Fernando Alonso is revered as one of the best drivers to grace Formula One in the past two decades. His two championships with Renault in 2005/6 ended the longest period of Ferrari domination in the sport’s history.

The Spaniard’s decision to join McLaren in 2007 was an inspired reading of the F1 form tea leaves, although internal fighting within the woking based team saw both their drivers lose out to Kimi Raikkonen that season by a single point.

Such was the bitterness created at the Woking based team that season, Fernando decided to leave the team in 2008, only for his former team mate Lewis Hamilton to claim his first drivers’ championship with an overtake on the last lap of the last race in Brazil.

 

 

 

Alonso’s lost F1 championships

Alonso was offered the dream move to Ferrari in 2010, where he almost won the title but for more Ferrari strategy blunders at the final round in Abu Dhabi. He started the weekend 15 points ahead of Sebastian Vettel, but a poorly times early pitstop to cover off Mark Webber’s early change of rubber saw him stuck behind Vitaly Petrov for the remainder of the Grand Prix.

Vettel won the race and the first of four championships, whilst Ferrari and Alonso were left to rue what m ight have been. Ferrari president, Luca Di Montezemolo later reflected on Alonso’s time at Ferrari, stating “What I appreciated about Fernando is he was always a fighter, a fighter, a fighter. From mid-2010 to 2014, Fernando was the best driver in the world. There’s no argument about that.”

But the championship defeats were very difficult to take for both Ferrari and the Spanish driver. In 2012 it was even more galling as in a car widely regarded as no better than third quickest, Alonso led the championship for much of the season.

The title that season hinged on two pieces of ill fortune for Fernando when he was taken out at the start of both the Belgian and Japanese Grands Prix. In Spa it was by the airborne Lotus of Romain Grosjean after the French driver had been run close to the wall by Lewis Hamilton. At Suzuka it was Kimi Raikkonen who dashed the Spanish matador’s hopes when his front wing punctured the rear left tyre of Fernando’s Ferrari.

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Fernando dominates team mate Stroll

Without just one of those incidents, Fernando was champion that season. Since leaving Ferrari in 2015, Fernando has wandered the F1 wilderness. A return to McLaren proved to be a damp squib as their Honda power proved fragile and slow.

A return to Renault was equally is disappointing before Fernando capitalised on the retiring Vettel and left the French squad for his current Aston Martin team in 2023. Fernando has dominated his team mate, son of billionaire owner of the Aston Martin team.

This season alone he qualified ahead of Lance Stroll in all but one Grand Prix, and even then it was mechanical failure that usurped his dominance of the Canadian. For many F1 fans, Fernando embodies the spirit of Stirling Moss, the best driver of his generation who failed to claim as many championships as he deserved.

Yet the Spaniard is now bullish about the future of his Aston Martin team who have enjoyed significant investment from their Canadian owner. New state of the art facilities in Silverstone costing over $200m were complete for the start of the season which incorporate a latest and best version of an aerodynamic wind tunnel together with the newest simulator of all the teams in Formula One.

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Aston Martin mega bucks investment

Lawrence Stroll has spared no expense when it comes to recruiting the best in the business, with guru F1 car designer Adrian Newey bagged after his departure from Red Bull Racing. Then there’s Andy Cowell who is credited with being the brains behind the all conquering 2014 Mercedes power unit – he is losing with Honda to deliver the smoothest partnership between engine and chassis.

Aston Martin have also lured. Key individual from Maranello, Enrico Cardile. His role with the Scuderia was the head of aero and the chief project engineer with the iconic red team.

Newey has focused all his time and attention on the 2026 car, since joining the team in April this year. When asked about his expectations for 2026 and the huge new technical regulations which are coming into play, Fernando was keen to present a rosy view of the future for the British based team.

“Yes, I think so. I mean, the factory is completed. The wind tunnel is brand new and completed and we are using it. We have Adrian Newey, Andy Cowell, Enrico Cardile. I mean, we have great people and great talent in the factory. We just need to put everything in place,” said the double world champion in Abu Dhabi.

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Alonso cautious for 2026, but signals a championship on the way

Yet there was a hint of caution, dating expectations for 2026 as Fernando outlined the team are still pulling things together. “Facilities are new, people are just a few months into the system, [whether] it will be enough this few months or we need one full season to glue everything together, that’s the thing, I don’t know.”

Yet despite the matter of timing, one thing is certain in Fernando’s opinion. “Aston Martin will succeed, I think it’s, for me, a guarantee. The biggest question is when and that’s what we all try to make it [happen] as soon as possible.”

The worry for F1 fans is that even were Aston Martin to ace the all new 2026 technical regulations, should Fernando fail to win the title next season his time in Silverstone may come to an end. With the billionaire team owner’s son racing alongside him, were Max Verstappen to express an interest in joining Aston Martin, the better of the current two drivers would have to make way.

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Verstappen/Alonso team mates would be box office

Lance Stroll is the last of the F1 ‘pay drivers’, with the likes of Nicholas Latiffi and Logan Sargeant now confined to exile. The concern is whether anyone in Silverstone has the balls to tell Lawrence his son is not good enough and is costing the team valuable points and positions every year he continues.

Of course in terms of hitting the high notes, a Verstappen/Alonso driver pairing would be box office. Aston Martin would become the by-word on every F1 fans lips. Whether this is enough to tempt Lawrence to sack his son Lance, is a question for next season – should the Silverstone team be pushing hard at the front of the grid.

 

 

 

Why George Russell knows the writing is on the wall with Toto Wolff

George Russell completed his best year for the Mercedes Formula One team since arriving in 2022 to replace the outgoing Valtteri Bottas. He had already soundly beaten seven tines world champion, Lewis Hamilton in two of their first three seasons together and with untried rookie Kimi Antonelli as his team mate, the British driver once again shone.

He was fourth in the driver standings, an improvement o last seasons 6th place and his tally of 319 points was 74 ahead of the total he achieved in 2024. Russell claimed two victories this year and seven further podium finishes leaving him with more than double the points of his rising star Italian team mate.

Yet the year must have left a bitter taste in the British drivers’ mouth given he was out of contract with the team at the end of the season but his boss Toto Wolff spent much of the summer publicly courting world champion Max Verstappen – whilst sidelining his lead driver to a ‘wait and see’ role in terms of an extension of a deal to race for Mercedes…. READ MORE