Fernando Alonso's brutal Mercedes F1 dig makes sense after signing new Aston Martin deal

Fernando Alonso has committed his Formula 1 future to Aston Martin and put an end to speculation that the Spaniard could join Mercedes or Red Bull for the 2025 season

Fernando Alonso has committed his future to Aston Martin by signing the longest contract of his career, but it did not always seem so certain.

The Spaniard's deal was set to expire at the end of the current Formula 1 season but the two-time world champions agreed on a new deal until 2026. Alonso says the agreement will see him linked to the constructor for many years to come, possibly beyond his career in the driving seat.

Speculation was rife over where the Spaniard would find a seat for next term. With Lewis Hamilton's place at Mercedes still vacant for 2025, talk of a possible link-up was never far away.

However, following the Japanese Grand Prix last weekend, it was curious that Alonso was so dismissive of a potential move to the team led by Toto Wolff. Amid Aston Martin's own struggles, the 42-year-old was asked whether a move to become teammates with George Russell was on the cards.

Alonso said: "That's a very good question but Mercedes are behind us, so it doesn't feel that attractive." With the announcement that his stay with Aston Martin had been extended just days later, it's clear at that moment Alonso was not interested in finding a new team. Instead, he is intent on finding success with Silverstone-based constructor, with an emphasis on the 2026 season.

Upon signing, Alonso said: "To commit to a project, a one-year project, it didn't make sense for me," he said. "It's not that I had a one-year proposal elsewhere or anything like that, it was just I was very clear to Aston in the first conversations that the appealing part of this project is everything that we are building.

"It was the new campus last year, it's going to be the wind tunnel this year, it's going be the new regulations in 2026, and Honda coming as a partner. I think that was for me a must, to enter the new regulations with a new project, with a new wind tunnel, and also with Honda as a partner... it was something for me that it was very, very important.

"We have incredible, talented people in the team now on the technical side [and] they will benefit from the new wind tunnel and the new facilities at Silverstone, so there were a lot of factors that made '26 very appealing with Aston, and that was a theme. But it's not only ‘26 - it's a lifetime project, in a way, for me."

"This is the longest contract I've ever signed in my career, so this is something that will keep me linked with Aston for many, many years to come. Let's see which role, let's see how many more years I will drive. But even after driving, I will use 25 plus years experience in F1 plus another 10 or 15 outside F1, so nearly 40 years of experience."