Breaking news
Formula 1
Alonso stay "very likely" if McLaren switches to Renault - Brown
McLaren believes it is "very likely" Fernando Alonso will stay with the team in Formula 1 next year if it switches from Honda to Renault engines.
Glenn Freeman
Edited: Sep 3, 2017, 4:04 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The team is expected to reach a final decision on its future with Honda this week, with speculation growing that it will switch to Renault power.
Alonso's three-year contract with McLaren expires at the end of this year, and with limited seats available elsewhere on the grid, his future is at the centre of discussion around the driver market.
When asked by Sky Sports what the chances were of McLaren keeping Alonso if it switches to Renault engines, its executive director Zak Brown said: "Very likely, very likely.
"Fernando loves the team, he's as passionate as ever to drive. There's been some reports about [going to] IndyCar and things of that nature – he wants to be in Formula 1."
Brown believes McLaren has a chance of retaining Alonso even if it sticks with Honda for next year.
"He just wants us to be in a competitive situation, and I wouldn't rule him out if things stay status quo," he added.
"With the stuff that we are seeing, that we're going to review further this week, I wouldn't say it's a forgone conclusion if we continue with Honda that he doesn't continue with us.
"We need to get more competitive. This weekend showed we're just really not making any significant progress. How long can you wait before you have upset drivers, upset partners, upset fans?
"Everyone is hanging in there with us but it can't go on forever."
Alonso said after the race that McLaren's engine decision was "not the most important thing" influencing what he will do for next year.
"Many news are coming in the next weeks and hopefully all of them will be useful to me to make a decision," he said.
"I'll keep looking at what options are there for next year, I need to study all of them and make a decision.
"We know what that [Renault] engine could do – Red Bull did five, six consecutive podiums, and we know what Mercedes could do as well with Force India this year, Williams on the first row of the grid [at Monza].
"So we know what are the options, we need to make a decision. We need to concentrate more on next year, not this year's results.
"It's an important week, for McLaren to make some decisions, and hopefully we'll all know something before Singapore so we can comment on it there."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Stroll regrets "devastating" error that turned his race
Next article "Villain" Hamilton unfazed by Ferrari fans' booing
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Glenn Freeman
F1 2019 game to allow official driver transfers
Esports
Esports Jun 21, 2019
F1 2019 game to allow official driver transfers
Albon keeps Toro Rosso on top in morning of Day 4
Formula 1
Formula 1
Barcelona February testing
Feb 21, 2019
Albon keeps Toro Rosso on top in morning of Day 4
Raikkonen fastest for Alfa on third morning of F1 test
Formula 1
Formula 1
Barcelona February testing
Feb 20, 2019
Raikkonen fastest for Alfa on third morning of F1 test
More from
Fernando Alonso
F1 driver contracts: How long is each driver tied down for?
Formula 1
Formula 1 22 h
F1 driver contracts: How long is each driver tied down for?
Who slept worst last night: Fernando Alonso
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
4 d
Who slept worst last night: Fernando Alonso
More from
McLaren
What's behind Oscar Piastri's split with Mark Webber – and what it means for his F1 career
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
4 d
What's behind Oscar Piastri's split with Mark Webber – and what it means for his F1 career
Latest news
Carson Hocevar and Cleetus McFarland win LeMullets 2026 in epic finish
General
Misc General 3 h
Carson Hocevar and Cleetus McFarland win LeMullets 2026 in epic finish
TV ratings released for NASCAR Cup season finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
10 h
TV ratings released for NASCAR Cup season finale
Chase Elliott's car chief leaves Hendrick for NASCAR Truck crew chief role
NASCAR Truck
NSTR NASCAR Truck
Homestead
11 h
Chase Elliott's car chief leaves Hendrick for NASCAR Truck crew chief role
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe