Alonso Views Final 2025 Races as 'Celebration' After Tough Season
Fernando Alonso is viewing the final two races of the 2025 Formula 1 season in Qatar and Abu Dhabi as a 'celebration' to close out what he describes as a 'very complicated year' with Aston Martin. After a challenging season with a lack of consistent points, the double world champion is eager for the end of the current ground-effect era, with his sights firmly set on the significant regulation changes and opportunities that 2026 will bring for the team.
Double Formula 1 world champion Fernando Alonso sees the final two rounds of the 2025 season in Qatar and Abu Dhabi as a “celebration” to mark the close of an underwhelming year for Aston Martin. With significant regulation changes on the horizon for 2026, Alonso is ready to bid farewell to the current ground-effect era, which has proven challenging for his team.
Why it matters:
After a strong start to the current regulations in 2023, Aston Martin and Alonso have struggled to maintain competitiveness throughout 2025. This 'celebration' perspective highlights the team's readiness to move past a difficult period and underscores the immense anticipation for the radical 2026 rule changes, which promise a significant reset for all teams and a potential opportunity for Aston Martin to return to the front.
The details:
- Alonso, currently 13th in the championship, has faced a challenging year, with Aston Martin sitting eighth in the constructors' standings.
- He last stood on a podium at the 2023 Brazilian Grand Prix, marking a two-year drought since his last top-three finish.
- Regulation Shift: The 2026 season will introduce lighter, smaller F1 cars with a near 50-50 split between electrical energy and the internal combustion engine, fundamentally changing car design and performance.
- Alonso referred to the upcoming Qatar Grand Prix (a sprint weekend) and the Abu Dhabi season finale as