Ludo van Denderen is a motorsport journalist at GPblog, specializing in Formula 1 and international racing series.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem would like to see Fernando Alonso remain in Formula 1 in 2027. To persuade the Spaniard to postpone his F1 retirement, the FIA president is keen to think along about ways to keep him on board. A serious option is fine-tuning the ADUO regulation, allowing Honda to improve its power units more quickly and making it more attractive for Alonso to stay active in the sport.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem and Fernando Alonso get along very well. The FIA president and the two-time world champion regularly have conversations about all sorts of matters. Undoubtedly, Alonso’s future plans have also been discussed.
Ben Sulayem has surely gathered that a key reason to continue or not is how much Alonso enjoys racing with the current generation of F1 cars. As is known, the teams and the FIA agreed a few months ago to adjust the balance between the internal combustion engine (ICE) and the battery, with a larger share for the ICE. The hope is that racing will improve for purists like Alonso.
Furthermore, Alonso no longer wants to be driving at the back of the field. For that, he needs help from Aston Martin and Honda. The latter, however, has built anything but a top engine this season, but thanks to the ADUO system, updates can be implemented at set intervals.
How quickly can Honda make progress?
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The question is whether Honda, with the current ADUO, can make sufficient progress in the foreseeable future for Alonso to consistently fight at least in the upper midfield. To accelerate the development process, Ben Sulayem is keen to brainstorm on how to do this, thereby keeping Alonso in Formula 1.
The Emirati gave a speech in Madrid last week, in which he seemed to hint at unlimited resources for Honda. That conclusion is incorrect, however. GPblog understands that Ben Sulayem is considering further refinement of the ADUO regulations, from which Honda, as the weakest engine, could benefit.
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