Ralf Schumacher still considers Fernando Alonso to be an “exceptional talent”, but fears that Aston Martin’s breakthrough may come too late for him
After two Grands Prix of the 2026 Formula One season, Fernando Alonso is one of only six drivers not to have scored any points in the overall standings. His teammate Lance Stroll has ten points, putting Aston Martin currently in seventh place in the Constructors’ Championship. And even if no one seriously believes that Alonso has forgotten how to race, the question of whether he, who will soon be turning 44 (his birthday is July 29), has possibly passed the absolute peak of his performance as a top athlete must be allowed.
Alonso is, and that has not changed, “an exceptionally talented driver,” says Ralf Schumacher. In a recent video on the YouTube channel of Formel1.de, the Sky expert says: “He has won almost too few world championship titles for his talent. Maybe it was also a bit to do with his nature, which he used to have. He wasn’t exactly a team player back then. But in terms of performance, he’s just incredibly good. That’s just the way it is.”
And to judge Alonso in 2025 only on his points tally would be unfair. In Melbourne, he retired under the most difficult weather conditions with a careless mistake that also happened to other drivers in the race. And in Shanghai, he was at least on a par with Stroll in qualifying. It would be premature to say that Stroll is outperforming him.
Schumacher therefore sees “two possibilities” for classifying Alonso’s current performance, “and I want to see the positive one”. That would be “that Lance Stroll has simply developed a bit”. In addition, “Fernando has lost a bit of the courage, the drive he had at the beginning. Because, of course, he can’t compete for the top spots. And that might cost a bit of time in his case.”
What Schumacher means by this is that when Alonso joined Aston Martin as Sebastian Vettel’s successor in 2023, the team was the surprise of the year at the start of the season. Alonso regularly made it onto the podium and was the first to challenge Red Bull for long stretches. Since then, however, Aston Martin’s form has been on a downward trend, and even if some training times are encouraging, the consistency in the performance of the overall package is lacking.
Nevertheless, Schumacher is sure: “If the car takes a step forward, he will be back. You shouldn’t underestimate him.” And that cannot be ruled out entirely, after all, team owner Lawrence Stroll has recently signed two “big names” in Adrian Newey and Andy Cowell, who know exactly how to be successful in Formula 1. The big question is: how quickly will he be successful, and if he is, will Alonso still be there?
Schumacher currently assumes that “it’s over for him” at the end of 2026. And he fears that he “won’t be part of the very successful time at Aston Martin” if it even comes to that. “Maybe in an advisory capacity, I don’t know. But not as a driver.” Schumacher cannot imagine that Alonso will be hired by a top team again after Aston Martin: “I think that’s the end of it.”
The full-length interview (13 minutes) with Ralf Schumacher about the “oldies but goldies” of the 2025 Formula One season, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, and their situation at Aston Martin and Ferrari, is now available on the Formel1.de YouTube channel.
