Fernando Alonso F1 retirement date set as Flavio Briatore teases huge decision

Flavio Briatore currently expects Fernando Alonso to retire from Formula 1 at the end of the F1 2026 season, with the Aston Martin driver set to decide if he wants to carry on beyond that year.

Alonso stands as the most experienced driver in F1 history, having made a total of 391 grand prix starts since his debut with Minardi in 2001.

Fernando Alonso to retire at the end of F1 2026?

The two-time World Champion, who returned to F1 after a two-year sabbatical in 2021, celebrated his 43rd birthday last month.

Aston Martin announced in April that Alonso had agreed a new multi-year contract committing him to the team until at least the end of the F1 2026 season, the first year of the sport’s new regulations marking the start of Aston Martin’s works partnership with Honda.

Briatore, who oversaw Alonso’s consecutive title triumphs as Renault team principal across 2005/06, is a close confidante of the Alonso having acted as the Spaniard’s manager for more than two decades.

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Appearing on the Formula For Success podcast, Briatore – who returned to Renault (now Alpine) as an executive adviser in June – revealed that Alonso is likely to retire at the end of 2026 as things stand.

And with the wording of Aston Martin’s statement hinting at options to continue beyond 2026, Briatore said that Alonso will have a big decision to make at the end of that season over whether to “continue for one more year.”

He said: “I don’t know [about his future]. I believe [at Spa], for example, he was very smart. He did one pit stop and this was the way to go, because of his experience.

“If you ask me if Fernando wants to continue after we finish in the contract, our last year will be 2026 for the moment.

“What he wants to do after, I don’t know. Does he want to continue for one more year?

“The performance is there. You see the performance of Fernando, it’s there. It’s not a question of him losing concentration, during the race he’s always there.

“If he’s 11th, he wants to be 10th. If he’s 10th, he want to be ninth. He wants the car to be competitive. He’s qualifying well, he’s racing well.

“I don’t know, honestly, if he wants to stop with 2026 as his last year or if he wants to go ahead. Honestly, I don’t know.

“It depends on the feeling he has about racing and the timing, I don’t know if he’ll have a family at the time and whatever.

“But for sure, he is somebody unique. I’ve never seen somebody like that, so determined every day, every day, every day. Never give up. Unbelievable.”

Briatore highlighted Alonso’s discipline as a key factor behind the driver’s longevity, with the Oviedo-born star “more fit now” than at his title-winning heights and avoiding “cheat” meals with his diet.

He added: “I’ve been managing Fernando Alonso for 22 years now. We’ve had 22 years of marriage.

“Fernando is still very difficult to understand because Fernando is still motivated like a young driver.

“He’s super fit, maybe more fit now than when he was driving for me. He’s living in Monaco. I know he’s doing a bicycle ride every day, he’s doing 60-70-80 kilometres every day.

“He goes to the gym every day. Every time we go to dinner he’s very, very careful. He’s never cheating with the food. He’s unbelievable.”

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