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Fernando Alonso still regards himself as the best driver on the Formula 1 grid at the age of 44, according to F1TV’s Lawrence Barretto.
Alonso hasn’t won a Grand Prix since Spain 2013, with the 13-year anniversary now just weeks away. More importantly, it’s nearly 20 years since his last world championship.
Aston Martin’s dire start to the 2026 season has obscured the level of Alonso’s performances, though he continues to beat teammate Lance Stroll. The Spaniard finished commendably 10th in the standings last year in what appeared to be the seventh-best car.
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Fernando Alonso won’t retire while he thinks he’s ‘the best’
Speaking on a recent F1TV show, Barretto said that Alonso has always thought of himself as F1’s best driver, and that hasn’t changed, even though he’s the oldest competitor since Graham Hill in 1975.
Alonso’s contract is up at the end of the season but the feeling is that he’s reluctant to bow out at the back of the grid, which is where Aston Martin currently find themselves.
Barretto believes the Spaniard will assess the team’s trajectory halfway through the season, as well as their 2027 prospects, before deciding whether to seek an extension.
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He said: “I think he also thinks he’s still the best on the grid. As long as he thinks that, which he has done for as long as I’ve known him, I don’t think he has started to think about, ‘When is the end?’
“He’s just looking at, ‘How quickly can you turn this around?’ He’s just taking it in microsteps. He’ll probably use the half-season point as that first step to see what that big first upgrade is and can then they turn the corner, and then he’ll want to see what they’ve done for next year’s car, and then he’ll make a decision.
“I still think we’ve got Fernando for a fair bit, because he won’t want to end his career in this manner. He just won’t, that’s why he’s still here, he just can’t let it go.”
What F1 team principals think of Fernando Alonso at 44
At the end of 2025, the F1 team bosses ranked their top 10 drivers of the season. On average, they placed Alonso fifth, four places higher than he was in 2024.
Verstappen, widely regarded as the best driver in the current field, took top spot ahead of world champion Lando Norris and the other McLaren of Oscar Piastri. George Russell was fourth.
Alonso beat Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc as well as Oliver Bearman and Isack Hadjar, two drivers at the forefront of the next generation.
While he might have put himself in first place, this shows that he’s still highly regarded by the most authoritative figures in the paddock.
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