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Fernando Alonso has made it clear that he will not spend another season in the doldrums, struggling at the back of the grid instead he wants to be in a team capable of delivering him a Formula 1 World Championship – and it has now emerged that talks have begun to get the Spaniard to return to Renault, the team of his glory years.
Alonso does not have many options with a top team as Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari are highly unlikely destinations for him at this point.
Even if Mercedes ditch Valtteri Bottas after his one year deal, there is no way that Lewis Hamilton would countenance Alonso as a replacement, while Niki Lauda is adamant that Alonso will not be a Mercedes driver – the Austrian wary of the baggage that inevitably accompanies the Spaniard.
Red Bull are very happy with their drivers, thus Alonso would not be an option as the energy drinks outfit develop and promote from within.
Ferrari are likely to have a seat vacant at the end of 2017, but it is highly unlikely Alonso will return to the team. The divorce at the end of 2014 was not a pleasant one, the split permanent.
Thus the only other ‘works’ team perhaps capable of delivering, in 2018 and beyond, at the level Alonso seeks is Renault where he won his two F1 world titles.
The French outfit are looking increasingly competitive, with a clear plan to return to the top of the Formula 1 pile, thus it is only natural that Alonso looks to his former team as a solution.
Word is that Renault management are very keen on the idea of having Alonso slotting in next to Nico Hulkenberg and thus spearhead their ambitions. They believe that next year they will have the ammunition to challenge for victories and even the title.
Alonso’s McLaren deal runs until the end of 2017, but with no solution in sight to the problems with the woeful Honda power unit, Alonso has already lost interest in this season, hence the Indianapolis 500 foray and who knows what thereafter…
For now Alonso is non-committal about his future in Formula 1 and told media in Bahrain, “After the summer I will think and I will make a decision of what I will do next year, so nothing has changed after this discussion.”
“I think I’m really at the best of my career right now in terms of driving so for next year, the target has to be only one: fighting for the World Championship, so not any more fifth or sixth,” insisted the 35 year old.
Meanwhile Auto Bild has reported from Bahrain: “The goal of the French group is to be victorious next year and to drive for the title from 2019 onwards. Alonso has now become a key figure to partner Nico Hülkenberg. And thus have the strongest driver pairing in Formula 1.”
“The first talks between Alonso’s manager Luis Garcia Abad and Renault Motorsport chief Cyril Abiteboul took place behind closed doors in the hospitality area of the French team on Saturday morning [in Bahrain],” the report added.
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