Alonso, assist from Mercedes and Red Bull for staying in F1
The future of Fernando Alonso in F1 remains uncertain. The Spanish driver’s contract with Aston Martin expires at the end of the 2026 season, and the two-time world champion has not yet decided whether to stay in F1 or not. At the press conference in Madrid, he reiterated that it will depend largely on the “direction the sport wants to take“, an assist promptly picked up by Mohammed Ben Sulayem. The next day, the FIA president stated that he wants to adopt changes as early as 2027 to convince Alonso to stay in F1.
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Ben Sulayem’s words sparked discussion, and it is to be imagined that the teams did not welcome them warmly, fearing another mid-season regulation change that favors Aston Martin. Mercedes and Red Bull, however, have opened up to the possibility of modifying the 2027 rules that allow struggling engine manufacturers to catch up, a prospect that could offer Honda additional tools to reduce the gap that emerged in the first season of the new technical cycle.
Words from Wolff and Mekies
Both Toto Wolff and Laurent Mekies have shown willingness to intervene again on the ADUO system. For the Austrian, the concessions on the power unit “were conceived as a recovery mechanism, and now Honda needs something more. The conversation between Ben Sulayem and Alonso is absolutely right, we want all top-level manufacturers to be in this sport“. The Red Bull team principal emphasized that “already at the beginning of 2026 there was a first modification to the ADUO precisely to help those who were left far behind, for the good of the sport. The teams, as stakeholders in this sport, find solutions and I am sure that at some point we will sit down to discuss the future of the ADUO“.
According to the British Sky Sports UK, the FIA is considering together with the manufacturers whether to intervene again on the system, possibly expanding the measurement parameter beyond the internal combustion engine.
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The possible revision comes at a particularly complicated time for Honda and Aston Martin. The Japanese manufacturer started the new regulatory cycle with a significant performance deficit and, despite the additional development opportunities already granted, continues to be under pressure. The power unit already evolved with the ADUO debuted at Zandvoort, but it did not significantly improve the performance of the AMR26, to the point that Alonso, in recent weeks, has strongly criticized (also on the radio) the straight-line performance of his car.
Aston Martin is certainly not happy with the performance of the Honda power units and, despite the supply agreement ending in 2030, Lawrence Stroll has probed Mercedes and Red Bull as possible alternatives to Honda for a power unit change. At Zandvoort, Toto Wolff’s presence in the Aston Martin motorhome sparked discussion, an encounter that fueled rumors of a possible return to Mercedes power units on the Silverstone cars starting from 2028. Subsequently, rumors also emerged of contacts with Red Bull to evaluate the possibility of using in the future the power units produced in Milton Keynes, whose ICE was defined as the best by the FIA.
Both hypotheses are, however, difficult to realize, as Mercedes already powers three customers (McLaren, Williams, Alpine) and cannot further expand the supply. Red Bull, on the other hand, does not seem willing to “expand” beyond Racing Bulls. And then, above all, F1 does not want to lose Honda, the only non-European power unit supplier awaiting the arrival of General Motors.
