Guenther Steiner Clashes with FIA President Over Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin Future

Former Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has strongly criticized remarks made by FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who suggested the governing body could intervene to help Aston Martin keep Fernando Alonso in Formula 1.

During a challenging 2026 season for the Silverstone-based team, Ben Sulayem stated prior to the Spanish Grand Prix that it was “unacceptable” for the two-time world champion to be uncompetitive. He offered to assist in improving the team’s performance to prevent Alonso from retiring.

“There is no way we can allow Fernando to leave – Alonso, a great champion – to leave just because of the circumstances,” Ben Sulayem stated.

“That’s not the way to leave the stage. He has to be successful and then he leaves whenever he wants, not because he was forced to leave because of the performance.”

“I will be speaking to him. I said to him, I saw him very sad, and I said, ‘Fernando, I understand, it’s not acceptable that you are coming to your own country and now after two times a world champion…'”

“We did something earlier, in May, legally for the team towards the engine to go and improve, and then I said to him: ‘I am not going to tell you what we are going to do. Please tell me what you want because you are the driver and come and tell me what do you want us to do to improve these results.'”

An FIA spokesperson later clarified that these comments pertained to the Additional Development and Upgrade Opportunities (ADUO) system.

The Spanish driver’s contract with Aston Martin expires at the conclusion of the current season. Consequently, speculation has grown regarding a potential switch to Alpine or retirement from the sport.

Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Racing

Photo by: Sam Bagnall / Sutton Images via Getty Images

Speaking on The Red Flags Podcast, Steiner addressed Ben Sulayem’s comments.

“Nobody deserves to be there or be anywhere. Not only in Formula 1. You need to work to be there. You need to want to be there, but not deserve it,” Steiner argued.

“What does deserve mean? Nobody deserves anything, in my opinion, in a sport, in life is something different. To say that Aston Martin needs to figure that out, that’s their problem. That is not the federation’s problem.”

Steiner highlighted other teams currently struggling in the 2026 season, such as Cadillac. The American outfit, which entered the grid as the 11th team this year, has yet to score points.

“So what should Cadillac say? Oh, we deserve to be better. We need some help,” he continued. “They need a lot of help, by the way, a lot more than Aston Martin, because Aston Martin can help themselves and they will help themselves.”

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