Fernando Alonso stated that his future in Formula 1 is not conditioned on the performance of Honda’s new power unit version. The Spaniard has not yet confirmed if he will remain on the grid in 2027, but made it clear that his evaluation goes beyond an immediate performance gain.
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Honda introduced its first engine update of the season at the Dutch GP, after facing difficulties in the first half of the year. Aston Martin also had a difficult start, although it brought a chassis update in Budapest last month.
When asked about the weight of Honda’s evolution in his decision, Alonso was direct: “It’s not important.” He then explained that he expects improvements in power and drivability, but considers it more relevant to understand if there is a clear technical direction. “For me, it is more important, as in Budapest with the chassis, to see that there is a philosophy of understanding about what is necessary and a step forward.”
The two-time world champion also highlighted that he does not expect a radical change in competitiveness in the short term. According to him, the focus is on verifying if what was designed in the factory appears consistently on the car. “In Budapest, we knew we would not fight for the top positions, but we wanted to confirm that the chassis direction was correct, and I think we did that.”
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Alonso added that the same logic now applies to the power unit. “It would be good to confirm that everything is working as expected. Whether it’s a tenth or a second, the number doesn’t really matter.”
For the Spaniard, the current gap to the front of the grid makes the raw gain less relevant than the correlation between expectation and result. “We are too far behind to really worry about a number. We just want to see that what we expected was delivered.”
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