– Fernando Alonso will celebrate his 45th birthday in July, making him currently the oldest driver in the Formula 1 field. And if it’s up to the Spaniard himself, he will still be behind the wheel of a racing car at 46.
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“I love what I do. I love racing,” he reveals during the Historic Grand Prix of Monaco, explaining: “I drove my first race at the age of three, and now I’m 44. So I’ve been behind the wheel for 41 years of my life.”
“So if I ever have to stop racing, that will be a very difficult decision,” says Alonso, explaining: “Time will tell. I will feel it. At the moment, I don’t feel like it’s time yet.”
“I am ambitious, I am motivated, I am happy when I drive. So hopefully it’s not the last season,” says the Spaniard, who drove his first Formula 1 race in March 2001 – more than a quarter of a century ago.
Alonso’s most successful seasons are now two decades in the past. In 2005 and 2006, he became world champion twice with Renault, and his last Grand Prix victory to date was in 2013 for Ferrari at his home race in Barcelona.
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At the end of 2025, Alonso had stated in an interview with the Spanish AS that the new Formula 1 regulations in 2026 would probably be his “last chance” to compete at the very front in the premier class.
“This is the last rule change I will experience, and the last opportunity to win another Grand Prix, celebrate podiums, and fight for a world championship,” explained the two-time world champion.
“If the car is good, there are many signs that it will be my last year,” Alonso said at the time. However, that didn’t happen, as Aston Martin is actually in eleventh and last place after the first three races of the 2026 season, without a single championship point.
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Although he is only driving at the back this year, the Spaniard does not seem to have lost his passion for the premier class. After the 2018 season, he took a break from Formula 1 but returned to the series in 2021.
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