Briatore expects Alonso to retire at the end of 2026, but his performance might keep in F1 for longer

Aston Martin’s two-time F1 world champion Fernando Alonso might retire at the end of the 2026 season, insists Alpine Executive Advisor Flavio Briatore.

Fernando Alonso made his F1 debut with Minardi back in 2001. Having spent the following season as a test driver, he joined the Renault outfit where he secured his two championship titles in 2005 and 2006.

Following a five-year stint at Ferrari, he switched to McLaren before staying away from the pinnacle of motorsport for two years.

The Spaniard made his comeback with Alpine in 2021 before joining Aston Martin last season. The 43-year-old collected seven podium finishes at the start of 2023, but the Silverstone-based outfit has endured a dip in form this year.

Despite the difficulties, in April, Alonso agreed to a new multi-year contract committing him to the team until at least the end of the 2026 season, the first year of the sport’s new regulations and the start of Aston Martin’s works partnership with Honda.

Briatore, who oversaw Alonso’s title-winning years at Renault and acted as his manager for more than two decades, is unsure when the Spaniard will retire, but he indicated that he might leave the sport at the end of the 2026 F1 season.

“I don’t know [about his future]. I believe [at Spa], for example, he was very smart. He did one pit stop and this was the way to go, because of his experience.”

“If you ask me if Fernando wants to continue after we finish in the contract, our last year will be 2026 for the moment.”

“What he wants to do after, I don’t know. Does he want to continue for one more year?”

“The performance is there. You see the performance of Fernando, it’s there. It’s not a question of him losing concentration, during the race he’s always there.”

“If he’s 11th, he wants to be 10th. If he’s 10th, he want to be ninth. He wants the car to be competitive. He’s qualifying well, he’s racing well.”

“I don’t know, honestly, if he wants to stop with 2026 as his last year or if he wants to go ahead. Honestly, I don’t know.”

“It depends on the feeling he has about racing and the timing, I don’t know if he’ll have a family at the time and whatever.”

“But for sure, he is somebody unique. I’ve never seen somebody like that, so determined every day, every day, every day. Never give up,” noted Briatore.

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