Fernando Alonso has always stood out for his speed, determination and samurai soul: he was born to be a fighter in this fast motorsport we call Formula 1. Since his arrival at Aston Martin, the Spaniard has had to struggle with fluctuating performances due to a single-seater that has been unstable over time. Only in 2023 did he manage to beat the competition, with the Spaniard almost always on the podium in the first part of the season, behind the unbeatable Max Verstappen.
But even in that championship the decline came, taking away Alonso's aspirations of being able to maintain himself as a second force. In 2024, the difficulties began right from the start of the world championship, with Aston Martin far from the positions that counted, winning a total of just 94 points (with a 374-point gap to Mercedes, ahead of the British team in the constructors' championship).
An anonymous start with doubts emerging
The 2025 season did not start in the best of ways for the Spaniard: two retirements in the two races held. A disappointing result, where the problems with his AMR25 took the upper hand, but the Spaniard's behaviour was no less. If during the tests in Bahrain Fernando joked about the performance on the track, remaining vague about where he realistically saw the Aston Martin on the grid, now the irony has flown away along with the laughter.
The Spaniard admitted post-race at the Chinese GP that we will often see an Aston Martin fail to score points, and on his weekend's performance: ‘We have to see if we can develop the car properly, that's where the key lies. I missed Q3 by 0.80 thousandths of a second. A team that can bring two or three tenths of a second improvement with an aerodynamic package during the year doesn't gain two positions, it gains eight. So I'm hoping for that. We will try to bring something new to every Grand Prix,' he revealed to the microphones of SoyMotor.
A Samurai without a sword, a fighter sidelined: Fernando is hoping for a miraculous upgrade package to move up in the standings and for a 2026 to arrive as soon as possible: but are we sure he will stay with the team?
The Max variant
Rumours about a possible farewell of Verstappen to his Red Bull have been rampant since January, without completely subsiding. Rumours have the Dutchman close to Aston Martin and Mercedes, who are reportedly courting SuperMax for a possible move to their teams. At the moment, however, Aston Martin seems to be the team with the best chance, given the presence of Adrian Newey, an old acquaintance of the Dutchman.
If these paddock rumours should turn into pure reality, the possibility of Verstappen taking Alonso's place is very high, given Stroll's ties with the British team: what if the Spaniard was aware of these conversations? Alonso might express his disappointment on the track, fearing that he will be replaced and say (probably) goodbye to Formula 1 well in advance of his predictions. While we wait for certainty, we wait for the top category to travel to the land of the rising sun, where we hope to find an Aston Martin and a Fernando Alonso more involved in the dynamics of racing.
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