Alonso stays for 2027: his 24th season and, from July, the oldest driver to race since 1972
F1 Legend Sim · Staff · 29 September 2026 · 6 min read
«I will retire from Formula 1», Fernando Alonso says to camera, and lets two and a half seconds go by before finishing the sentence: «but not yet». Aston Martin released the video on Tuesday at midday, British time, confirming that Alonso and Stroll stay on for 2027. We looked at what it means in numbers: the records he extends, the age he will race at and what our simulator says about whether he is still fast.
What was announced
The statement talks about «long-term» contracts for both drivers but does not say until when, so the only certainty is 2027: it will be the fifth season in a row with the same pairing. Alonso put it like this: «I took my time to make this decision, but racing is my life, my passion, and I know I still have the speed and determination to compete at the highest level». In the video he adds that he still feels fast and motivated.
It comes after a hard year. The new car has not worked, and after 15 races Alonso is 19th in the championship with 3 points and 6 retirements. We already noted in the seats being decided for 2027 that his was the most talked-about on the grid.
Season 24, a record that was already his
Alonso made his debut with Minardi in 2001, and 2027 will be his 24th season. Nobody comes close: Hamilton is on 20, and Schumacher, Barrichello and Räikkönen stopped at 19. Starts tell the same story. He has 443 Grands Prix, which is the official figure, and 440 actual starts: the difference is three races he was entered for and did not start. Next is Hamilton, with 395.
Of the big numbers, the one that does not move is wins: 32, the last in Spain in 2013. His most recent podium, his 106th, came in Brazil in 2023.
Age: from July, the oldest to race since 1972
In Baku, three days ago, Alonso started aged 45 years and 59 days. Since 1972 only one driver has raced older: Graham Hill, who signed off in Brazil in 1975 aged 45 years and 345 days. Alonso reaches that age on 9 July 2027, so in the first race he starts after that date he will be the oldest driver to take the start since John Love, who raced in South Africa in 1972 aged 47.
In the fifties it would not have stood out: Louis Chiron raced at Monaco in 1955 aged 55. But since F1 turned professional, racing past 45 has been almost unheard of. What really matters is whether the performance holds up.
Is he still fast?
Our simulator gives each driver a level per season, calibrated against their real results. The 2026 one was fitted to the average position in the races he finishes, so the car's failures do not count against him, which matters a lot in his case. Turned into a position within the grid, this is Alonso's second spell:
| Season | Rank on the grid according to the simulator |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 3rd of 20 |
| 2022 | 3rd of 20 |
| 2023 | 3rd of 20 |
| 2024 | 5th of 20 |
| 2025 | 7th of 20 |
| 2026 | 8th of 22 |
The curve goes down, but slowly: he was the third best on the grid three years running and today he is eighth out of twenty-two, ahead of the whole midfield. Alonso is the extreme case of what we described in at what age a driver is at his best: past 30 the grid empties out and only those who are still good stay.
The team-mate battle points the same way. In 2026 he has outqualified Stroll in 11 of the 13 sessions in which both set a time, and since 2023 it stands at 73 to 10. In races, counting only the ones both finished, it is 45 to 11. In the 9 races he has finished this year, his average position is 15.3: what sinks him in the championship is the 6 retirements and a car that almost always starts from the back of the grid.
If you want to see what a good driver does in a bad car, in The Racing Line you get to live it. There the career ends at 40, five years younger than Alonso is today.