MONTMELO, Spain (AP) — Two-time Formula 1 champion Fernando Alonso has signaled he is near the end of his career after saying Sunday's race will likely be his last in Barcelona.
The Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, the new name for the race held outside Barcelona, won’t be staged in 2027 as it starts being held every two years.
“It is probably going to be my last Barcelona race in Formula 1,” the 44-year-old Alonso told reporters at the track on Thursday.
Alonso quickly added he was not announcing his retirement, but the fact that the next Barcelona race will be in 2028 made it less likely he will take part.
He said in the coming months he will think hard about whether he is willing to keep racing next season while Aston Martin gives him a car that struggles to get him even near the top.
“I don’t have anything in mind, and after the summer I will take the decision to continue or not,” the Spaniard said. “But Barcelona is not happening next year, and if I don’t know what I am doing next year it is near impossible to know what I will doing two years from now.
“Every race I go to could be my last.”
Alonso is an icon of Spanish sports thanks to his world championships in 2005 and 2006, and he has remained one of the series' best drivers, even though he has never had the car to match his skills for several years.
His last F1 victory, No. 32, came in 2013 at this track in Montmelo. Few racing fans would then have imagined that Alonso, who remained sharp behind a wheel, would not stand atop a podium again.
Still, tens of thousands of his fans flock to the Spanish race to cheer him on each year.
This season he has just one point and was 18th out of 22 drivers.
And while Alonso said he was “at peace” with his career, it hurt not to be competitive.
“The hardest thing is to not win races and not be competitive,” he said. “If (this season) is the last, it is not affecting me. I am at peace now with myself and my career. I achieved a lot more than I ever dreamt when I was a kid."
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso of Spain, right, walks at the Barcelona Catalunya racetrack in Montmelo, near Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/ Joan Monfort)
Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso of Spain attends a press conference ahead of the Spanish Formula One Grand Prix at the Barcelona Catalunya racetrack in Montmelo, near Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/ Fatima Shbair)
Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso of Spain, walks at the Barcelona Catalunya racetrack in Montmelo, near Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, June 11, 2026. (AP Photo/ Joan Monfort)
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Victor Wembanyama surely knew he was overstating the obvious, when he pointed out that there are two possible outcomes for Game 5 of the NBA Finals on Saturday night.
— San Antonio wins and extends the series.
— New York wins and becomes NBA champions.
That's it. It's one or the other. After 1,321 games — 1,230 in the regular season, 84 in the playoffs, six more in the play-in tournament and one between the Spurs and Knicks that decided the NBA Cup — it really is that simple. If Wembanyama and the Spurs win in San Antonio, the season lives for at least one more game. If the Knicks win, all that'll be left in this season will be a parade.
The Spurs trail the series 3-1 and Wembanyama understands the reality. Of the previous 38 teams that trailed 3-1 in the NBA Finals, 37 wound up watching the other team celebrate the title. And if that bit of history didn't look daunting enough, the Spurs will try to climb out of this 3-1 hole after the biggest collapse in NBA Finals history — wasting a 29-point lead in a Game 4 loss at New York.
“I think it’s going to go one of two ways,” Wembanyama said shortly after Wednesday's 107-106 loss in Game 4, a game where the Spurs were outscored 55-25 in the final 21 1/2 minutes. “One of two ways. A bad one and a good one. The bad one would be giving up. The good one would be getting stronger through this, getting more together. I know this is what we’re going to do.”
Thursday was an off day for the teams, at least in terms of formal practices. Both sides are scheduled to practice in San Antonio on Friday, and then Game 5 is there on Saturday night — with the Knicks one win away from what would be their first championship in 53 years.
New York won Games 1 and 2 of the finals in San Antonio — rallying from double-digit deficits in both games — to take command of the series. The Knicks, with a win Saturday, would become the first team since Houston in 1995 to go 3-0 on the Spurs' floor in a single postseason series.
“Our mentality has to be 0-0, the way it’s been,” Knicks guard Jalen Brunson said, repeating the mantra he's cited time and time again in this postseason run. “It has to be that way, and I feel like us moving forward with that mindset can really benefit us. There's nothing to celebrate. It’s not over yet, not even close.”
It's common sense for the team with a 3-1 lead to hold off on celebrating. But in this case, there's also some truth to what Brunson is saying.
Yes, the 3-1 deficit has been proven to be virtually insurmountable in NBA history; the only team that successfully escaped its grip in the finals was LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, when they rallied to beat the Golden State Warriors for that title.
This series, however, isn't exactly a statistical runaway.
The Knicks have outscored the Spurs by a total of eight points over the four games. Shooting is basically even; the Knicks are at 44%, the Spurs at 43%. The Knicks have made 52 3-pointers, the Spurs 49. Free-throw percentage, Knicks 79%, Spurs 78%. The Knicks have three more rebounds and both teams have exactly 90 assists through four games.
“Just take this one game at a time,” said Spurs guard De'Aaron Fox, who took heavy criticism for electing to try a layup — which was blocked — in the final seconds of Game 4 instead of taking time off the clock with a one-point lead. “It obviously looks like a steep hill, but this is something that’s happened before. Take this thing one game at a time. We’ve been in a position to win all these games. We’ve been up double digits. We have to figure out what we need to do to be able to put some of these games away.”
It has been a baffling problem for the Spurs.
They led Game 1 by one with 1:51 left, then lost after the Knicks finished on an 11-0 run.
They had the ball in a tie game with 11 seconds left in Game 2, then lost after Wembanyama threw a pass that Stephon Castle never saw and became a turnover that led to Brunson's game-winning free throw.
And now, this — a 29-point lead wasted in Game 4, and they still led by one until Anunoby's tip-in with 2.1 seconds left.
"We have to try to put this behind us," Fox said.
If they don't, the Knicks' 53-year wait for a title could end Saturday night.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
San Antonio Spurs guard Devin Vassell passes the ball as New York Knicks guard Mikal Bridges (25), guard Jalen Brunson (11) and center Ariel Hukporti (55) defend during the first half of Game 4 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) shoots past San Antonio Spurs guard Stephon Castle during first half of Game 4 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama, right, drives as New York Knicks forward Og Anunoby, left, defends during the second half of Game 4 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Wednesday, June 10, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama shoots against the New York Knicks during the first half of Game 4 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Monday, June 8, 2026, in New York. (Al Bello/Pool Photo via AP)
San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) shoots against the New York Knicks during the second half of Game 4 of the NBA Finals basketball series, Monday, June 8, 2026, in New York. (Al Bello/Pool Photo via AP)
