Phoenix 24
Formula 1 will not be his only frontier.
Madrid, Spain
Fernando Alonso is preparing to return to the Dakar Rally in 2027, seven years after his first appearance in the world’s most demanding cross-country event. The two-time Formula 1 world champion is expected to compete in the T1+ category with a project linked to Aston Martin and operated by Prodrive. Marc Coma, who partnered Alonso during his previous Dakar campaign, is also expected to return as co-driver. The move would add another extraordinary challenge to a career already defined by competition across multiple disciplines.
Alonso made his Dakar debut in 2020 with Toyota, finishing 13th overall after completing an event radically different from Formula 1. His return would come while he remains active with Aston Martin in F1, creating one of the most demanding competitive programs attempted by a current Grand Prix driver. Dakar requires endurance, navigation, mechanical preservation and adaptation to terrain that has almost nothing in common with a conventional racing circuit. That contrast appears to be precisely part of the attraction for Alonso.
The technical project is equally significant. Reports indicate that Prodrive would manage a T1+ prototype derived from the architecture previously associated with the Dacia Sandrider program, adapted under the Aston Martin identity. Prodrive brings extensive rally raid experience and has become one of the central technical structures in modern Dakar competition. Combining that platform with Alonso’s experience and Coma’s navigation expertise would immediately create one of the event’s most closely watched entries.
The timing, however, introduces an additional variable. The exact route and geographical framework of the 2027 Dakar remain under discussion, with Saudi Arabia still central to planning while alternative scenarios have also been considered. That uncertainty means Alonso is preparing not simply for a return to the event, but potentially for a Dakar evolving in geography, regulation and technology. Hydrogen projects and new propulsion strategies are also beginning to reshape the competition.
Alonso’s decision reinforces something already clear about his career. Formula 1 championships, Le Mans victories, Indianapolis ambitions and Dakar participation belong to the same personal logic: testing whether elite driving skill can survive across radically different machines and environments. Returning to the desert at 45 would not be a nostalgic exercise.
For Alonso, unfinished challenges still appear to have more value than completed ones.
Great drivers chase victories. Exceptional ones chase different worlds.