Insisting that he is still enjoying his racing, Fernando Alonso admits that he has no guarantee things will improve at Aston Martin any time soon.

Though not quite as bad as those dark days with McLaren-Honda, when every race weekend brought fresh embarrassment and grid penalties, this season has hardly lived up to the Spaniard's anticipated expectations, given the fact that Adrian Newey is on board.

However, the fact is that from 30 starts, the green cars have been classed as finishers just 13 times, with newcomers Cadillac being all that separates the Silverstone-based outfit from the bottom of the standings.

An outspoken critic of the 2026 regulations, though still seen as a fighter, and potential race winner, many were surprised when Aston Martin announced that Alonso remains on board for another season.

It surely can't be the money that has caused Alonso to remain, so one would presume that he has instead been given a guarantee that things will improve next season.

"I have no guarantees that '27 will be more fun," the Spaniard told reporters in Sepang today, "but it is a commitment that you have to make with yourself.

"At the end of the day, I feel fast, I feel motivated, I feel that I am enjoying what I am doing," he added.

"If I am sitting at home watching TV, watching races, I will feel that I can do better than them," he laughed. "That's what I felt in a way when I was away from F1, I was watching races and I was thinking, 'wow, that start was not right', I don't know. I was always feeling the fire inside of being there and trying to do better. And I still feel it now and I said, until I have that inside, I think it's not time to stop."

In terms of his future, the Spaniard had been dithering for some time, and his constant, ongoing criticism of the new regulations had many believing that he may just have had enough.

"I took the decision quite recently," he admitted, "and sitting with Lawrence it was very straightforward, we didn't have much to discuss. We both wanted to continue at that point, and it was a five-minute talk and we announced it."

Other than having no guarantees as to the competitiveness of his car, the two-time world champion remains unconvinced at the tweaks being made to the regulations.

"The decision was more about the rules, how enjoyable it is to drive these cars and these rules," he said. "We come to an incredible circuit now, it's going to be sad, the middle sector, because we cannot use the battery there.

"If not, you don't have energy for the three consecutive straights, from 15 to the last corner, last corner to Turn 1 to Turn 3. You have to use the full 100% battery on those three straights. So the rest is just charging the battery.

"That's the problems we are facing now in terms of bringing the cars to the limit on the grip.

"I decided that maybe next year with the 60-40 and with the second year and the rules, maybe there is a better compromise on that. And as I said, let's do it one more time, let's give another opportunity, especially on the power unit side. We started with the wrong foot and it is a question mark what is going to happen next year. But I think they deserve another opportunity and I feel blessed."

Between 2019 and 2020, the Spaniard got his kicks elsewhere as he sought to achieve racing's Triple Crown. Though he won at Le Mans he failed to score a victory in the Indy 500.

Asked if that break from F1, has helped him during his second era, he replied: "Yes, exactly.

"I had to stop," he admitted. "I had to switch off from Formula 1, I had to experience different formulas and different series and different things that I had in my mind.

"It was a big curiosity and it was great fun to experience all of that," he continued. "Discover new forms of motorsport, learn from the specialist on each of those series and become a more complete driver.

"That was very important. I still feel that it is appealing. I don't know when I will do it, but I will repeat those experiences."