Fernando Alonso insists Aston Martin is the limit

Fernando Alonso says his Formula 1 level remains unchanged despite Aston Martin’s point-less start to 2026, insisting ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix that he has “nothing to prove” and is still “the best” even as the AMR26 leaves him fighting with “blunt weapons.”

Asked how he measures his own performances with Aston Martin so far off the pace, the Aston Martin driver said: “I don't measure anything, I'm the best.” He added: “I don't need to prove anything, I don't need to feel anything to believe that I'm at the right level.”

That claim lands against a difficult backdrop for Aston Martin. Pre-season hope around the new rules cycle and Adrian Newey’s arrival has given way to a nightmare opening phase, with Alonso still without a point and the Honda-powered AMR26 too slow and too technically vulnerable to put him in regular fights further up the field.

Canada did little to soften that picture. Alonso did not hit his targets in either the Sprint or the Grand Prix, and judging his season purely on results remains difficult because Aston Martin has offered so little consistent competitiveness. Even the team’s internal comparison is imperfect, with Lance Stroll still an uncertain benchmark for measuring exactly how much performance Alonso is extracting.

Alonso’s argument is that he does not need current F1 results to tell him where his level stands. He said he tests that in other machinery instead. “If I go to a go-kart track and I'm not the fastest, then I will be worried. If I go to a GT car and I'm not the fastest, I will be worried,” he said. “Driving different categories, different cars, testing yourself in different series and different cars, and feel yourself competitive.”

For Alonso, that outside reference point is what keeps the current slump in perspective. “Meanwhile I'm doing that, I'm still the fastest, so when I come to the Formula 1 weekend, it's just a matter of time that I have a better car,” he said.

There are signs inside Aston Martin’s struggles that support his case. Alonso’s opening laps have stood out as he continues to recover places in the early corners, and team ambassador Pedro de la Rosa said after the Canadian Grand Prix that he is still extracting the maximum from a compromised package. “As always, he’s getting the maximum out of a car with limitations in many areas,” de la Rosa said. He added that Alonso’s car is “20 km/h slower” than rivals on the straight and called it “truly amazing” that he is still producing those gains.

That leaves Aston Martin with a clear tension in the early part of 2026. Alonso is publicly adamant that his edge has not faded, but until the AMR26 becomes fast enough and robust enough to let him race on equal terms, the team has little chance of proving whether its oldest driver’s confidence can still translate into points and a meaningful recovery.