Fernando Alonso is point-less so far in F1 2025. But he isn't thinking of retirement yet

New York Times

2 days ago

BARCELONA, Spain — Two years ago, Fernando Alonso arrived in Barcelona for his home Formula One race, the Spanish Grand Prix, renewed.
His decision to leave Alpine for Aston Martin for 2023 was inspired — vaulting him from midfield mediocrity to podium contention once again. Only one botched pit call stopped him winning that year in Monaco. Scoring that elusive 33rd F1 win, a decade after his 32nd, seemed within reach.
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Alonso returned to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this week still stuck on 32 wins, having not stood on the F1 podium since November 2023. In fact, he's failed to score a point at all so far this year, making him one of just four drivers still on zero in 2025. The others? Axed Alpine driver Jack Doohan, his replacement Franco Colapinto, and Sauber rookie Gabriel Bortoleto.
At 43, this might look like a driver nearing the twilight of his career; the undeniable talent behind the wheel that powered him to two world titles, and within a handful of points of another three, finally starting to wane.
Yet Alonso does not see it that way at all. Instead, he points to the tricky position Aston finds itself in after regressing into the midfield and struggling to contend for regular points.
'We understand the situation,' Alonso said in a news conference on Thursday ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix. 'We understand where we are in 2025, and whatever (car development) we bring to the track will just be a minimum change in terms of positions and finishing order.'
It hasn't all been doom and gloom for Alonso so far this year. He has outqualified teammate Lance Stroll for all eight races so far — by an average of 0.382 seconds (although Stroll has returned all 14 of Aston Martin's points). Alonso also has three 11th-place finishes, one spot outside the points each time. In none of the attrition-filled races has he been the beneficiary sliding up to score.
Aston's recent car updates that arrived at Imola appear to have given it a performance step. Alonso and Stroll both reached Q3 there — in part thanks to deploying an alternative tire strategy — only for Alonso to be left fuming at his misfortune in the race that followed. This was over the timing of a safety car period that dropped him out of the points. Then, when he was running a comfortable sixth in Monaco, his engine failed.
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Curiously, Alonso seemed at peace with the prospect of failing to score any points at all this season when speaking at Imola, even if F1's competitive picture currently looks similar to arguably the lowest point of his F1 career — with McLaren in 2017, when he also had just two points on the board after eight races. It's only the third season in Alonso's long F1 career that he is without points after eight rounds. The others being 2001 — his rookie campaign, when he raced for the backmarker Minardi team — and 2015, when he rejoined what was then a badly struggling Honda-powered McLaren.
Those struggles with Mclaren prompted Alonso to explore other racing categories, making appearances at the Indianapolis 500 and the 24 Hours of Le Mans before taking two years out of F1 altogether. Looking back on that period at Imola, Alonso said he had been 'tired of being here and being just a secondary actor' in F1. He felt then he was 'not really a protagonist in 2016, '17, '18, and wanted to try something different outside F1.'
So, what's different for Alonso now? He's again not a protagonist in the battle at the front of the field, limited by the capabilities of his car. The podium visits that returned through 2023 are now far in his rear-view mirror. Yet, he feels nothing like he did when he was eying an F1 sabbatical at McLaren.
One factor at play is that Alonso is at a very different stage of his career. When he rejoined McLaren at 33, he was still very much in the prime years of his F1 time, with zero thought about when his career might end. He also hadn't gotten the chance to explore those other categories, an itch long since scratched through his forays at Indianapolis and Le Mans. Alonso won the latter twice and proved beyond doubt he is one of racing's all-time greats.
But the bigger element for Alonso right now is the promise he still sees in the project Aston is building. From the moment his deal was signed in secrecy in the team's motorhome at the 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix, just days after Sebastian Vettel announced his plan to retire from F1 and the squad, Alonso has been all-in on the vision projected by billionaire team owner Lawrence Stroll.
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With a state-of-the-art new factory and a Honda works engine supply arriving from 2026, the feeling has long been that Aston's foundations are coming together. And so Alonso is content to spend 2025 in a holding pattern, waiting to see if the 2026 Aston car design provides the step forward he desires.
Tying into this potential is the arrival of Adrian Newey, the most successful car designer in F1 history, who started work with Aston in March after 19 years at Red Bull. Alonso and Newey always held a curiosity for working together, and came close in the past when Red Bull courted Alonso, while Ferrari made a move for Newey when Alonso was racing in red. Both in different career chapters, they've now realized that dream, which serves as a source of motivation to Alonso.
Newey spent his first race on-site with Aston last weekend in Monaco, giving him a chance to see up close how his latest F1 team operates. Alonso said on Thursday in Barcelona that his presence was 'special' and could help lift the team. But it also leaves nowhere to hide. Newey has already publicly revealed there are correlation problems facing Aston's new wind tunnel, telling reporters in Monaco that 'some of our tools are weak.' It's a forthrightness Alonso has welcomed.
'The level of the team was higher thanks to his presence because everyone was more focused, (looking) more into the details of the car,' Alonso said. 'People that were talking in the meeting knew that they could not say anything too far from the truth, because he would spot it.'
Aston has been clear it will keep Newey focused on the car design plans needed for the coming major 2026 rule changes, given the gains it could make with its current won't be of huge benefit in the long-run. Alonso is fully onboard, acknowledging that the performance of next year's car may well decide how his F1 career ends.
'I need to see how next year starts and how motivated I am,' Alonso said. 'Every year, there is a different mood (going) into the season. There is a different feeling on how you perform, how competitive you feel yourself, how motivated you are to keep your fitness at the high level. Personal situation, family situation — all these things play a role in some important decisions in life.'
Alonso remains one of the most physically dedicated drivers. He made significant adjustments to factors including his diet and sleeping patterns as he got older. He's also raised concerns over the demands of F1's calendar length in recent years, as it has grown to 24 rounds that include six sprints.
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The call to hang up his helmet is going to be momentous, whenever it arrives. Alonso was conscious of this when speaking on Thursday in Spain.
'For 40 years, I have had a steering wheel in my hands, and I know that one day I will have to stop,' Alonso said. 'And that's an important decision that I will think (about) carefully. I did stop Formula One already once in 2018 and I came back because I needed it. So, the next one that I take has to be 100 percent sure.'
But right now, even while battling down the order and failing to score points, the lure of 2026 and Aston's potential future results, particularly with Newey on board, continue to spur Alonso on. He has a long-term agreement in place with the team that will go beyond his time racing on track, making him eager to invest heavily into the project. He still needs F1.
'You need to feel when it's time and I don't feel it yet,' Alonso said. 'I jump in the car and on Sunday, (when) I'm on the grid, I'm just so happy to be there — motivated and performing well.' Neither the stopwatch nor Alonso's body are telling him his choice could be close.
'When I finish the race on Sunday, even if the results are not nice at the moment, I'm so motivated to go to the next race and try to overcome the bad race and have a better one,' Alonso said.
'All these kinds of things are very alive now. But there is no guarantee that this will be forever.'
(Top image: Clive Rose / Getty Images)