Fernando Alonso Reveals Driver Who Will Lead Aston Martin After His F1 Retirement

Saajan Jogia | Jan 6, 2025

Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso arrives in the paddock at the Formula 1 Pirelli United States Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas on Friday, Oct. 18, 2024. / Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Amid Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso's Formula 1 retirement confessions, where he said that his last season in the sport will likely be 2026, he revealed that the next driver to lead the team will be his teammate Lance Stroll. Declaring Stroll as the new team leader after his exit suggests that Alonso has likely discussed the matter with Aston Martin, and that Stroll is set to remain with the team beyond 2026.

Aston Martin endured an extremely challenging 2024 season as it struggled to enhance the performance of its AMR24 F1 car in a complex ground effect era. While it looks to change things in 2025, it won't be until 2026 that it could fully utilize its new Silverstone facility and witness the inputs of its new managing technical partner, Adrian Newey, on its F1 car.

Although Stroll's performance has not matched that of Alonso, the oldest driver on the F1 grid, he is set to take over as the team's lead driver once Alonso's Aston Martin contract expires after the 2026 season. Their partnership dates back to 2023 and has since remained unchanged. While questions have been raised about Stroll's place at Aston Martin due to his underperformance, it is widely believed that the team's owner, Lawrence Stroll, also Stroll's father, has been the key factor in his continued presence with the team. Speaking on the future of the team and his relationship with Stroll, the two-time world champion said:

“I think Lance is very open always as I am with him.

“I am in the final part of my career and I try to help him as much as I can because he will be leading the team very soon.”

He added:

“This relationship was very strong since day one.

"I know Lance for many, many years. I know Lawrence as well.

“Lance is part of the team. His loyalty and his way of working with the team is maybe a little bit different than any other team-mate that I had in the past.

“They could go somewhere else in the following year or they were a little bit more reluctant to share things or to work together into the future.

“While Lance is part of the Aston Martin family, so this makes things easier for everyone.”

Speaking on his F1 retirement recently, Alonso said:

“Probably – or at least to start with – it will be my last season in Formula 1 because my contract finishes at the end of 2026, so it’s the time of delivering and the time of truth. High expectations.

“I will start the season thinking like that, for sure, because I cannot think too much in the future.

“At the moment, my current contract is for two more years. With my age, my motivation, I don’t know how it’s going to be."