FIA President Advocates for Alonso's Continued Presence in F1

Mohammed Ben Sulayem has drawn a line in the sand. For him, the idea of Fernando Alonso slipping quietly out of Formula 1 in an uncompetitive car is simply “not acceptable”.

The FIA president, speaking at an event in Madrid, made clear he does not want to see one of the sport’s defining figures edged out by circumstance rather than choice.

Alonso, 45, is out of contract with Aston Martin at the end of the season and has already said his call on whether to stay in F1 will come “not soon”. Right now, there is little on track to tempt him. Aston Martin sit 10th in the constructors’ standings, their car blunt and lacking grip, while engine partner Honda is understood to be running the least powerful power-unit on the grid.

That is not the platform on which a two-time world champion expects to bow out.

“There is no way we can allow Fernando to leave – Alonso, a great champion – to leave just because of the circumstances,” Ben Sulayem said. “That's not the way to leave the stage. He has to be successful and then he leaves whenever he wants, not because he was forced to leave because of the performance.”

Those are emotive words from the head of motorsport’s governing body, whose own tenure has been dogged by questions over governance, checks and balances, and the limits of presidential influence.

In Madrid, Ben Sulayem described a recent conversation with Alonso, who has endured a dispiriting home race weekend in front of his own fans.

“I will be speaking to him,” Ben Sulayem said. “I said to him, I saw him very sad, and I said, ‘Fernando, I understand, it's not acceptable that you are coming to your own country and now after two times a world champion…’”

The frustration is not only Alonso’s. The FIA chief pointed to moves already made to give Honda and Aston Martin a route back towards the front.

“We did something earlier, in May, legally for the team towards the engine to go and improve,” he explained. “And then I said to him: ‘I am not going to tell you what we are going to do. Please tell me what you want because you are the driver and come and tell me what do you want us to do to improve these results.’”

That intervention raised eyebrows. The FIA is supposed to sit above the competitive fray, administering the rules independently and objectively. Any hint that the president might be tailoring regulations or processes around one driver or one team inevitably triggers concern.

An FIA spokesperson moved quickly to narrow the interpretation of Ben Sulayem’s comments. They clarified that he was referring specifically to F1’s additional development and upgrade opportunities system, known as Aduo.

Under Aduo, engine manufacturers whose power-units are judged to be more than 2% down on the class-leading design are granted extra scope to upgrade. It is a mechanism built into the current regulatory framework to prevent one supplier falling too far behind and to keep the field broadly competitive.

“It is a comment about the Aduo process and that he hopes Fernando Alonso stays in the sport,” the spokesperson said. “That is all.”

Pressed on whether Ben Sulayem’s remarks hinted at overreach – the idea that he could personally intervene to shape outcomes in favour of a particular driver – the spokesperson pushed back, framing it as emotion rather than policy.

“He is passionate about the drivers, having been one himself, and I really would not read too much into this,” they added.

The tension is obvious. On one side, a governing body that must be seen to act with distance and neutrality. On the other, a president who openly admits he does not want to watch one of the sport’s greats grind through the twilight of his career in a car with no chance of winning.

Alonso, fiercely independent and famously stubborn, will make his own call on whether to stay. The numbers are stark: 45 years old, two world titles, countless podiums, and a competitive fire that has outlasted teams, eras and regulations. What he does not have, at the moment, is a package capable of matching his ambition.

Ben Sulayem’s message is clear. The FIA has opened the regulatory door for Honda to catch up via Aduo. The president wants Alonso on the grid when – or if – that step forward comes.

Whether that is enough to convince the Spaniard to endure another rebuild is a different question entirely.