A rough opening for Alonso and Aston Martin
Fernando Alonso and Aston Martin have had a deeply unpleasant start to the new Formula 1 season. The new regulations, along with the partnership with Honda, were supposed to offer a fresh route back toward the front. Instead, the whole thing has unravelled in a matter of weeks. Racing, as ever, remains a service that occasionally forgets to deliver the advertised product.
Honda’s power unit problems have played a major role in the collapse of those early expectations. Alonso has already suffered two retirements, first in Australia and then in China, before limping home in 18th place in Japan. For a driver in his 23rd F1 season, it is his worst start to a campaign.
The 33rd win still out of reach
The timing is especially awkward for Alonso’s long-running quest for a 33rd grand prix victory. His last win came 13 years ago, and that milestone is looking even more distant now. The two-time world champion has never lost the speed or racecraft that made him one of the defining drivers of his era, but results depend on machinery as much as talent, which is inconvenient for everyone involved and, in this case, particularly cruel.
There is little doubt that in a more competitive car, Alonso would still be capable of performances worthy of his reputation and experience. The problem is that he does not currently have one, and Aston Martin’s season has done nothing to suggest an easy recovery.
A broader personal question
At 44, Alonso is also at a stage in life where priorities can shift. He has recently become a father, and it is fair to wonder whether, with time moving on, he may eventually want to direct more of his energy away from the paddock and toward home.
That does not automatically mean retirement is imminent. But if Aston Martin cannot force its way back into the fight this season, the question becomes much harder to avoid: should Alonso finally bring the curtain down on his F1 career at the end of the year?
