Fernando Alonso makes 'untouchable' claim ahead of major F1 shake-up

Fernando Alonso believes F1's top four teams are "nearly untouchable" for the remainder of the season before the rules overhaul for 2026.

At the halfway point of the 2025 campaign, fourth-placed Red Bull has just under three times as many points (172) as fifth-place Williams on 59, with Alonso's Aston Martin in eighth position on 36 points.

In the bottom half of the standings, the field spread is much closer, with just 22 points separating Stake in sixth on 41 points to Alpine in 10th on 19. 

Much of the attention for all the teams has now switched to the huge package of 2026 rule changes, with Alonso declaring that upgrades will be few and far between as teams do not want to divert resources away from developing next year's package.

As a result, the two-time champion feels that McLaren, Ferrari, Mercedes, and Red Bull will remain "untouchable" in the final 12 races.

"The first four teams are miles ahead of everyone else, so the top eight cars will be nearly untouchable for the rest of the season," Alonso told the media, including RacingNews365. 

"There will not be many upgrades for anyone from now on, so we need something extra to happen, like in Austria, where two of the top eight cars (Max Verstappen and Kimi Antonelli) did not finish. 

"So that opens a possibility for a P6 or P7. We were lucky to be P7 [in Austria], but that is not the norm, you are always fighting for P9, P10, which is already a good weekend. 

"We know that [2026] is a good opportunity, not only for Aston, but for many of the teams who want to become top teams. 

"Next year is the reset on the rules, and we all want to be in that position, where we can fight for bigger teams, so it is an opportunity."