Aston Martin’s two-time F1 world champion Fernando Alonso would possibly retire on the finish of the 2026 season, insists Alpine Govt Advisor Flavio Briatore.
Fernando Alonso made his F1 debut with Minardi again in 2001. Having spent the next season as a take a look at driver, he joined the Renault outfit the place he secured his two championship titles in 2005 and 2006.
Following a five-year stint at Ferrari, he switched to McLaren earlier than staying away from the head of motorsport for 2 years.
The Spaniard made his comeback with Alpine in 2021 earlier than becoming a member of Aston Martin final season. The 43-year-old collected seven podium finishes in the beginning of 2023, however the Silverstone-based outfit has endured a dip in kind this 12 months.
Regardless of the difficulties, in April, Alonso agreed to a brand new multi-year contract committing him to the staff till at the least the tip of the 2026 season, the primary 12 months of the game’s new laws and the beginning of Aston Martin’s works partnership with Honda.
Briatore, who oversaw Alonso’s title-winning years at Renault and acted as his supervisor for greater than 20 years, is not sure when the Spaniard will retire, however he indicated that he would possibly depart the game on the finish of the 2026 F1 season.
“I don’t know [about his future]. I consider [at Spa], for instance, he was very sensible. He did one pit cease and this was the best way to go, due to his expertise.”
“In the event you ask me if Fernando desires to proceed after we end within the contract, our final 12 months might be 2026 for the second.”
“What he desires to do after, I don’t know. Does he wish to proceed for another 12 months?”
“The efficiency is there. You see the efficiency of Fernando, it’s there. It’s not a query of him shedding focus, in the course of the race he’s all the time there.”
“If he’s eleventh, he desires to be tenth. If he’s tenth, he wish to be ninth. He desires the automotive to be aggressive. He’s qualifying effectively, he’s racing effectively.”
“I don’t know, actually, if he desires to cease with 2026 as his final 12 months or if he desires to go forward. Truthfully, I don’t know.”
“It is determined by the sensation he has about racing and the timing, I don’t know if he’ll have a household on the time and no matter.”
“However for positive, he’s any person distinctive. I’ve by no means seen any person like that, so decided day by day, day by day, day by day. By no means quit,” famous Briatore.
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