Fernando Alonso has confirmed his newly signed contract with Aston Martin will involve him taking a role following his racing career.
Alonso’s new contract with Aston Martin will see him continue to race until at least 2026 but, even once he hangs up his helmet, the Spaniard will be committing his future to the Silverstone-based squad.
Fernando Alonso: There’s a lot of years to come with Aston Martin
Speaking to assembled media, including PlanetF1.com, following the announcement of a new racing contract with Aston Martin that will see the two-time F1 World Champion drive for the Silverstone-based squad until, at least, 2026, Alonso confirmed there are plans for following his racing career.
Alonso turns 43 years old this season, with his new deal taking him through until he turns 45, but the new contract, which he has confirmed is the “longest he’s signed in his career”, includes provisions for after his driving career.
Alonso has secured his immediate post-racing career with a contract that sees him take on a new, undefined role at Aston Martin once he decides to leave F1 racing behind.
His new deal sees him through until the start of the new F1 regulations coming into force in 2026, and Alonso said his negotiations with Aston Martin made it clear that he wanted a “lifetime project”.
“It was an important point, I will not lie,” he said.
“To commit to a one-year project, it didn’t make sense for me.
“It’s not that I had one-year proposals elsewhere or anything like that, I was just very clear to Aston in the first conversation that the appealing part of this project is everything that we are building – the new campus last year, the wind tunnel this year, the new regulations in 2026 and Honda coming in as a partner.
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“For me, that was a must, I think, to really enter new regulations with a new project with a new wind tunnel and also with Honda as a partner, it was something for me that was very, very important.
“Part of the decision to stay at Aston is because they are with Honda for 2026, and with Aramco the biggest and best partner in the world.
“We have incredibly talented people on the technical side now that will benefit from the new wind tunnel and the new facilities at Silverstone. There were a lot of factors that made 2026 very appealing with Aston.
“That was a theme but it’s not only 2026, it is a lifetime project for me in a way, this is the longest contract I’ve ever signed in my career.
“This is something that will keep me linked with Aston for many many years to come, let’s see which role, and let’s see how many more years I will drive.
“Even after driving, I will use 25+ years experience in F1, plus 10 or 15 outside F1 – so nearly 40 years motorsport experience for the benefit of a team that gave me this opportunity now in this moment of my career.
“So this is also very appealing for me and I am extremely motivated for the next years to come.”
Fernando Alonso: At least two more years of racing
Asked for the specifics of how long he plans on continues racing before moving across into a new role, whether it be advisory or managerial, Alonso said he can’t be certain of anything beyond the next two seasons.
“Um, I don’t know. I will drive for sure, let’s say… I think it’s difficult to really comment on it because I cannot predict when I will stop racing, or when I will grow tired of racing,” he said.
“For sure, it’s not going to happen in 2025 or ’26 because, as I said, I confirm that one of the motivations was to enter the new regulations and to work with Honda.
“But I don’t know. Let’s put it like that. At least two more years.
“But then, as I said, I will not go into the specifics of how many years but it’s a lot of years to come with Aston and to make some progress in other areas.
“When I’m racing, I will do my best to win with this team and to be competitive, but I will feel the same if we can achieve some great things and success even when I’m not driving, and I can be a support to the team to achieve great things, even in a different role, so let’s see.”
Confirming he has signed a deal which will encompass some time after his racing career, he was quick to point out that his time driving doesn’t necessarily end at the conclusion of 2026.
“I don’t know when I will stop driving,” he said.
“So, if I keep driving for many, many, many years, I will. I signed the contract that I will be in the car on it but, if I stop a little bit earlier than the contract [for] driving, I will be in a different role, yes.”
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