Famous F1 team McLaren revealed that they would absolutely support Fernando Alonso in his returning to the Formula 1 as a part of the rival if the two time world champion had such an opportunity, after they have completed their lineup of drivers for the 2020 season.
The new pairing this season after Alonso abruptly walked away from the sport consist of Carlos Sainz Jr and the F1 rookie Lando Norris. Also, Stoffel Vandoorne exited the competition as well, after struggling together with Alonso. He has found a new home in the Formula E competition, with the Mercedes team who offered him a deal.
Fernando Alonso left a wide open door on his potential return to F1, which would only happen if he receives a competitive option. This however cannot be his last team McLaren during the 2020 season because both Sainz and Norris have just signed fresh new deals.
Still, there is some speculation that some new driver changes are in order for next season, and some say that Alonso has explored options that include a possible return to Ferrari, even though this former team of his has contracts with two star drivers in Sebastian Vettel and Charles Leclerc.
Alonso is under a contract a McLaren ambassador as well, and he also tested their F1 car this season. What is more, he was a part of the failed bid to contest in the Indianapolis 500 this year. However, the CEO of McLaren F1, Zak Brown, clarified that the company he runs would not have any problem with Fernando Alonso joining a rival team in the next year’s grand prix competition.
When he was asked by Autosport about Alonso racing for one of their rivals next year, he said the following: “Fernando remains an ambassador for McLaren. We have got a great relationship with him and speak with him about some racing programs in the future that are not Formula 1 related. But we’re happy for him if he wants to get back into Formula 1 – because we don’t have a seat available – to go race for another team. We’d very much support him in that if that’s what he wants to do.”
Alonso won the Le Mans 24 Hours twice as a part of Toyota, in his two attempts in 2018 and 2019. He has also won the World Endurance Championship title with the same team. Still, he will not go on with the LMP1 program in the next WEC season. He also ruled out going to the IndyCar championship, despite the wish to go back to Indy 500.
Combined with the questionable Ferrari future of Sebastian Vettel, many speculations arose over a potential Formula 1 comeback for Fernando Alonso, something he could be heard saying was “not in the plan”, but that he would absolutely consider if there was ever “a great opportunity”.
In his absence, Sainz and Norris have both made strong starts to their respective careers at McLaren, and their efforts helped their team to the currently fourth place in the championship of constructors’.
CEO Brown said that McLaren wanted to have both of these drivers until 2020.”Carlos has been extremely quick every weekend and Lando is also extremely quick and a quick learner. He’s not making some of the mistakes, knock on wood, that you would maybe anticipate from a rookie driver. He drives quite mature, his feedback is good, he gets along with Carlos very well. We felt we’d get that out of the way to continue with our program, heads down, and keep racing.”
High praise for the young driver who now must live up to the expectations of his new team. McLaren will try and remain in both of the championships, while the question of Alonso’s return is on everyone’s mind.
