Fernando Alonso wishes to claim the Nobody's Land after F1 retirement

Aston Martin driver Fernando Alosno has started to talk about his retirement plans. He is already the oldest F1 driver to compete in Formula 1. The Spaniard had previously retired from Formula 1 in the 2018 season and again returned to the sport in 2021 as an Alpine driver. 

He then moved to Aston Martin as Sebastian Vettel announced his retirement. Alonso has a contract with the British racing team until the 2026 season. Now the two-time world champion has admitted that 2026 could be his last season in Formula 1. Fernando Alonso is the most experienced driver in F1 history, with 400 race appearances since his debut in 2001 for Minardi. Only Lewis Hamilton is behind him with 300 race appearances, and we don't know whether Hamilton will continue this long like Alonso. 

Even though he hasn't won a Formula 1 title since 2006, he still got the hunger and is one of the all-time greatest drivers in Formula 1. His Final race win was with Ferrari in 2013 and after that, he didnt win any races. He came an inch closer in 2023 but couldnt make it. With Aston Martin signing Adrian Newey as their designer, Alonso thinks he could bring back his title for the third time. By the 2026 season, Alonso will be 45 years old, and if he manages to win the F1 title, he will become the oldest F1 champion in history.

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Future Plans after F1

Speaking about his plans after retirement, Fernando Alonso said, “Probably—or at least to start with—it will be my last season in Formula 1 because my contract finishes at the end of 2026, so it's the time of delivering and the time of truth. High expectations. It will start the season thinking like that, for sure, because I cannot think too much in the future. At the moment, my current contract is for two more years. With my age and my motivation, I do not know how it's going to be.”

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Alonso also pointed out that if the 2026 season goes smooth like butter, he will be racing for one more year. But from now on he wishes to take every race as his last race and enjoy every second inside the car. The veteran driver during his retirement won the 24hLeMans for the Toyota team and competed in the Dakar Rally and Indianapolis 500 racing championships. He also gave a hint of trying the Dakar Rally championship post-F1 retirement. 

Alonso sees rally races as a great challenge for a driver and feels those races test personal skills rather than machine's performances. The Spaniard said, “One of the challenges I still have to win is the Dakar Rally—or rallies in general.” He finds Rallies more challenging, as the drivers have to use both feet on the pedal and will have a co-driver telling the route and learn to do cornering and braking playing with the car weight. Alonso also feels that after retiring from Formula 1, the Dakar Rally will awaken his passion for learning, and it's impossible to quit overnight after driving for 40 years.

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