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Fernando Alonso has yet to decide on his Formula 1 future beyond the 2026 season. However, the Spanish driver insists that continuing his career isn't contingent on the performance of Honda's upgraded power unit.
The Japanese manufacturer introduced its updated engine during the Dutch Grand Prix, marking their first upgrade of the season.
Honda struggled with their form in the first half of the campaign, much like Aston Martin, who, in turn, introduced chassis upgrades in Hungary last month.
The disappointing start to the partnership has fueled speculation about Alonso's future, as he has yet to confirm whether he will remain on the grid in 2027.
When asked how significant the new Honda engine's performance would be to his decision, Alonso stated: "It's not important."
"I certainly hope we see some benefits in terms of power, drivability, and the things we've been lacking. But for me, it's more important, as it was in Budapest with the chassis, to see that there's an understanding of the needs and that a step forward has been made."
While Aston Martin and Honda aim to regain their form and enjoy a more successful second half of the season, Alonso doesn't anticipate significant improvements that would propel them to the front of the grid.
Instead, the two-time world champion analyzed the long-term benefits of how factory data translates to the real car.
"In Budapest, we knew we wouldn't be fighting for the top positions, but we wanted to check if the chassis development direction was correct, and I think we did that," he said. "That's encouraging for the future – that the correlation is good and what we expected was achieved. Now with the engine, it's the same. They've made some changes, and it will be good to confirm that everything is working as expected. Whether it's a tenth or a second, the number doesn't matter much. We're too far behind to get excited about a specific figure. We just want to see that what we expected has been achieved."
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