"He said: I'm staying": FIA president personally received Fernando Alonso's promise to continue his Formula 1 career

The President of the International Automobile Federation (FIA), Mohammed Ben Sulayem, commented on the future of one of the most decorated drivers in motorsport history — the 45-year-old Spaniard Fernando Alonso. According to the organization's head, the veteran personally assured him of his intention to continue competing in the World Championship, which, against the backdrop of the absence of a signed contract for the next season and an active wave of media rumors, became a key signal for fans and teams. Ben Sulayem emphasized that the conversation took place in person and that it was precisely during this meeting that the Spaniard gave a direct promise to stay in racing.

A personal promise to the FIA president

"Fernando said he will stay. He promised me that today. He said: 'I'm staying'," — Sport RBC.UA quotes Ben Sulayem. This statement carries weight, since the FIA president is one of the most influential figures in the world of motorsport and, as a rule, does not comment on drivers' contract details without a reason. Nevertheless, it is important to understand: at the time of Ben Sulayem's remarks, Alonso still had no officially signed agreement for the next season, and it is precisely this gap in the paperwork that fuels speculation about the Spaniard's possible final departure from Formula 1. For now, the promise remains verbal rather than legally binding.

The weakest stretch of his career

The current 2026 championship campaign is turning out to be extremely difficult for Alonso. After 13 races, the Spaniard has scored just three points — his worst figure after the same number of stages since his debut 2001 season, when he drove for Minardi and never made it into the points at all. A particular bitterness for the driver was the recent home round on the new track in Madrid, where he finished in only 17th place. Such results objectively increase the pressure from the media and fans, who are increasingly discussing not only the driver's form but also his future in a top team.

Contradictory information

Here it is necessary to honestly reflect the discrepancy between versions. On the one hand, Ben Sulayem directly states that Alonso promised him he would stay in Formula 1, and the Spaniard himself in other interviews previously said that he would be motivated even at 80 or 90, and such assessments are supported, in particular, by former colleagues such as Jenson Button, who allows that Alonso could race for several more years. On the other hand, some media interpret the driver's recent remarks as a hint at a possible exit from the series, and the absence of a signed contract for the next season makes this version no less plausible in the eyes of observers. Thus, the public position of the FIA president and Alonso's personal promises directly contradict at least part of the media signals, and until a signed contract appears, there is no definitive answer to the question of his future.

Context: pressure on the driver and the team

The question of Alonso's future does not exist in a vacuum: around his team and around himself in the 2026 season a tense information backdrop is forming. It was previously reported that Lewis Hamilton made a tough demand to Ferrari after the incident at the Italian Grand Prix, which indicates a general rise in conflictual and emotional accents in the championship. Under such conditions, every public word — whether it is a promise from the FIA president or a comment from the driver himself — is perceived as a marker of real intentions. For Alonso, whose career already spans more than two decades in elite motorsport, the decision to continue or retire will become one of the most discussed events of the coming months, and it is precisely why the verbal "I'm staying," voiced to Ben Sulayem, for now remains the main but not final argument in favor of his continued presence in Formula 1.