Alonso says Barcelona is probably his last there

Fernando Alonso said Thursday that this weekend’s Spanish Grand Prix will probably be his last Formula 1 race in Barcelona, while making clear he still has not decided whether to continue beyond this season.

Speaking in the FIA pre-race press conference, the Aston Martin driver framed the home event as a likely farewell to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya rather than a confirmed goodbye to F1 itself. Barcelona drops off the calendar next year and is due to return only in 2028, which is why Alonso said the race carries more finality than most. “It’s going to be a special weekend, probably my last Barcelona race in Formula 1, so I want to say thanks to everyone,” Alonso said. “I think this is my 23rd Spanish Grand Prix and all of them have been magical. This last has to be magical as well.”

He said he will decide only after the summer whether to race on. Alonso added that the calendar change makes any longer-term prediction difficult. “I don’t have anything in mind. After summer I will take the decision whether to continue or not,” he said. “Barcelona obviously is not happening next year, so if I don’t know what I will do next year, it’s nearly impossible to be sure what I will do in two years’ time.”

Alonso said he has been treating every round this season as if it could be his last, mentioning Australia, China and Monaco in the same way, but he admitted Barcelona feels different because there will be no race there next year.

Any emotion around the occasion is also being undercut by Aston Martin’s form. Alonso said he does not expect to fight near the front at his home race, warning before the weekend that “I will not be competitive and I will not be too long in the car in qualifying,” and that in the race he expects to run “not at the pace that we all want.”

That lack of competitiveness, rather than the possibility of retirement, is what he described as the real burden. “For me, the hardest thing is not to win races and be competitive,” Alonso said. “If it’s the last, or not the last, it’s not affecting too much. I’m at peace with my career and my life.”

The result is a home weekend that matters because of what Alonso may be leaving behind in Barcelona, even as Aston Martin’s current level means the sporting side is unlikely to match the significance of the moment.