2017–18 Formula E champion Jean-Éric Vergne has said that he has been approached by an F1 team over a 2019 race drive.
LAT Images / Formula E Media
The former Toro Rosso F1 driver revealed the contact in an interview with crash.net when asked about his chances of returning to Grand Prix racing:
“It’s a possibility. It’s funny how the world of motorsport changes. Three years ago, I don’t think anybody would have called me from F1 and said: ‘Hey, do you have a contract for next season?’.
“When you change your state of mind, when you change a little bit how you work, you see the results straight away. You see it in the results, and you see it in how people look at you and how they speak to you. When you start representing a brand [like Formula E], it changes a lot of things.”
LAT Images / Formula E Media
Vergne’s comments have come amid a breakout year for the Frenchman, in which he took four Formula E victories en route to the season four title with Techeetah, as well as an LMP2 class win at Le Mans with G-Drive (although this was later taken away for a team technical infringement).
They also follow a series of surprise announcements in the F1 driver market over the summer, which will see Daniel Ricciardo move from Red Bull to Renault and Fernando Alonso step away from the series in 2019.
Vergne’s previous F1 tenure spanned three years at Toro Rosso between 2012–2014, in which he partnered future Red Bull graduates Ricciardo and Daniil Kvyat. He was dropped from the Red Bull programme for 2015 in favour of Max Verstappen and Carlos Sainz, and spent two full seasons as a simulator driver at Ferrari before leaving the F1 paddock completely in early 2017.
Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool
Who might Vergne’s F1 suitor be?
Although Vergne confirmed he had been approached by an F1 team for next year, he gave no clues as to which team was interested in his services.
The most obvious possibility is his former employer, Toro Rosso. The Red Bull junior team is in need of at least one new driver for next year—with Pierre Gasly set to replace Ricciardo—and proved last year with Brendon Hartley that calling back ex-academy drivers is an option when an F1-ready protege isn’t available.
The chances of Vergne wanting to return to the Red Bull fold after the manner of his 2014 exit are slim—although Vergne hasn’t necessarily said he’s entertaining the offer he’s received, for that matter.
Haas were said to have had an interest in Vergne ahead of their maiden campaign in 2016, and may do so again as they weigh up alternatives to Romain Grosjean. Williams may also have been the ones to offer Vergne a 2019 drive, as Lance Stroll’s expected move to Force India will leave a race seat open at the Grove team.
Five races separate us from the 2018 British Superbike Showdown, and each one of these five will be critical in determining the six contenders for the final three meetings of the year – the seven title-deciding races.
At the moment, going into Cadwell Park this weekend, only Leon Haslam is assured of a Showdown spot, 176 points clear of Peter Hickman who is seventh in the championship. That means that Jake Dixon and Josh Brookes, whilst being in strong positions at the moment, still need to put in performances to make the top six, although anything outside the rostrum for any of Haslam, Dixon or Brookes would be something of a disappointment at this stage, as they are generally now focusing on podium points.
All three riders – Haslam, Dixon and Brookes – have been strong in Cadwell. Brookes is one of the most iconic Cadwell Park figures, typically one of the riders to go “full send”, more than most, over “The Mountain”. However, Brookes could only manage a 12-7 last year with the Anvil Hire TAG Yamaha squad, although the McAMS Yamaha team took the second race victory with James Ellison. Brookes did take the Cadwell double, though, back in 2015 on his way to the championship. Another 1-1 at the Lincolnshire circuit would do a lot for his championship hopes, and help him close the 27-point gap which he suffers at the minute to Haslam in the podium points.
Haslam, though, won last year, in race one, so could be a formidable force this weekend, especially after a strong Thruxton performance two weeks ago where he took his first ever win in the Hampshire track. A double podium for Haslam this weekend could spell real trouble for those hoping to beat him to the title this year.
Jake Dixon has only been to Cadwell Park in BSB twice before, and he picked up a podium last year, finishing second behind Haslam in race one, although like the JG Speedfit Kawasaki rider, Dixon also retired in race two, crashing in the Hall Bends section. Like Brookes, Dixon will this weekend be after a strong double podium to try to close his podium points deficit to Haslam.
Glenn Irwin is in a similar points situation to Brookes, sitting five points behind the Aussie in the general standings, and 4 points behind in the podium credits. However, at this moment in the season, you would say that Brookes is in a stronger position with his bike feeling compared to Irwin. However, that assumption is largely based on the results in Thruxton, a very unique circuit where tyre consumption is the most critical aspect. In comparison, Cadwell Park is more ‘normal’ – more like other British tracks – although it still has its own, very unique Cadwell Park flavour. But, considering that it was tyre wear, where Irwin fell short in Thruxton, you might assume that he will be back at the front in Cadwell Park. I suppose it’s important to remember at this point that Irwin had no speed problem in Thruxton – he set pole position – it was all in the tyre duration, which isn’t such an issue in Cadwell.
Bradley Ray. Image courtesy of Suzuki racing
After another difficult weekend in Thruxton, Bradley Ray will once again be aiming to make a podium return in Cadwell Park this weekend. The positive side is that Ray found something for his front end issues between Brands Hatch and Thruxton, and he found them in a test at Cadwell Park. With that in mind, he could be back in the lead battle this weekend, fighting for the win, but we have been expecting Ray to return to the front for a while now, so whilst the hope may be high, the expectations are somewhat more tempered. Anyway, Ray needs to get his act together if he is to make the Showdown. He is only eight points ahead of sixth-placed Danny Buchan; 15 ahead of Hickman in 7th and 33 clear of O’Halloran in 8th.
Of course, you could say that Danny Buchan needs to pull his finger out, too. But what you have to consider is that Buchan’s form of late has been on an upwards trend. His double-DNF in Thruxton was not his fault, and as another one of the “full send mountaineers” you would expect his impressive speed to continue at this track, where for once his excessive height can be something of an advantage.
Peter Hickman was pretty heroic in Thruxton, going from hospital to rostrum in all of two hours, and then doubling up a few hours after that. He finally seems to have figures out the puzzle of the 2018 Pirelli rear tyre, and at the track where he took his first BSB win back in 2014 in the pouring rain, it is entirely possible that the double 2018 Ulster Grand Prix winner (Supersport and Superbike) could make a return to the BSB top step this weekend for the first time in over one year.
We’re onto the home stretch now for the 2018 IndyCar season with just four races remaining, first of which is at the infamous ‘Tricky Triangle’, otherwise known as Pocono. The nickname has two sources of origin: firstly, it’s a very demanding and notoriously difficult track to master and secondly, it only has three corners so is triangle-shaped. Championship leader Scott Dixon has not won at Pocono since 2013 amid Penske domination at the track and has a reduced lead of 46-points in the championship over Alexander Rossi, who is yet to win at Pocono.
Rossi was the one who came out victorious at the last round at Mid-Ohio and will be looking to continue that momentum into this coming race. The #27 Andretti driver trounced the field with a two-stop strategy while everyone else was on three-stops, meaning he came home with a near 20-second advantage and trimmed Dixon’s lead down in the championship while he was at it. Dixon himself didn’t have the best of races, finding himself down in fifth after qualifying ninth, but even on his bad weekends, he’s still up there fighting for the podium places – showing just why he’s the man in the lead of the championship.
Robert Wickens continued his good form with second place while Indy 500 champion Will Power came back into play after a tough run of races with third. Josef Newgarden hung onto his championship aspirations with a fourth, he’s now 60 points back from Dixon – a large but by no means insurmountable gap.
Josef Newgarden winner at the Mid ohio race 2018. Image courtesy of Gregg Feistman/Team Penske
Moving onto Pocono now and it’s a track that has been synonymous with Penske domination over the years. Power’s taken the glory for the last two years with teammate Newgarden following him home last year. The most recent non-Penske winner was Ryan Hunter-Reay in 2015 with now ex-Penske man Juan Pablo Montoya winning the year before that. However, this year is perhaps the best chance for the rest of the field to end Penske’s Pocono stranglehold with Chip Ganassi, Andretti and Schmidt Peterson all looking threatening.
The 500-mile race is often a close one with three-wide more than plausible at all points of the track while even the smallest of touches can result in disaster, as James Hinchcliffe and JR Hildebrand found out last year with rather dramatic effect.
Away from the track, IndyCar’s silly season is kicking off again. Dixon’s signed a ‘multi-year’ deal with Chip Ganassi to extend his 17-year tenure at the team while Fernando Alonso’s decision to leave F1 means that the entire 2019 driver market is now on hold until he, and potentially McLaren, decides what to do.
Anyway, back to Pocono…
If you haven’t already guessed, Pocono is an oval course which means that qualifying is done in reserve championship order with two-lap flying runs. The ‘Tricky Triangle’ is the penultimate oval of the season with only Gateway left after this, showing just how little time there is left.
There are only a few driver changes for Pocono; Ed Carpenter is back in the #20 Ed Carpenter Racing car, taking over from Jordan King for the second to last time this season while Kyle Kaiser takes the wheel of the solo Juncos entry from Rene Binder. Conor Daly has got the Harding call up again after negotiations with Zachary Claman De Melo to race at Pocono for the team fell through. This, however, is expected to be Daly’s last race of 2018, although that could yet change.
As the last round at Sonoma is double-points, there are still 250 points on offer – excluding bonus points for pole/laps led – which means that anyone down to Ed Jones in 13th is mathematically in with a chance of the championship but, realistically, it’s between the top five of Dixon, Rossi, Newgarden, Power and Hunter-Reay although Wickens still has an outside chance. Any slip up from any of those drivers could spell disaster for their respective championship challenges so the pressure is on for the final four races to get those points in.
There’s no Mazda Road to Indy at Pocono so it’s just the IndyCar lot out on track. Practice is being streamed as usual on IndyCar’s channels but qualifying is unfortunately not. The race is live on BT Sport 2 and there will be race commentary on our Twitter channel.
The schedule for the weekend ahead looks like this…
Saturday
Practice 1 – 3:30pm
Qualifying – 6:30pm
Final Practice – 9:45pm
Patricio O’Ward, along with title rival Colton Herta, is one of the closest drivers in the whole Mazda Road to Indy programme to IndyCar with a 2018 seat firmly in the Indy Lights rookie’s sights. The Mexican is part of the Andretti family and currently leads Indy Lights, despite being one of only two rookies in the full-time field.
Emily Inganni – How is this season of Indy Lights going for you so far? Is it what you expected it to be?
Patricio O’Ward – The season has gone great so far. Honestly it is close to what I expected it to be… I knew I would have a great race car and it was just a matter of me putting everything together on the race track. And I knew I could win!
EI – As a rookie, what have you had to learn entering Indy Lights and how hard has it been to match the more experienced drivers?
PW – Almost every driver on the grid has at least double or triple the experience I have with that Indy Lights car, so I’ve been playing a little catch up and trying to learn as much as I can, especially in the ovals. But I think I got the hang of it pretty well! It hasn’t been easy, but it’s been something I have enjoyed learning and something I have enjoyed studying.
EI – With a declining number of drivers and teams, do you think Indy Lights has a problem or do you expect the numbers to go back up in years to come?
PW – I hope numbers go back up. The issue is that the championship is way too expensive. That is the issue. If prices go down, then that’s the golden key to have more cars!
EI – As a whole, do you think the Mazda Road to Indy programme is successful at getting young drivers higher up the motorsport ladder? Are there any improvements that you would like to see in the future?
PW – Road to Indy is awesome. It gives drivers, especially the champions of each category, a chance to move up to the next one. The only thing I would change is the amount of $ it costs to do each class… especially Pro Mazda and Indy Lights.
EI – Many Indy Lights drivers have made it to IndyCar before with Kaiser and Leist going up for this current season. Do you see yourself following that path?
PW – I do. I’ll hopefully be in IndyCar next year and I am more than ready for the challenge.
EI – What is the support like in a big team like Andretti? Do you get much support from the IndyCar drivers or not?
PW – I don’t see the IndyCar drivers much, but the help is always there if I need it. I just haven’t really asked around much, but the team have given me an awesome welcoming to the team and any question I have, they answer!
EI – To finish, what advice would you have for young drivers starting out in the Mazda Road to Indy or lower categories?
PW – My advice is drive the heck out of that race car every time you get in it. You never know when is the last time you will be driving it so every lap, give it all you’ve got. People will notice, and you will get a chance sooner or later with the big boys if you have got the skills.
Thanks to Patricio for answering my questions, hopefully we’ll be seeing him in IndyCar very soon! That concludes our Mazda Road to Indy series, another huge thank you to all the drivers for taking part, I hope you’ve enjoyed reading the interviews!
5. By entering this giveaway, an entrant is indicating his/her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions.
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David Malukas is fairly new to the single-seater scene and is only in his second year of the Mazda Road to Indy programme however, he’s already made it up to Pro Mazda at just 16 years old. The American took tenth in USF2000 last season, even though he missed the first four races, and is looking set for at least a top five finish with the top three only 20 points away this season in the middle class.
Emily Inganni – How has this season of Pro Mazda gone for you so far?
David Malukas – So far the season has been a rollercoaster. We’ve had so many ups and downs throughout the season so far but nonetheless it has been a big learning curve for me and the team.
Image courtesy of David Malukas
EI – How hard has it been to adapt to Pro Mazda as a rookie?
DM – Coming from the USF2000 series the Pro Mazda is a big difference. It has a lot more downforce and grip throughout the car making the driving style a lot different from the USF2000 car. Luckily, we were able to test the car quite a bit before the season started to get a feel for it.
Image courtesy of David Malukas
EI – What made you decide to move up to Pro Mazda rather than do another season in USF2000?
DM – Throughout my racing career my plan has always been to move up to the next class as soon as possible. The reason for it is because I end up racing against a higher level of drivers making me learn and advance quicker.
EI – Do you have any plans for next season yet? Do you want to stay in Pro Mazda or move elsewhere?
DM – Well as usual my plan is to continue to move up the ladder with no stops so moving up to Indy Lights isn’t out of question.
Image courtesy of David Malukas
EI – What do you think of the Mazda Road to Indy programme? Is it a good organisation for young drivers from what you’ve seen so far?
DM – 100% the Mazda Road to Indy program is absolutely incredible for young drivers to succeed and make their dreams come true of becoming an IndyCar driver.
EI – What’s it like, as a young driver, to be in the IndyCar paddock? Do you see much of the IndyCar drivers?
DM – It is very cool to be able to walk through the paddock and see how professionally operated everything is. I personally haven’t had the chance to speak to one of the IndyCar drivers, but I have seen them driving around on their mopeds, so hopefully one day I’ll be the one driving the moped.
Image courtesy of David Malukas
EI – What got you into racing in the first place and where is your end goal?
DM – It all started when I went with my dad to a local go kart track in South Bend, IN. I drove my first kid-kart and ended up really enjoying and continued to go. After some time, I got noticed by Brent Ebert, who wanted to help me on the coaching side and from there I went to my first professional go-kart race and within time I succeeded and followed the ladder up to where I am now. Like most drivers, my goal is to make it to Indy 500.
EI – Lastly, what advice would you give to karters starting their racing careers?
DM – Once you’ve gotten good in the class you’re in, make sure to keep moving up as soon as possible so that you could be surrounded by better drivers and learn quicker.
A huge thank you to David for taking part in the interview! The last interview of the series will be published tomorrow so keep an eye out!
The Czech Moto2 Grand Prix was the best of the season – by far. The battle between Miguel Oliveira and Luca Marini was stunning, with the pair swapping positions many times in the last laps.
Start of the Moto2 race at the Redbull Ring. Image courtesy of HondaProRacing
But the Austrian Grand Prix went a step further. This time it was Marini’s teammate, Francesco Bagnaia, who fought Oliveira for the win, and eventually the Italian came out on top in what was a stunning battle, with obvious differences between the riding styles of the two riders, and the characteristics of their two machines. Oliveira had supreme mid-corner speed, and was strong on corner exit, too, but Bagnaia’s entry speed was incredible, nearly hitting Oliveira’s rear tyre on several occasions, but somehow the pair never came to blows.
The last lap rolled around, Oliveira leading Bagnaia, and the Italian’s move was obvious. The #42 had made a move for the lead several times into turn nine, the penultimate corner, and really it was the only place he could be close enough such was Oliveira’s corner exit speed. Sure enough, he made his move in T9, and whilst he had run wide on previous laps, on this occasion he managed to hold it tighter, and Oliveira’s response was a much tougher one to pull off than in previous laps. The Portuguese had to lunge Bagnaia, his rear tyre coming off the floor, and so it was simple enough for the Italian to square him off and out-drag him to the line.
Bagnaia leading Oliveira at the Redbull Ring 2018. Image courtesy of HondaProRacing
It was Bagnaia’s fifth win of the season, and took him back to the top of the standings, reclaiming the championship lead he lost in Brno, by three points. Furthermore, it was an important win for Bagnaia since it was the first proper duel between the two championship rivals, and psychological benefits he will take from that will be felt for time to come.
For Oliveira – and KTM – it was a disappointing result, in the end. Oliveira had the early advantage, as Bagnaia ran wide in the first corner and lost a second or so to Miguel, and a position to Jorge Navarro. This gave Oliveira the jump, but he was unable to keep that advantage. Despite this, he was able to be fast enough in the right areas to keep Bagnaia behind, and respond to any passes that the Italian put on him. Unfortunately for Miguel, the only pass he couldn’t respond too was the one from Bagnaia on the final lap, costing him and KTM the victory in KTM’s home track. Still, he is only three points back in the championship, so has everything to play for in the remaining eight rounds.
Six seconds back of the lead battle was the fight for the final podium spot, Luca Marini finally coming out on top. It was a tough race for Marini – a tough weekend, in fact. He had been struggling with rear tyre life all weekend, but a change in warm up improved his used tyre pace. This enabled him to fight from his grid position of 10th to fight for the podium. That fight was with Mattia Pasini and Alex Marquez, and a late pass on Marquez was what earned Marini the podium. Marquez tried to fight back in the final corner, but ran on and crashed on the concrete kerb in the run-off zone. This brought a flashback to the MotoGP race of last year, as Marini threw a left hand in frustration with Marquez’s move. Fortunately for the number 10, his run out of the last corner was not hampered enough to allow Pasini past, and Marini duly took his third consecutive podium, and gave Sky VR46 their second double podium in two races.
Pasini took fourth place. He wanted the podium, of course, but opted to take as few risks as possible after crashing a lot in the last races. This fourth place was Pasini’s best ride since his win in Argentina back in round two, and hopefully for the Italian it will trigger a return to form.
Alex Marquez, Mattia Pasini and Luca Marini. Image courtesy of HondaProRacing
Jorge Navarro’s best weekend of the season culminated in an impressive fifth place. Navarro is currently on the job search for 2019, so he needed this result, and beating the factory KTM of Brad Binder (6th) by half a second was certainly impressive for the Spaniard.
Marcel Schrotter was a further two tenths behind the South African, and yet again was unable to translate impressive pace through the weekend into a podium come race time.
Despite a searing start, coming from 20th to 7th in just two laps, Joan Mir was unable to continue that hot pace, ending the race in a distant eighth place. At a track where he was so dominant in Moto3, it was disappointing to see Mir struggle so much in the race last weekend.
Fabio Quartararo’s race was ruined in turn one. He had contact with Bagnaia which sent the pair of them wide, but also sent Quartararo back to 20th. He finally came through to ninth, which was quite an impressive comeback from the MotoGP bound Frenchman.
Iker Lecuona rounded out the top ten. His weekend was tainted by a crash in FP2 where he took out Miguel Oliveira in turn one, but another top ten for the Spaniard is positive after a tough period with the Swiss Innovative Investors KTM team.
Fabio Quartararo, Ramno Fenati, Stefano Manzi and Danny Kent at The Redbull Ring 2018. Image courtesy of HondaProRacing
There was just one tenth between Lecuona and eleventh placed Romano Fenati, whilst twelfth place Danny Kent was a further second back.
Six seconds further back was Andrea Locatelli, who was 4.5 in front of Stefano Manzi, who showed what is possible when he stays on his Forward Racing Suter. Meanwhile, Tetsuta Nagashima rounded out the points finisher.
Sixteenth went to Khairul Idham Pawi, ahead of Dominique Aegerter, Steven Odendaal, Joe Roberts and Jules Danilo who rounded out the top twenty.
Niki Tuuli was 21st, ahead of Bo Bendsneyder, Isaac Vinales on his Forward Racing debut; then came Alejandro Medina, Xavi Cardelus and Lorenzo Baldassarri who crashed early on but re-mounted.
Augusto Fernandez and Simone Corsi were also involved with that Baldassarri crash, and were both lucky to not be hit by riders behind. Remy Gardner, Federico Fuligni, Sam Lowes and Alex Marquez were the other retirements.
After the news that Fernando Alonso will be leaving McLaren at the end of the season, on has to ask; how on earth the Woking team will fill the boots of one of the most enigmatic and talented drivers that Formula One has ever seen.
Alonso has provided a racing know-how that took the car to greater levels than were expected, and frankly, he has made the team look an awful lot better than it really is. Frustratingly for McLaren, the arrival of Renault engines to their car has provided little more than Honda did for three abysmal years, which has bought about the valid suggestion that perhaps it has been the team at fault all along, which has thus frustrated Alonso.
With someone like Alonso in the car, points finishes can still be achieved, but as Stoffel Vandoorne has proven, the car is not a legitimate points scorer, and it most certainly is not a car that gives any kind of indication or even any hope that success will return to MTC any time soon.
Of course, if you’re in the Belgian’s shoes, there’s absolutely no shame in being out-done by a legend like Alonso, but the fragilities of the McLaren-Renault are highlighted every race weekend, which has been the cause of much frustration for him as well as Alonso let’s not forget.
Losing Alonso will have a big effect on the team; they’re losing one of, if not the best to ever have raced in the sport, and the quality of the Spaniard, which at times paper-covered the enormous cracks in their performance, is sure to further expose the lack of harmony between the chassis and the engine, which has already been glaringly obvious even with Alonso in the team
Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary. Saturday 28 July 2018. Zak Brown, Executive Director, McLaren Technology Group, and Gil de Ferrarn, Sporting Director, McLaren. Photo: Glenn Dunbar/McLaren ref: Digital Image _X4I1271
However, is there light at the end of the tunnel? Well, when we say that Alonso’s enigmatic, that didn’t half bring pressure upon McLaren’s shoulders. There have been an awful lot of occasions since 2015 in which Alonso has savagely slated the Honda engine, making the team look disjointed and putting his team in a position where they really have no choice but to stand with him in squabbling with the engine supplier. Now of course, Alonso was not the reason for the problems, but if we have to be honest here, his complaining on team radio has never helped his team.
What happens with Vandoorne now? His future has been cast into doubt amongst the media, but this news may well just aid the Belgian in terms of keeping his seat in the orange car, and now that the superhuman Alonso will be leaving, we will get to see Vandoorne stand out as himself, rather than compared to such a great.
Who replaces Alonso? There are two main candidates: Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris. Sainz has learned this summer that he will lose his seat at Renault to the incoming Daniel Ricciardo from Red Bull – there was even speculation at some stage that Alonso was to make a sensational move to the Austrian team. Sainz, who is a good friend to compatriot Alonso, would surely much prefer to trade places with Ricciardo and move to Red Bull, but if this becomes an impossibility, McLaren would undoubtedly see Sainz as a brilliant replacement for Alonso. However, Lando Norris has been one of the most promising rising stars in all of motorsport in the last few years, and he is currently second in the Formula 2 championship for Carlin Racing; the young British driver has been nurtured as a young talent for McLaren up until now, and he will certainly see this as the perfect opportunity to move into Formula One and make a name for himself, perhaps even to surpass Fernando Alonso’s talent.
Either way, Alonso is going to leave a gaping hole in this McLaren team, which will inauspiciously add to the concerning amount of holes that already exist, and there are lot of unknowns for this brand new chapter for the McLaren Formula One Team.
Fernando Alonso is one of the most highly regarded drivers in F1 but, after a torrid four years with McLaren, he’s finally called it quits on the sport he loved so dearly. Now, let’s get one thing straight; this is, by no means, a retirement from Alonso, the guy lives and breathes racing and will certainly continue for many years to come… just not in F1.
In truth, this announcement has been coming for a long time. Alonso has the habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time when it comes to teams and his last venture with McLaren was certainly that. The well-documented but doomed partnership with Honda caused the first three years of misery for Alonso while this current season put the final nail in his F1 coffin when the team were unable to live up to expectations following a switch to Renault.
Moving away from McLaren but staying in F1 was never really an option for Alonso either, sure there was a bit of speculation around the Red Bull seat and a few blind hopes that he might return to Ferrari but really, the only place that would have him was McLaren. Despite mellowing in his latter years in F1, Alonso spent the best part of a career burning bridges and inadvertently making this stretch of his career much harder – the doors-off-hinges malarkey at McLaren in 2007 did nothing for his reputation while the Ferrari years left him being portrayed as ‘grumpy’ and ‘difficult to work with’.
It was not always this way for the Spaniard, he is, after all, a two-time world champion. Once upon a time he was the whiz kid, the young upstart, the driver that would be the one to beat the all-dominant Schumacher. That, he did. Alonso claimed both the 2005 and 2006 world titles before moving to McLaren for 2007 to partner F1’s new hope, Lewis Hamilton. We all know how that story went, what with the massive fall-outs and scandals resulting in Alonso sulking off back to Renault and so on.
This stint back at the Enstone team wasn’t nearly as successful and only resulted in two wins, one of which was as a result of ‘crash-gate’ but we won’t open that can of worms again now…
If you look at Alonso’s first year with McLaren in 2007 combined with his 2010 and 2012 seasons with Ferrari, he missed out on all those titles by a total of eight points. Just eight points difference would’ve made him a five-time world champion. That just shows that the record books don’t tell half the story when it comes to Alonso!
Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary. Saturday 28 July 2018. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, puts on his helmet in the garage. Photo: Steven Tee/McLaren ref: Digital Image _2ST0511
But, with all that behind him, what’s next for a rather frustrated Alonso?
The best bet is by far and away IndyCar. 37-year old Alonso has long said that he wishes to complete the unofficial ‘Triple Crown’ of motorsport – Indy 500, Le Mans 24 Hours and Monaco GP. Of these three, Alonso has two after winning Monaco twice in 2006 and 2007 before taking the Le Mans 24 Hours victory on his first attempt with Toyota earlier this year. The only one missing for him is the Indy 500 which he attempted in 2017 to no avail.
With the new universal aero kits in IndyCar, doing the Indy 500 as a one-off, as Alonso did in 2017, and being competitive is a lot harder, meaning that if Alonso wants to stand a chance at drinking the milk, he needs to do the full season. 2016 IndyCar Series champion, Simon Pagenaud, has said that he thinks it would take Alonso three years to get up to speed and win a championship, referring to title-contender Alexander Rossi, who’s in his third season of IndyCar after a spell in F1, as a prime example.
A sticking point surrounding all this could be Honda. After numerous media attacks at the manufacturer following their time together in F1, Honda might not be so willing to accept Alonso with open arms however, the huge potential for media coverage and success may well outweigh any pre-standing grudges. The biggest problem is that Alonso’s under contract with Toyota for WEC, and you can’t imagine them being overly pleased at Alonso driving for one of their biggest rivals.
The way around this problem would be Alonso driving for a Chevrolet-powered team, such as Penske, and it would be a viable solution for the Spaniard because they’re just as competitive and just about every team manager on the grid will be phoning him up, so he’s got the pick of the lot!
Another option for Alonso would be to take a step back and just do the remainder of the Super-Season with Toyota in WEC however, given that’s only three races in 2019, that’s probably not the most appealing option for Alonso – who would be racing every weekend if he could.
It won’t take long for Alonso to tell the world what he plans to do next season given he’s almost certainly already made that decision, at least in himself. He’s got the entire IndyCar silly season on pause and has left some large, if expected, shockwaves in F1 but the world will keep turning without him there and soon, his void will be filled by another.
Wherever he ends up going, Alonso will be met with a huge amount of support and will provide a huge boost to the given series but, most of all, he will be hungry of victory, for wins, for championships…
