Father Time Gaining on Two-time F1 Champion Fernando Alonso

Two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso is finally admitting that he's not going to race forever.

Alonso, the oldest driver on the F1 grid at 41 (he turns 42 on July 29), was asked in Monaco if he plans to still be racing with Aston Martin when Honda comes on board with the team in 2026.

"I don't know what I will do in 2026," Alonso said. "I will lie if I tell you that I know right now. For sure, I feel fresh, I feel motivated now. I feel sharp, still fast. And if I keep enjoying it, I would love to keep racing.

"But I know there is going to be one time, I know that one day I will wake up and I will not feel maybe motivated or happy to keep traveling and all these kinds of things. Or maybe I don't feel fast and I will be the first one to raise my hand and say, you know, maybe it's time. So let's see, I think it's a long way until 2026."

Alonso is in the midst of his best season in Formula 1 since he won twice and finished runner-up to Sebastian Vettel in the 2013 championship. This year, Alonso sits third in the standings behind the Red Bulls of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. He's finished on the podium four times in five races.

Mike Krack, team representative for Aston Martin, said this week in Monaco that any decision about Alonso's future with the team in the upcoming Honda era is Alonso's to make.

"This is very exciting news, what is happening now to the team—this new partnership with Honda—the new factory," Alonso said. "At the end of this month, I think the team is moving to the new building; the new wind tunnel next year. So, there are so many things happening that it is just normal to get excited and want to be part of this team for many, many years.

"If it's a driver or in a different role, I will be just honored to be part of it. But so far, it’s just Monaco in my head, and this year and next year, so even ’25 I'm not sure what I will do."

This weekend, Alonso just hopes to keep the good times rolling. He says he's having more fun in the sport than he's had in a decade.

"I think the Ferrari time was quite good as well," Alonso said. "2010, ’12. I think we had seven different winners in the first seven races in 2012, and it was quite fun back then. And yeah, outside Formula 1 I had a great time in WEC and in Indy as well.

"But now it is just phenomenal what this team has done in the last winter, the car is so enjoyable to drive. So easy to drive. So, so fast. And the whole team is a high-class team."