• Formula 1
    •  September 20, 2016

    Alonso Clarifies what McLaren must do to Keep him for 2018

    September 20, 2016
    Ryan Ashenhurst
    Ryan Ashenhurst
    Contributor
    Ryan Ashenhurst
    Ryan Ashenhurst
    Contributor

    Alonso finished the Singapore GP  with a 7th place finish, his third 7th in the last five races. The Spaniard admits that he allowed himself to imagine a podium after a strong opening lap that saw him emerge in 5th, but admits that 7th was the maximum result for the team.

    Alonso has been regularly scoring points and now finds himself 11th in the driver standings, creeping up on Bottas in 10th. After the race, Alonso said,

    “I think 7th was the maximum… best of the rest after the Ferraris, Red Bulls and Mercedes. We were not the fourth quickest team here so to make the seventh place is thanks to the strategy and the guys today, so I am happy.

    The start was very good, P5 from the first corner. At one point I dreamed of the podium because on lap one being P5 in Singapore you think things will happen in front of you. But nothing happened today and they arrived very quickly behind, Vettel and Verstappen, so best of the rest, seventh was the maximum.”

    – Fernando Alonso

    Alonso has made it perfectly clear that his future in the sport rests entirely on the feel of the 2017 cars from a driver perspective. He was very critical of the current way in which this year’s cars handle. He told Cadena Ser Radio that,

    “The cars are less attractive. There is less of a feeling of speed. It’s about saving the tyres, saving the fuel. If F1 is to be more saving than attacking, I will think if I will continue.”

    – Fernando Alonso

    MONTE CARLO, MONACO - MAY 28: Fernando Alonso of Spain and Renault in action on his way to winning the Monaco Formula One Grand Prix at the Monte Carlo Circuit on May 28, 2006, in Monte Carlo, Monaco. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
    MONTE CARLO, MONACO – MAY 28: Fernando Alonso of Spain and Renault in action on his way to winning the Monaco Formula One Grand Prix at the Monte Carlo Circuit on May 28, 2006, in Monte Carlo, Monaco. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

    Apart from his 2001 debut season with Minardi, the past two seasons with McLaren have harvested the worst results for the two-time World Champion. His last victory came for Ferrari in the 2013 season. McLaren-Honda will have to design something radically aggressive if they are to reignite his interests and get the best out of him.

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