Be you a fan of his or not, it’s hard to watch the misery which Fernando Alonso is forced to go through just about every weekend these days, at this stage of his illustrious career.
There are few who doubt his abilities. He is one of the finest drivers of this era and two Formula 1 World Chamoion titles hardly do justice to his talents. But to a large extent the plight he is now in has been his own doing.
The Spaniard brings a great deal to a team from personality to skill and vast experience, but also carries bags packed with politics and intrigue that can (and often does) destablise a team. He is hard work for any manager.
At 35 he only has a few years left to try and bag his third title, but has few options at his disposal when it comes to teams which are capable of vying for the biggest prize in motorsport.
If he was in a Formula 1 team with whom he won regularly, battled for the title and even scooped one or two titles along the way, this whole triple crown ambition that he is now set on would not have even been a thing.
Unbelievable struggles with Honda have forced him and McLaren to look elsewhere to release all the pent up steam and hot air, thus Indianapolis 500 is suddenly in vogue for the outfit that ditched their Indy programme decades ago and will paint a Dallara in their colours – a fake McLaern which defies the ethos of what the racing team always stood for.
We all know it’s a smokescreen by McLaren chief Zak Brown to deviate attention from the smoking Honda power units that are bolted on to the back of his F1 cars.
But credit to him for maximising the hype and punting out a positive story every day, about the project, through the motorsport media portals which he chairs.
Let’s cut the cr@p and ask the question: Can Alonso win this year’s Indy 500? Highly unlikely.
Even he knows it is a very, very long shot but he plays the game. Granted though if anyone can do it, under the exact same circumstances he is tackling the Brickyard, then it is Alonso.
But when you read between the lines, it is clear that that his heart is firmly in Formula 1.
Alonso told media ahead of his home race in Barcelona, “This year the cars are good to drive. Formula One is back in a way. I like this Formula One. The cars look good again.”
And revealed, “I’m hoping that things will improve and, from September or October, I’ll be open to any type of negotiation, either with McLaren or any other team.”
“I just think of being in a team to fight for the Formula 1 world championship,” added Alonso.
But despite his ambitions the double F1 World Champion’s options of landing a seat in a winning team are limited.
The Ferrari option is highly unlikely as his divorce from the team, where he drove from 2010 to 2014, was messy. Many blaming the Spaniard for creating a putrid atmosphere at Maranello which has taken years to eradicate.
Indeed his reputation is that of being a disruptive influence in the teams he drives for, unless he has undisputed number one status.
Beyond Ferrari it is also unlikely that Red Bull would consider his services. They have two excellent drivers right now and have a very good prospect in Toro Rosso’s Carlos Sainz as well as a pipeline packed with youngsters groomed through their very own development programme.
Word is Mercedes have a preagreement with Sebastian Vettel for 2018, but the good fortunes of the German, at Ferrari this season, virtually nullify that option. If Kimi Raikkonen does run his last race at the end of 2017, It is inconceivable that the Reds will pair Alonso with Vettel.
Meanwhile Valtteri Bottas’ emergence as a race winner is likely to dissuade his current paymasters from ditching him, and the quiet Finn is probably going to bag himself a lucrative long term contract before this season is out.
Should Lewis Hamilton quit abruptly at the end of this year, Mercedes can also tap into Pascal Wehrlein and Esteban Ocon who are without doubt future stars in the making.
Furthermore, it is well known that the team’s influential chairman Niki Lauda is not a fan of having Alonso in his team. The Austrian considers the Spaniard a disruptive influence and a couple of years ago labeled him “selfish, moody and negative.”
Therefore this leaves Renault as the only seat available for Alonso beyond 2017, although they are by no means guaranteed to be winners next year. But they are a major manufacturer based ‘works’ outfit who are serious about winning again.
Word is that Renault, with whom Alonso won his two F1 world titles with, are not averse to having the Spaniard back in the ranks to partner Nico Hulkenberg in 2018.
However, this all hinges on Honda raising their game to the level that satisfies Alonso. Time will tell if this is possible…
Big Question: What are the best F1 career options for Fernando?
Read the full story at GRAND PRIX 247
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