Alonso urged to stay in F1 by FIA president Ben Sulayem
NXTbets Pro | Published On: September 11, 2026
Ben Sulayem on Alonso
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem wanted Fernando Alonso to stay in Formula 1, and he said he would try to persuade him directly. Ben Sulayem said Alonso should not walk away from the series and planned to try to persuade him to keep racing. He said it would not be acceptable for a two-time world champion to leave under the weight of Aston Martin’s poor performance and the new regulations introduced this season. The message was clear. Ben Sulayem wanted Alonso to remain on the grid, even with his team struggling to deliver strong results. The FIA president said he had already spoken with Aston Martin owner Lawrence Stroll about improving the team and its direction. He also said he intended to speak with Alonso himself about what the FIA and Aston Martin could do to change the Spaniard’s mind. That push tied Alonso’s future to Aston Martin’s performance and the new regulations.
Alonso future
Alonso had given no indication that a decision was close. He said there would be no update soon on his future beyond his current Aston Martin contract, which was set to expire at the end of the season. That left his next move open, and Alonso had already said he was considering more than one path. He said he was considering racing in another series or taking a non-driving role next season. The uncertainty mattered because Aston Martin had struggled to produce strong results. He had scored only three points after 13 races that season, underscoring the scale of the team’s struggles. Aston Martin’s poor performance had made Alonso’s next step a central issue, while Ben Sulayem’s comments linked it to the FIA’s efforts to help the team. His future remained unresolved.
FIA and Aston Martin
Ben Sulayem said the FIA had already taken steps to help Aston Martin improve its engine performance, and he tied that effort to the broader push to keep Alonso in Formula 1. That point gave the story a wider frame than Alonso’s own contract. The FIA president was not only trying to keep one driver in the sport, he was also trying to support a team that had fallen short of expectations and needed a stronger package. His talks with Stroll showed that the issue had reached ownership level, and his planned conversation with Alonso suggested the next step was personal as well as technical. The challenge was whether Aston Martin could improve enough to give Alonso a reason to stay. Ben Sulayem wanted him to believe it could. The situation left Alonso’s future unresolved, with the FIA pressing for him to stay and Aston Martin under pressure to improve.
