim of being equal to the big teams thanks to investments like the new factory or the new wind tunnel. In addition, the team led by Lawrence Stroll It will have a new engine starting in 2026, swapping the Mercedes engine for the Honda. Alonso is very happy and continues to believe in the project that has pushed him to step on the Formula 1 podium again.

“Honda is the world champion and dominates the sport. It’s a bright future for Aston Martin to tie up with Honda. Now we are a work group. There are many positive aspects,” said Alonso in F1 statements. The Spanish driver does not have good memories with Honda, but believes that this change will mean getting closer to the main goal of the British team: “In my case, it is be awesome to work at Honda. We have faced many challenges in the past. We both want another chance and a sense of working again for a common goal, which is to win a championship.

Despite the difficult time the Asturian had during his time at McLaren Honda, Alonso remains in love with Honda and Japan: “I have a lot of respect for Japanese culture, companies and people; I have a samurai tattoo on my back. I have always loved Japan. In the past, I was excited to work at Honda, and now it’s the same. Let’s see if it works better this time.”

The two-time world champion also talks about renewing Aston Martin and admits that his decision was not easy: “I thought about retirement. I know that day is near. This is probably my last F1 contract and I want to make sure I’m in a happy place and ambitious enough to fight for championships, hopefully in 2026.” The driver commented that his time at Aston Martin has only just begun: “We have done great things in 2023 and I think we are at the beginning of this journey. “It’s natural to get on with the project and get the job done.”

The Aston Martin driver confirms that this year his team has gained experience, since last year they were very rookies: “Last year we started with a very good car on the track, but we are new to everything. It was not expected to be so competitive on the track and we are not ready to face all the challenges you face when you are a contender for the podium.

“This year we’re not in that position on the track, but we’re in a solid position off the track. We have a stronger technical department, we have improvements in the car every race, we are improving the team 360 degrees,” he explained. “We have a very strong team on the track and also in the factory. We had the second fastest pit stop this year, just behind Red Bull. There were a lot of different areas that we worked on last year and over the winter. “That’s paying off.”

Alonso thinks that, although this year they did not achieve the results they achieved last season, it is better for the future of the team: “The important thing is the results. We are not in that position yet , but We are laying the foundation for something bigger in the future. “Sometimes it takes a step back to take two forward.”

The Asturian also talks about his break in 2018 and affirms that constant competition has been the key to motivation for so many years: “In modern sport, It is very difficult to keep an athlete performing at a high level for more than 20 years. The sabbatical years were important for me, in 2019 and 2020, Those two years were enough to refresh me and recharge my batteries.

“Without those two years I think it would have been impossible. At one point, you have to stop the crazy life in F1and for me those two years were very important to extend my stay in the sport,” he concluded.