Do you think Aston Martin’s upgrade could persuade Fernando Alonso to continue as a driver? – Robert

Fernando Alonso is out of contract at the end of the year and has a decision to make as to whether to stay in F1 next year.

He is 45 on Wednesday and has been doing this for 25 years. He wants to be sure he makes the right decision because, unlike the last time he stepped away from F1 in 2018, there will be no coming back this time when he leaves.

Alonso has been discussing his mindset on his future all season. In a nutshell, he has said he will continue to race, but he does not know whether that will be in F1.

He enjoys the competition of F1, but – like most of his colleagues – he is not enamoured by the new generation of engines and the need for energy management and how that has detracted from the driving experience.

He has been less clear about how the competitiveness of the Aston Martin-Honda package will affect his decision.

Alonso is a difficult person to read, and he can be gnomic when he speaks.

My feeling is he is leaning towards continuing, but only if he feels he can be confident Aston Martin will be in decent shape next year. Another year like the first half of this one – stuck at the back, racing no-one – has no appeal at all.

In Hungary, the debut of the new Aston Martin car was a significantly positive step. Alonso made it out of first qualifying for the first time this year, and the race pace was strong.

The team, it turns out, had hoped for an improvement of about two seconds a lap from the aerodynamic improvements and weight-saving, and, at least in Hungary, that was pretty much delivered. That’s a remarkable step – pretty much unheard of in terms of mid-season upgrades.

It was also important because the upgrade was a proving test for the factory’s ability to deliver developments that worked – which had not been the case for three years.

The next step is the new Honda engine, which will make its race debut at the Dutch Grand Prix after the summer break.

The Honda is a long way behind the other power units – something in the region of of about 1.5secs per lap off the best, Aston Martin believe internally.

The impending upgrade will not narrow that gap completely. But it is hoped that it will narrow about a third of it.

This is equally important for Alonso. He will want to see proof that Honda can deliver improvement – not least because he has prior experience from his time at McLaren from 2015-17 of Honda’s promises not living up to reality.

I’m told he will wait to see how that goes before properly considering his decision on his future.

The team want him to stay. Team principal Adrian Newey said at the weekend: “Fernando is an amazing driver. He brings huge amounts to the team, both in his feedback and his ability.

“So, for us, of course it’s important. I’m pretty confident that Fernando is enjoying his time with us and that we will continue with our relationship.”

Ultimately it is up to Alonso.