For all the years that Fernando Alonso has been racing in F1, his trophy cabinet is pretty sparse by his standards. His last F1 title came back in 2006, and the last time he stood on the top step of a podium was at the 2013 Spanish GP. Yet, at the age of 43, he is still displaying the grit to get back to the front of the F1 grid.
While former McLaren driver David Coulthard credits Alonso‘s motivations to his undying desire to compete and win, his Formula for Success co-host, Eddie Jordan blames the Aston Martin driver for making the wrong decisions by thinking about money.
“We have to remember, Fernando Alonso chased the money. He went to teams where he was getting more money than he would have got in another team that probably has a better chance of winning a world title,” the former F1 team boss said.
Jordan’s assessment of Alonso’s career was well-founded, especially taking the Oviedo-born driver’s decisions into account. Back in 2014—at the height of his push for world championships with Ferrari—the #14 driver declined to re-sign with the Scuderia, despite being offered an extension until 2019. The reasons were officially concealed. But they were believed to stem from contract discrepancies.
Alonso chose to give McLaren another chance, despite having left the team at the end of the 2007 season due to his rivalry with Lewis Hamilton. This decision made him the highest-paid F1 driver in 2015, with a reported salary of €35 million. His successor at Ferrari, Sebastian Vettel, earned €7 million less.
The move, however, didn’t pay off. Honda’s turbo-hybrid engine struggles left Alonso stuck in the midfield until his first retirement at the end of the 2018 season. Meanwhile, at Ferrari, Vettel finished as runner-up to Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes in both 2017 and 2018.
Alonso chasing glory at Aston Martin
In 2021, Alonso returned to F1, rejoining Alpine—the Enstone-based team formerly known as Renault—with whom he had won his two World titles. However, the car’s performance was simply not good enough to fuel his ambitions.
In 2023, he moved to Aston Martin, a team that, with owner Lawrence Stroll’s vision, wanted to win races and compete for titles. There was no doubt that he also earned a handsome paycheck this time, but his efforts at the Silverstone-based team showed that he stopped chasing money and swapped his pursuits for glory instead.
View this post on Instagram
Alonso secured eight podium finishes in his first season with the Silverstone-based squad. However, the team experienced a slump in 2024, failing to finish in the top three even once. Despite this, their ambitions remained undeterred. Ahead of the 2025 season, they signed legendary aerodynamicist Adrian Newey, a move expected to significantly bolster their performance ahead of the new regulations in 2026.
Alonso was instrumental in securing Newey’s signature from Red Bull—reportedly even agreeing to cover part of the hiring cost and take a pay cut. With Newey now onboard, the team’s state-of-the-art wind tunnel nearing completion, and a works Honda engine deal set for 2026, Alonso is gearing up for one final championship push. The Spaniard has admitted that 2026 could also mark his last season in F1.
