Jeddah, Apr 18 (PTI) At 43, Fernando Alonso continues to defy age and push the boundaries of endurance in a Formula 1 car and while the two-time world champion doesn’t see himself racing at 50, he plans to take it one season at a time once his Aston Martin contract runs out in 2026.

Aston Martin don’t have a race-winning car at the moment but their long-term ambition is to win the championship.

With the new regulations kicking in next year, Alonso is confident that genius car designer Adrian Newey will produce a formidable piece of machinery and even if it doesn’t happen, he would be happy to walk into the sunset and start a new role at Aston Martin.

Speaking ahead of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Alonso explained the rationale of signing the contract that will see him driving till the end of 2026.

“Not at 50 (racing), but I don’t know. That’s why we kept open the possibility as well. I wanted to race this year for sure and next year for sure because of the change of regulations — and I wanted to experience the 2026 rules and Honda coming to the team. Then the surprise that Adrian was joining the team a few months after that,” said Alonso.

“There were things that were appealing last year when we sat together and negotiated the contract. But after 2026, I don’t know. I will go season by season. I will see how I feel, how motivated I am. Now I am very motivated, but I cannot guarantee that for three or four years and compromise the team.

“If it’s in another position, or I don’t feel fast enough, I will be the first one to raise my hand. But my contract is much longer than my racing career, so I will stay with this team for many, many years in a different role. If that means we can win a World Championship even when I’m not behind the wheel, I will still feel very proud of the project.” Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton is another driver on the grid who is racing in his 40s.

Alonso’s two titles with Renault came way back way back in 2005-06 and since then, his race starts have swelled to a staggering 405. He retired from the sport he loves in 2018 for “bigger challenges” only to make a comeback in 2021.

Alonso doesn’t see a third title on the horizon but he knew what he was getting into at Aston Martin.

“It’s not about right or wrong decisions. You make your choices. When I left Alpine, I thought that I would not fight for a World Championship there. They may do in the future, but not in the short term – and I don’t have a long-term future, I will not race forever.

“So in the period when my racing career is active, I thought Aston Martin was a better place. I did enjoy 2023, being competitive. And I do enjoy now the process that we are in and the building of this team of the future. I sometimes say we are not the team of the present – and that’s what I would like to have, because in the future I don’t know if I will be behind the wheel,” he said.

Rumour mill is working overtime with reigning world champion Max Verstappen enduring a tough start to the season, linking the Dutch driver to Ferrari, Aston Martin and Mercedes in the future.

Alonso says such rumours can only be good for his current team.

“But I see the rumours as very good for the team. As you said before, the world champion is sometimes linked with some other teams and a possible departure from Red Bull. And the teams that are being mentioned are Mercedes, Aston Martin, and Ferrari – as your colleague said. So this shows the project that we are in and the future that this team has.” Alonso is yet to score a point this season and is hoping that a high-speed track like Jeddah will result in a much improved performance.

“I would say that the first four Grand Prix, the low-speed corners were probably our weakest part of the track. But there are some concerns as well of bouncing and other stuff that we are facing from time to time.

“So yeah, we are working hard on improving those. And as I said, here there’s super high grip, a lot of high-speed corners, so all in all, should be a better weekend,” Alonso added. PTI BS APA APA