Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso was “happy” to close the 2025 F1 season on a high note, finishing 6th in the Abu Dhabi GP, and is now looking ahead to the upcoming season.
Alonso started the F1 Abu Dhabi GP from 6th on the grid after a strong outing in Qualifying. The Spaniard had a great launch off the line, overtaking the Mercedes of George Russell, heading into the first corner next to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Alonso initially slotted into P5 behind Leclerc, but Russell took back the position he had lost at the start, which meant the Spaniard settled into sixth.
After Russell overtook, Alonso took the lead of the midfield, showing strong pace to finish the F1 Abu Dhabi GP, where he started in P6.
Alonso “happy” with the result as focus now shifts to the 2026 F1 season
In his post-race interviews, the man from Oviedo was “happy” with his race and with finishing the F1 season on a high note with solid points finishes at the Qatar and Abu Dhabi GP. The two-time World Champion, who finished the season tenth in the Driver’s Championship, is now looking ahead to the upcoming 2026 F1 season.
“Yeah, happy, happy with the race.
“Sometimes we are fast on Saturday and not so much on Sunday. So, it was good to secure the position we qualified and to finish sixth, seventh in Qatar, sixth in Abu Dhabi.
“It’s obviously a lot of points and a strong finish for us. So, happy for this, happy for the team. And now, full focus on next year, finally.”
Alonso on keeping tabs on the F1 Drivers’ Championship showdown during the F1 Abu Dhabi GP
While Alonso was fighting to stay ahead of the midfield, he found time to keep tabs on the title fight ahead of him.
“Yes, I was aware,” Alonso says about the battle for the title between Verstappen, Norris, and Piastri. The Spaniard admits that different strategies made it challenging to determine who was ahead.
“But because they were on different tyres, sometimes Piastri was leading, and I didn’t understand if that was already with the stop, counting the stop or not.
“So, I was updating myself, from time to time.”
Aware of the title fight at the front, Alonso tried to benefit by strategically adjusting his pace throughout the F1 Abu Dhabi GP.
“I mean, I was aware of the situation and tried to play our cards. Tried not to be too fast in some moments of the race, tried to be fast in some others.”
Alonso: Aston Martin’s performance was too inconsistent across the entire F1 season
The title battle wasn’t the only fight for position in the Championship standings playing out at the Abu Dhabi GP. Aston Martin was locked in a battle with Racing Bulls for sixth in the F1 Constructors’ Championship. However, despite Aston Martin showing strong pace on Sunday and both Alonso and Stroll finishing in the points, it wasn’t enough to move ahead of Racing Bulls. Aston Martin finished the 2025 F1 season in seventh place, three points behind them.
Alonso reckons that the pace at the Abu Dhabi GP was “very strong”, but across the season, the performance of the Aston Martin was just too inconsistent and marred by reliability issues, which prevented the team from finishing further ahead.
“I think this race has been very strong as well.
“That was our only problem. Any other weekend, we could maybe have played a little bit more and overtaken the VCARB.
“I think it’s not only this race. The whole season has been too inconsistent for us. You know, too many ups and downs. Budapest was great. Two-tenths from pole, and we finished fifth.
“These last two races were good. But there were some others, too many, unfortunately, that we put three sets in Q1 just to get out of Q1.
“These kinds of things were obviously a killer for our hopes and some reliability problems—the stone in Monza, engine in Monaco, when I was sixth. If you take the points, you know, it’s not only Abu Dhabi.
“It’s the whole season.”
