ANALYSIS: Why Alonso is staying at Aston Martin – and what it means for the 2027 grid

Fernando Alonso's love affair with Formula 1 will continue as the Spaniard has opted to stick around for at least another year with Aston Martin.

The double World Champion will turn 46 next year, which still leaves him nine years shy of F1's oldest driver to start a race, Louis Chiron, but comfortably the oldest of the recent generation.

Alonso took his time to make his decision because he knew Aston Martin would wait for him while he pondered his future and whether he fancied another season with a project that has really struggled this year.

The British team are 10th in the Teams' Championship and required a B-spec update in Hungary to haul them into the midfield – having previously been more than five seconds off the pace at times.

Even with that step forward, their engine supplier Honda – who Alonso had a difficult relationship with when they struggled with McLaren – are well off in terms of performance while reliability has been less than ideal.

Though Aston Martin hope next year will be better, no one can be certain that it will be and thus Alonso risks not being able to fight for positions much further up the field.

However, after having conversations with boss Lawrence Stroll and Team Principal Adrian Newey – alongside plenty of private thought to mull what he wants from life going forward – Alonso decided to stay.

The Spaniard loves Formula 1 and can't imagine a life without being behind the wheel of one of the sport's cars in the near future, even if it might mean battling in the midfield rather than for podiums and wins.

He still believes he's fast and it's clear he is still motivated to be in the best physical and mental shape possible to deliver on his immense talent.

His drive to ninth in the Dutch Grand Prix was proof he's still got the hunger, fight, determination and speed. Now it's just down to Aston Martin to give him a car to make the most of that skillset.

Alonso clearly believes they can and he has full faith in Newey – the greatest technical mind the sport has ever seen – to turn things around but he also accepts that much of whether that becomes reality is out of his hands.

The best he can do is stay, throw his full support behind the team and do everything in his power to get the best out of the package every time he drives so they know exactly what the package is capable of.

And it'll mean another year where his son Leonard, who was born earlier this year, will get the chance to watch his father do what he loves to do – something which is important to Alonso.

For Aston Martin, keeping him in the race seat is a big win. Alonso was always likely to stay in some role, as he's committed to the project for the long term, but they know what he's still capable of when he's driving.

It shows belief in the project, which will then trickle down through the team and help serve as motivation.

Alongside him will be Lance Stroll, whom Alonso has raced alongside since 2023.

Stroll has had the raw end of the unreliability this year – he's retired 11 times in 2026 – but his father believes he has what it takes to win races and fight for championships.

The Canadian believes in the project and says he's committed to helping the team achieve their goals. At over 200 Grands Prix, he has plenty of experience to help with that cause.

The 2027 grid is nearer completion

There are just four seats remaining on the 2027 grid.

Two of those are at Haas with Ollie Bearman favourite to stay with the team for a third full season as he continues to go from strength to strength.

His team mate is set to change, though, with Esteban Ocon a free agent and understood to have accepted he won't be staying on with the American squad in 2027.

Ferrari junior and FIA Formula 2 Championship leader Rafael Camara is favourite to get the nod, having had competition from McLaren reserve driver Leo Fornaroli and Haas reserves Jack Doohan and Ryo Hirakawa.

That leaves two seats at Racing Bulls. One is set to go to rookie Arvid Lindblad, who is on a run of nine points finishes in 10 Grands Prix.

Liam Lawson is the frontrunner to partner him for another year, having impressed both with Racing Bulls and during his three-race super-sub stint with Red Bull for the injured Isack Hadjar.

However, there remains a chance Red Bull and Racing Bulls opt to promote rising star Nikola Tsolov, who is currently second in the F2 championship, just seven points shy of Camara.