F1 News: Alonso ‘happy’ to struggle throughout 2025 season

(GMM) Aston Martin Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso says he is resigned to struggling all the way through the 2025 F1 season with a ‘dog’ of a car.

Having focused on the team’s all-new 2026 project since he started work in March, former Red Bull designer Adrian Newey attended his first race weekend in green in Monaco.

“I’ve been really focused on the 2026 car,” he confirmed, “but yes, I’ve had lunchtime conversations with the small team that is still working on this year’s car, and we’ll keep doing that for a few months yet.”

Originally, one of the slowest teams of 2025, Aston Martin made a clear step forward recently and Newey says another upgrade package will debut “around Silverstone”.

In the meantime, however, star driver Alonso is without a single point so far this season.

On the grid in Monaco, where he continued his reputation for qualifying beyond the performance of his car, a reporter for DAZN asked the Spaniard what position he would be satisfied with at the checkered flag on Sunday.

“Winning in Australia in 2026,” he smiled.

Indeed, while running comfortably in the points on Sunday, he retired from the race with engine trouble.

“Today wasn’t bad luck,” Alonso insisted afterwards. “A meteorite didn’t hit the engine. The engine broke because it wasn’t in good condition, it wasn’t well-prepared.

“There are six or seven Mercedes engines on the track and mine broke. But as long as I am performing at 100 percent, the rest will come when it has to.

“If it had been personal mistakes, or if I wasn’t performing well or didn’t feel comfortable with the car, or if I bumped into someone at the start, I’d be frustrated. But I try to train every day, prepare every day as if I were fighting for the world championship, even if I don’t have a single point.”

Alonso, 43, added that he is treating 2025 as a season full of testing to prepare for next season.

“To be honest, I’ll be happy if everything goes like this all season and I win in Australia next year. For me, it doesn’t change anything to finish P8 here or there to have 8 points at the end or 22 or whatever.

“It is next year, with the regulation change, that we really hope to be a contender for the championship. So I’m happy to accumulate all the retirements this year.”