Fernando Alonso is taking every race in F1 2026 as potentially his last – even Barcelona – considering he is not certain about his future for the time being.
After signing his last deal with Aston Martin, Alonso noted that he isn’t sure if it was his last deal in F1 or he will continue for long. His main goal was to see how the team would perform as a works outfit with Honda and Adrian Newey at the helm of the technical department.
The start to F1 2026 hasn’t been the one he hoped for due to troubles with power unit and chassis integration. The project got delayed from the onset which has set them back by several months. They have started to claw back, but they will not have any performance update until summer break.
Last time in Barcelona potentially for Alonso
Time and age is not in the side of the two-time F1 champion. At 44-years, Alonso is on his way out of F1 certainly in a year or two. On Thursday, he caused a bit of a stir when he said that this could be his last race at Barcelona-Catalunya, which will not host a grand prix in 2027.
The promoters signed an alternate deal with Spa-Francorchamps and so, the next time Barcelona will host a F1 race, will be in 2028. Alonso is not sure whether he will race in 2027, leave alone 2028. “Sure, it’s going to be a special weekend, probably my last Barcelona race in Formula 1,” he said in Thursday’s Press Conference.
“So, I want to say thanks to everyone. I will try to enjoy the weekend. I will not be competitive and I will not be too long in the car in qualifying, and in the race hopefully yes, but not at the pace that we all want. But I want everyone to still enjoy the weekend.
“It has been always a celebration when they come to Barcelona. I think it’s my 23rd Spanish Grand Prix, and all of them have been magical. And this last has to be magical as well,” summed up Alonso.
When asked to explain if he has made a decision on his F1 future, the Spaniard said he hasn’t.
Decision in summer but Alonso is taking every F1 race as last
He will probably take decision in summer whether to continue or not, but he noted that he is taking every grand prix in F1 2026 as his last. “Yeah, I mean, I don’t have anything in mind,” continued Alonso. “After summer I will take the decision to continue or not.
“But Barcelona obviously is not happening next year, so if I don’t know what I will do next year, it’s nearly impossible to be sure what I will do in two years’ time. But I consider every race that I go this year that potentially could be my last time. In Australia, my last time; in China, my last time; in Monaco.
“And here in Barcelona there is a little bit more of that chance, as it’s not happening next year as well,” summed up Alonso. When asked if it is hard to think about every race being his last, the Spaniard doesn’t feel it is hard. He is content with the career he has had.
Alonso says hardest is not to win F1 races but he is content
He feels he has achieved whatever he set out to and anything that comes now is a bonus for him. The only downer he feels currently is not being as competitive on the grid to win races as he would like to. But it isn’t a deterrent. He still enjoys the process and is in a happy place racing in F1.
“No, I mean, it’s not hard,” said Alonso. “For me the hardest thing is not to win races and not to be competitive. If it’s the last or not the last, it’s not affecting too much. I’m in peace with my career and with my life, and if anything comes now, welcome.
“If it doesn’t come, it will not change my feeling. I achieved a lot more than I ever dreamt when I was a kid or I was here, as we said again, my first test here or my go-kart experience when I was racing in Spain. I never dreamt to be Formula 1 driver and then race for the best teams in the paddock and stay for very long time.
“So, everything is a plus. It is a plus now. I’m not as competitive as we all want to be in the team now, and that’s probably the biggest pain that we go through every weekend. But in terms of personal feeling, it’s not too hard or it’s not anything,” summed up Alonso.
No fight with Sainz being Madrid’s brand ambassador
With Spain hosting two F1 races, when asked if there is a fight between Barcelona and Madrid like in football, Alonso laughed it off. The former has the Aston Martin driver as its ambassador, while the latter roped in Williams’ Carlos Sainz in similar role.
But Alonso doesn’t see it as a rivalry of any sort. He is happy that Spain has two F1 races. He reckons Barcelona is an all-round circuit, while Madrid for now is one-off. “No, thanks God, this is not the same as football,” he said. “We are enjoying, we feel privileged to have two Grands Prix in our country, and both of us we are extremely lucky about this situation.
Barcelona all-round circuit, Madrid more one-off
“I think Barcelona, Madrid, also they are very different between them, so there is not any problem on that. Barcelona is, at the end of the day, our home Grand Prix for everybody in Spain because, as I said, in 1994 I did my first single-seater test here, and we test a lot of things here.
“When there is an event or a sponsor or a hot lap, we come to Barcelona. So, this is a circuit that we know very well. We have the MotoGP and we have different activities around Barcelona. It’s a 365-day activity.
“Madrid is more a one-off event and different approach, and the new approach that Formula 1 is taking with races like Baku or Singapore or Miami, with different people coming to enjoy the race and to enjoy the weekend and to have fun in Madrid and having a different experience. And both of them are complementary and they are both good for the Spanish fans and for the country,” summed up Alonso.
