Aston Martin will face a real headache with Fernando Alonso in the coming years, feels F1 pundit

With Honda reaching an agreement with Aston Martin F1 as an engine supplier in the 2023 season, it is unclear what the team will do about Fernando Alonso in the coming years.

The iconic British brand announced its partnership with Honda on Wednesday, ditching Mercedes in favor of the Japanese manufacturer. But everyone was keen on how Aston Martin would deal with the tumultuous relationship between their new engine supplier and star driver Fernando Alonso.

During Honda's time with McLaren, the two-time world champion had publicly criticized them on several occasions for their non-competitive power units.

While recently appearing on The Race podcast, F1 pundit Josh Suttill said:

"I think Aston Martin faces a huge headache in the next few years with what to do with Fernando Alonso. It's such a different scenario from what they were offering last year considering their position, where they were last year, and where they're gonna be later and in the next few years.

"They will need to avoid the mistakes Alpine made while managing Alonso and his future. I can see them having a similar problem. It's all gonna depend on how long Alonso wants to stay around.

"I mean he's been toiling around in midfield to backmarker machinery for most of the last decade. Now he's finally in a front-running car, is he really gonna give it up that easily after so many years of torture?"

"It’s a coin in the air – you never know the result and you don’t have a crystal ball" - Fernando Alonso

The Spaniard once revealed that it was a toss of a coin when he left Alpine to join Aston Martin at the start of the season as he wasn't sure about the results.

Speaking to Sky Sports' Martin Brundle, Fernando Alonso said:

“Of course. I think, back in August, every team is optimistic for the following year. Alpine thought the car would be good and I spoke with Lawrence [Stroll] when Seb [Vettel] retired.

"He said we had a fantastic team and the car will be very different to what Sebastian and Lance [Stroll] are driving right now. I said, ‘Okay, everyone is thinking the same, but let’s see.’ It’s a coin in the air – you never know the result and you don’t have a crystal ball. But I am happy with the outcome for sure.”

It will indeed be fascinating to see if Alonso stays around in the sport at the beginning of the 2026 season.