Fernando Alonso has spent the build-up to his home grand prix doing something he rarely does in public: saying goodbye. Speaking at the Circuit de Catalunya, the two-time world champion conceded that this weekend's Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix is most likely the last time he races in front of his home crowd in Formula 1.
"It's going to be a special weekend," Alonso said. "This is probably my last Barcelona race in Formula 1, so I want to say thanks to everyone."
The maths behind that admission is straightforward, as both RaceFans and the official Formula 1 site noted. Alonso turns 45 this year, his Aston Martin contract runs out at the end of 2026, and the Spanish round drops off the calendar in 2027 — replaced by a new race in Madrid — before the Circuit de Catalunya returns in 2028. Even if he races on for one more season, the Barcelona venue will not be there to greet him.
He was candid about what to expect on track. "I will try to enjoy the weekend," he said. "I will not be competitive and I will not be too long in the car in Qualifying. In the race, hopefully yes, but not at the pace that we all want." Aston Martin scored its first point of the season only last time out in Monaco, and Alonso was clear he does not read that as a sign the car has suddenly come good.
The Spaniard framed the entire season as a long farewell. "I consider every race I go to this year potentially could be my last time — in Australia, my last time in China, my last time in Monaco," he said. "Here in Barcelona there is a little bit more of that chance as it's not happening next year."
For all the resignation, the affection for the track was obvious. Alonso won here on the way to the 2006 title and again in 2013, and it was the first of those he singled out. "There were huge expectations for us after winning the championship in '05, and being on pole position, everyone expected us to win on Sunday," he recalled. "I think I will remember that one as a number one memory, and many, many things that happened on this weekend."
What the weekend does not settle is whether Alonso is finished with racing altogether. He has repeatedly said he is "open to everything" beyond 2026, and has spoken about how becoming a father shifted his outlook without dulling his appetite to keep competing in some form. Crash.net described him as sounding "at peace" with whatever comes next — a distance from the driver who once measured every weekend against the next title.
For now, the message to the grandstands is simpler. One more Barcelona weekend, no expectation of a result, and a thank-you two decades in the making.
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*Originally published on [Newsformula One](https://newsformula.one/article/alonso-signals-barcelona-farewell-probably-my-last-home-race). Visit for full coverage.*