There’s no doubting Fernando Alonso’s speed and tenacity as a grand prix driver. But when it comes to career choices, the Spanish star has seemingly squandered his potential with a number of ill-advised moves.
His recent decision to abandon Ferrari for McLaren and its new engine partner Honda in 2015 is the latest mistake, as Ferrari is now the only challenger to Mercedes-Benz and the Honda engine is slow and unreliable.
His last championship win, in 2006, seems an age ago…
Alonso vented his frustration during last weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal. After being told on the team radio to conserve fuel, Alonso responded with, “I don’t want. I don’t want.”
He was already towards the back of the field and feeling the effects of a struggling engine that would later force him into a third consecutive retirement.
Alonso later added, “You are fighting and then you get to a group of cars where some people catch you and they are faster than you. You look like an amateur driver and that’s not good.”
It’s easy to understand Alonso’s frustration. On driving talent alone, he should be challenging Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, Sebastian Vettel and co. for race wins. But Formula One doesn’t work like that. And since his championship double with Renault a decade ago, Alonso has jumped around from a controversial season with McLaren, to an unsuccessful return to Renault, to five seasons of frustration at Ferrari before the surprise return to McLaren.
Approaching his 34th birthday, Alonso knows time is running out for a third championship. McLaren Honda has a long way to go to produce a competitive and reliable package, given its slow start to 2015 and the restrictions of manufacturers.
With McLaren Honda likely to need a couple of more seasons yet to develop a winning engine, especially with the uncertainty over the future technical regulations of the sport from 2017, will Alonso still be around to reap the rewards?
So what should he do given the ticking time clock of his career? Alonso has been one of the most vocal critics of Formula One’s current state of play, where tyre, fuel and energy conservation are more important than full-attack mode.
Alonso had been linked with a sportscar move and possible one-off appearance for Porsche at the upcoming Le Mans 24 hours, which was reportedly thwarted by Honda.
As Alonso watches fellow Formula One driver Nico Hulkenberg race at Le Mans instead, one wonders if he will decide once and for all that there are better opportunities to show his skills outside of grand prix racing.
Unless the McLaren Honda shows some signs of improvements in the coming races, Alonso may very well decide to turn his back on Formula One.
james barton
Guest
(Theory) Alonso will leave mclaren for renault. Honda will pay mclaren to exit contract and ron will go cap in hand to mercedes for engines in exchange for putting pascal wehrlein in mclaren with jenson button
james barton
Guest
(Theory) Alonso will leave mclaren for renault. Honda will pay mclaren exit contract and ron will go cap in hand to mercedes for engines in exchange for putting pascal wehrlein in mclaren with jenson button
David Nyirenda
Guest
F1 is now so boring that it is unthinkable that the FIA talks of changes of rules in 2017. This is ridiculous. Let me to go to Mclaren Honda situation. The fact is that they don't have a solution to their problems. All teams last year were new to this kind of engine and technology, yet none had had recurrent of bad experiences as Mclaren Honda have today. It is the same issues on over 15 occasions. If one fails 15 times on the same issue do you think he will pass through the sixteenth time. No ways. By the way how many times have they changed parts and how many of those have worked. Almost none. If you think Iam lying lets wait for next race and if there will be no repeat of the same issues. I feel sorry for ALONSO
Trent Price
Roar Guru
Ironically, with drivers not being pushed like they were five years ago, Alonso's career could extend well into his late thirties - should he choose to do so. Even Hamilton experienced a 6 year drought and now some writers are talking of a challenge to Schumacher's championship tally! The pendulum of opinion in Formula One has a tendency to shift faster than than a sequential gearbox.
Tarv Virk
Guest
Alonso is by far the best driver in F1, he's been unlucky with his cars, but even when he's in a not so good car he drags it near to the front, but at the moment the McLaren is probably the worst car of them all, he shouldn't give up F1 he's to good for that, as soon as he gets a good car everyone won't say a word, just remember he is the best.
Mike Watson
Guest
He should stay with it, they Will come good and be very good.
herbert wilson
Guest
Still the best currently in F1. The dunderhead greedy bastards who "run" F1 are the problem. No French, German and soon Italian GP-- this is the end of our sport. Given away to sandy rich guys dump countries,, we are mad, !
David Nyirenda
Guest
I thought engineering is an exact science, but it appears Honda are doing trial and error. He should have calculated what top speed they would require, what horse power would be required to get that target. Even if you give 10 years there will be no improvement. The problems that they experience now are not new. They first experienced them last year in Abu Dhabhi. They experienced them during the three test seasons and they continued to experience in the all the seven races. Formula 1 is not existing as it used to be. It is not about fast drivers. It is about tyres, fuel and energy recoveries. It is very boring. If I were a head of state of one of the countries holding the races I could have banned it in my country.
SM
Guest
How on earth was his Ferrari stint a mistake? Runner-up on three out of those five years, and only being beaten due to Ferrari's lack of development towards the end of the 2010 and 2012 seasons. I do have to agree with Martin Brundle on being more than surprised at how poor Honda have still been to this point in the season. But then, the rules on in-season testing are absurd (as with many things in GP racing these days) so it was always going to be difficult to make up ground. On another point, broadcasting team radio is silly and adds nothing beneficial to the spectacle. It should be done away with.
DVB78
Guest
I don't think Alonso moved for money - he was just fed up of finishing 2nd!!! It's after he had decided to leave, that Ferrari made the wholesale changes and have made a step forward. Having said that, remaining at Ferrari would still have meant being 3rd this season, as they are still well behind Mercedes
Simoc
Guest
Alonso made the McLaren move for Honda money. The way this season has panned out so far was a probability, not a possibility. However given their history and what Merc are saying about the Honda engine, Honda are likely to be on the speed next season and winning shortly there-after. Honda and Mercedes will pull out of F1 if engine development doesn't continue as at present. That is the reason they are involved. Already Mercedes are putting the new KERS technology into their next release of road vehicles. We just need decent tyres on the F1 cars so they can race rather than preserve. And that isn't about to happen anytime soon.
Jason Crawford
Roar Rookie
I am not sure he needs to consider walking away from Formula 1 at this stage. It was always going to be a development year with the new engine. If he signed with McLaren expecting anything less then a tough season that is entirely on him and a huge mistake. He has been in the sport long enough to know how it works, how long it takes to develop an engine. If this McLaren/Honda partnership is going to work it is more a 2 to 3 year proposition. This year can only be used to gauge the improvement that is made, which is not only going to be in the form of race results.
Steve
Guest
Don't know about Alonso, but Daniel Ricciardo needs top get out of the Red Bull, its seems to be a dog this season with a poor engine.
Jubileepuff
Guest
Go back to Ferrari