Great speculation has accompanied Fernando Alonso in recent months as he held back on confirming his future in Formula 1. Now it appears that not only has he been able to agree favourable terms with Aston Martin to stay on in F1 for 2027, but also persuaded the car manufacturer to back him in another assault on the Dakar Rally, Motorsport.com understands.
The deal is believed to have been discussed as far back as August but has only just been leaked via the Spanish media. During the Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia last weekend, Alonso made some cryptic remarks about "surprises" that could emerge "in the next few weeks". This was assumed by many to mean some kind of GT racing entry with Max Verstappen, but in fact it is a return to a challenging event he has contested before with Toyota - finishing 13th in 2020.
