F1 | Alonso: “Stroll? He is more sensitive than me in the setup”

Knowing your future, when the prospect is excellent, is good for the present. Alonso arrived in China fresh from his renewal with Aston Martin, showing off the smile of his best days and explaining the reasons that led him to stay in Formula 1 until the end of 2026.

Fernando has great faith in the puzzle that Lawrence Stroll and Martin Whitmarsh have completed, piece by piece, and the choice to continue to be part of the project came naturally. Alonso dribbled a question about the famous “GP2 Engine”, praising Honda's work and indicating in the exclusive contract that Aston Martin will have with the Japanese company one of the main reasons that pushed him to extend his career in Formula 1 for another two seasons.

With the decision to renew the contract you have broken the deadlock by anticipating the competition. Was it a natural choice or did you put a lot of thought into it?
“I had to make sure it was the right decision, in my case it meant making sure I had the strength and motivation to continue for a few more years and making sure the team had ambitious goals for the coming seasons. In the end I think it was an easy decision, we started our journey last season by constantly improving and I'm happy to continue this journey.”

Do you see more opportunities ahead of 2026?
“The new rules will be a chance for everyone, there is the possibility of a reshuffle of the values ​​on the field. We will be the only team that uses the Honda power unit, and this creates a slightly different scenario to being a Mercedes customer like today. I hope that a small improvement can be confirmed, as with Aramco on the fuel front. The team is growing, we have a new structure, a new headquarters and other things coming in the summer. It has everything to be a very competitive team and I want to be part of it.”

When did you make the decision? Has it been in your head for a while?
“We met after the Japanese Grand Prix and came to a conclusion in just a couple of days. It was quite simple, much more than you might imagine from the outside, we came to an agreement and that was it, everything was very simple.”

Any regrets about the possibility of a Red Bull chance?
“As I said last week, after deciding to stay with Aston Martin there isn't much point in talking about it. I also heard from other teams, obviously, it's the normal procedure, but it was just a few small conversations.”

Honda today guarantees you don't have a GP2 engine…
“They are winning the world championships, so they are proving that they have everything it takes to win in Formula 1. There will be a new regulation and no one today can know what the values ​​on the field will be in 2026, a situation that we like. Having an exclusive power unit is one of the reasons that led me to stay with this team, I believe that the possibility of working with Honda will be an advantage for us.”

Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR24

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Will you be the leading figure for Aston Martin's development?
“Both Lance and I are trying to help the team as much as possible. We have two different riding styles and in different conditions we have a feeling that is not the same. Lance is more sensitive than me about some things and I think this is very important for the team, because his analysis is fundamental in order to improve the car. I'm a little more insensitive about the behavior of the car, we often arrive at the same point following different paths, an aspect that helps the team.”

What is the cause of what you defined as 'lesser sensitivity'?
“Sometimes I drive the car over problems, I can exploit any car at any time at 90%, but to get to that 100%, which means making the most of the car, I also need the help of my teammate, often there are small adjustments that play a crucial role.”

How will the approach with the sprint format change in China?
“I don't think it will be any different than last year. Now we have the opportunity to change the setup after the sprint race, we will be able to learn something and it will be a possibility that we will definitely exploit.”

Are you among those who appreciate this circuit?
“Yes, I like it, the circuit is very complicated, the first corner is really special and I think it's one of a kind. There should be a lot of degradation and we know there will be excellent overtaking opportunities, so I expect a good race.”