Fernando Alonso dreams of third world championship in 2026
Fernando Alonso dreams of third world championship in 2026
Fernando Alonso reflects on his chances of winning a third drivers world championship title in Formula 1, despite being 43 years old and 18 since the last one. "I still dream – says the Spanish driver to Bbc Sport – Whyé not? I know that 2026 è probably my only chance; because 2025 will be extremely difficult, but I keep dreaming. F1 è for dreamers, probably, becauseé anything cané happen”.
It has been 11 years since the former Ferrari driver è secured the last of his 32 GP victories. But the arrival at Aston Martin of Adrian Newey – the greatest designer in the history of the sport – gives him hope that he can seize more victories and even another world championship, to add to those achieved with Renault in 2005 and 2006.
Newey, 65, announced in May that he would leave Red Bull after 18 years. He will begin work with his new team in March 2025. The hope, indeed the expectation, è that he will be able to replicate his magic touch on the car designed by Aston Martin for the new rules that take effect in 2026. "Expectations will be high because ité è a new car, a change in the rules, a single-seater made by Adrian,” says Alonso, “Probably, or at least at first, it will be my last season in F1. Because my contract ends at the end of 2026. È the moment of truth ".
Alonso and Newey have come close to working together several times over the years. It's "fate" that now brings them together, says Alonso: "It seems like fate has always made me miss the opportunity. But è it has come now, at the end of my career and I will continue to enjoy it as much as I can, trying to learn from him". Between them there’è " mutual respect. We exchanged some messages and talked from time to time, and we always seemed to be on the same page. We have never worked together, but we were always on the same frequency when we talked in the past. I'm looking forward to it. For Aston Martin è a major breakthrough".
To drive an F1 car competitively until halfway through his 40s é something extraordinary. But not for him: "I don’t think about it much. The media reminds me from time to time of some statistics and some numbers, but for me è as if I am 25 or 30 years old and still racing in F1". Why wouldné it shouldné t, since it ensures that you feel "motivated, fresh, fit to drive and do the same training that I have been doing for 20 years now, becauseé è more or less the same routine".
