Alonso eyes Aston Martin’s 2026 reset: “We start from scratch — that gives you hope”
Fernando Alonso isn’t a man who does hope for the sake of it. When he talks about optimism for Formula 1’s 2026 reset, it comes paired with a warning label: the field is stacked, and the first months will be chaos.
“We switched focus in April, more or less,” he said in Abu Dhabi, reflecting on Aston Martin’s decision to pivot early toward the new rules. “I’m optimistic, because it’s a reset of things. Everyone has the chance to do a better job than the others. We start from scratch — that’s one thing that always offers hope.”
Aston Martin have been building towards this for a while. The Silverstone team has grown its headcount, opened its own wind tunnel and, crucially, laid down the foundations for a full works future. Honda is developing a factory power unit exclusively for Aston Martin from 2026, while Aramco remains a key technology partner. Inside the technical structure, Adrian Newey is set to take on design responsibility alongside team principal duties next season, and Andy Cowell is moving into a role tailored to his power unit expertise.
In short, the infrastructure looks like a top team’s — by design. Alonso, entering 2025 with Aston Martin in the Formula One World Championship, knows that’s only half the story. The other half is coming next year, fast.
“This is a very competitive sport, and everyone is doing a very good job,” he said. “I think a lot of things will happen in the first three or four months of the year, when you discover the cars and which direction and philosophy everyone took. You learn a lot in the first two or three races.”
That line — “a lot of things will happen” — is classic Alonso, part weather forecast, part warning shot. He’s lived through more regulation resets than most of the current grid and tends to read the tea leaves better than most. What he’s flagging is simple: the pecking order may swing hard in the early rounds of 2026 as design gambles show their hand, and the teams that react quickest will cash in.
Aston Martin believes it has positioned itself to be one of those teams. The wind tunnel is online, the organizational chart is sharper, and the 2026 concept work has been running for months. Alonso even noted their development switch happened at a similar time to Ferrari’s, back in early spring. No one’s banking points yet — the 2026 chassis and power unit regs will hit everyone — but the groundwork is there.
“I’m relaxed,” he added. “We have the right people and the right facilities and environment to have a good season. So it’s up to us.”
It always is. The 2026 regulations will recut F1’s DNA: new chassis prescriptions, a rebalanced aero picture, and hybrid systems with greater electrical output next to tightened fuel energy limits. That combination will reward efficiency and creativity — and punish misreads. Expect outliers to shine early, and expect updates to arrive at a feverish pace once reality bites.
For Alonso, who continues with Aston Martin through 2025 ahead of that reboot, the path is straightforward: stay sharp now, sprint when the lights go out next year. He won’t promise wins, and he doesn’t need to. If Aston’s new machine hums the way the architects intend, the two-time World Champion will do the rest.
The mood at Silverstone is not boastful; it’s businesslike. They’ve scaled up to stand toe-to-toe with the front, and 2026 is the moment to prove that wasn’t just ambition dressed as a press release. Alonso’s been around long enough to spot a team that’s serious. His tone says he thinks this one is. The calendar will tell us the rest.
