Fernando Alonso highlights ongoing talks with F1 bosses around rules: 'Circuits were killed'

Fernando Alonso has said his ongoing talks with Formula 1 -- which will dictate whether he keeps racing into 2026 -- have centred around how the sport's new engines have "killed" so many race venues this year.

Alonso's Aston Martin contract runs until the end of the year but he is yet to commit to an extension.

Not only is the two-time champion disillusioned by F1's new engines, which feature a 50-50 split between conventional combustion power and electrical battery elements, but he has been left languishing at the back once again due to an uncompetitive Aston Martin-Honda package.

Ahead of Madrid's Spanish Grand Prix, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said it would be "not acceptable" for Alonso to leave F1 in such an uncompetitive place, and suggested he is pushing for engine rule changes to accelerate Honda's recovery.

Alonso said his conversations with Ben Sulayem and F1 boss Stefano Domenicali have been around a comprehensive rejig of the rules.

"There were some circuits that were killed this year," Alonso said ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

"So I think, within the learnings from this year, there's still maybe some scope, to learn from those and have better sport next year. Those were my comments in Madrid, my comments in Australia, my comments in Barcelona, and every single race. And that's my conversation that is ongoing with Stefano or Mohammed."

Amid massive negativity around the sport's new regulations, F1 has already committed to tweaking the rules over the next couple of years.

The unpopular 50-50 split will move to a 58/42 split in favour of internal combustion power in 2027, before moving further to a 60-40 split for 2028, although several drivers in the paddock have questioned whether this will no go far enough to address the most hated aspect of this year's cars.

Alonso has been the most outspoken driver about F1's new rules, saying during preseason the cars are now so easy to drive that Aston Martin's team chef could have completed a lap of Bahrain's circuit without any issue.

He has also labelled F1's new era the "battery world championship."

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On Wednesday, Alonso added that the new cars, which require drivers to harvest battery power through braking, are completely alien to what he and his rivals are taught from the moment they get into a go-kart.

"We all come from junior formulas, from karting on F3, F2, that we drive within this driver instinct, to go fast, attacking the corners and taking some risk. And then you get to F1, and you need to rewind a little bit what you learned in the last twenty years of your career, and then you need to drive a different method," he said. "That is only happening in F1. There's no series in motorsport that you need to drive slow to go fast."

Ben Sulayem's Madrid comments hinted at F1 making further tweaks to the rules mechanism known as Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO), which has already given Honda, Mercedes, Audi and Ferrari additional leeway to spend on engine upgrades outside of the cost cap, with Red Bull's engine being deemed the benchmark.

Ben Sulayem suggested further concessions being given to Honda, although nothing has been made public yet. Speaking on Wednesday, Alonso claimed that Aston Marin's performances are not key to his decision and that a bigger factor is the overall health of the sport.

"We are less competitive than the grid, yes, but I don't think that's the critical point for me to make a decision," Alonso said. "Next year, there is a change already with the 60-40 ratio and that will improve things. But maybe there are more things that we need to think about to keep improving things. That's the way I see it."