Fernando Alonso's decision on 2027 has stopped being about whether Aston Martin wants him and started being about what he costs.
F1 business analyst Marc Limacher reports the two-time champion has asked Silverstone to lift his salary from around €30million a year to €40m — a 33 per cent rise — in exchange for committing not just to 2027 but through 2028. Spanish outlet Marca, which put the same €40m figure on the table, reports terms have effectively been agreed and that an announcement could land at Zandvoort when F1 returns on 21-23 August.
At €40m, Alonso would become the joint third-highest paid driver on the grid, level with Charles Leclerc's reported Ferrari deal and behind only Max Verstappen (€70m) and Lewis Hamilton (€60m). For a 45-year-old in a car that has spent most of 2026 outside the points, it is an aggressive ask — and one Aston Martin appears willing to entertain, because the alternative is Alpine. Enstone accelerated its own approach to Alonso in recent weeks with Franco Colapinto's seat unsettled.
Alonso himself has been careful to keep the framing away from money, and away from results.
"Driving these cars in places like Spa or Silverstone is not what I'm dreaming of for my future. So we'll see," Alonso said.
That is a different objection to the one Aston Martin can solve with a cheque. The 2026 power unit regulations, and specifically the energy deployment behaviour that made superclipping and lift-and-coast a talking point again at Spa and Silverstone, are not within the team's gift. The ratio shifts back towards internal combustion power for 2027 and further in 2028, which buys Silverstone an argument.
Honda is making that argument directly. Chief engineer Shinharo Orihara told RacingNews365 that putting Alonso back into title contention — something he has not had since 2013 — is an explicit objective of the programme.
"That is our target, definitely," Orihara said. "So we are working closely, and we know he is a great driver. He has a big passion, and he trusts Honda. So we want to bring what he wants, that is definitely our target."
Orihara also made clear the relationship runs both ways in the development loop.
"His feedback is always critical. He has 20 years of experience," he said. "If Fernando says, 'We need this deployment before going into a corner,' then we should respect his opinion."
Adrian Newey, now Aston Martin team principal, has said he is "pretty confident" Alonso stays for next season — a notably firmer position than the one Alonso has taken publicly, where retirement has never quite been ruled out.
There is a further complication in the paperwork. Sky's David Croft has claimed Alonso's existing Aston Martin contract actually extends to 2029, with options covering 2027 and beyond either as a race driver or as a team ambassador. If that is accurate, the negotiation is less about whether Alonso can leave and more about which version of the deal gets activated — and at what price.
The Hungarian Grand Prix at least gave both sides something to point at. The B-spec AMR26 got Alonso into Q2 and home in 14th, with Lance Stroll 13th, after a first half of the season that Autoweek summarised as an "abject" effort. It is not championship form. It is evidence the car responds to development, which is the only currency Aston Martin has to spend besides cash.
Marca reports that a competitive car for 2027 matters more to Alonso than the salary figure. Both things can be true — and the €40m demand reads less like a retirement fund than a marker of what he thinks he is still worth to a team building itself around Newey.
Zandvoort will settle it, one way or the other.
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