F1 British GP live updates: Follow latest from FP1 and Sprint Qualifying at Silverstone today

As I wrote in my driver market update last week, Fernando Alonso is one of the key lynchpins in ‘silly season’ ahead of 2027.

Alonso, 44, is weighing up whether to continue in F1 with Aston Martin, which has severely struggled for performance through the early part of this year. The two-time world champion has also been one of the strongest critics of F1’s new 2026 cars, calling this season a “battery world championship.”

Alonso reiterated on Thursday at Silverstone that he would be considering his options over the summer. He’s always expressed faith in the Aston project, suggesting he’d look to continue with the team even beyond driving one of its F1 cars.

But if he were to step out of the British racing green cockpit, then there are plenty of other racing events he’d like to use to keep himself busy, ranging from a return to the Dakar Rally to a potential 24 Hours of Le Mans outing alongside Max Verstappen.

“I want to win (the) Dakar (Rally),,” Alonso told reporters. “I may want to win different things or challenge myself in endurance racing again, especially if Max wants to do it one day as well.

“When I stopped racing, I said I would like to continue with this team in a different role, try to help. I’ve been in Formula 1 26 years now, and I think I can help the team. Probably I’m the second or third most experienced guy in the team at the moment.

“There are things that can be useful for the team. And I prefer to use this expertise than being at home watching TV.”

It was pointed out to Alonso that McLaren will be racing at Le Mans from next year in the Hypercar class, which has been a big project for Zak Brown, the McLaren Racing CEO, who is a huge admirer of Alonso from their time working together in the late 2010s.

On this, Alonso joked: “I don’t know if Zak has the budget (for me).”

But if Alonso were to go back to Le Mans and retain his link to Aston, he said there was a “very high chance” he would instead race in its Valkyrie Hypercar.