Fernando Alonso

30th August 201731st August 2017

Why Fernando Alonso could end up in Indycar in 2018

Fernando Alonso in IndyCar for 2018? What was impossible to think a few weeks ago, is getting pretty serious after the Belgian GP. Now it seems to be, that a year out in the indycar series could be the last chance for the two time world champion to get a competitive car in F1.

Hungaroring, Budapest, Hungary. .
Sunday 30 July 2017.
Fernando Alonso, McLaren.
Photo: Steven Tee/McLaren
ref: Digital Image _R3I4275

Currently these are not just serious weeks for McLaren (article is incoming in the next two days) – but also their star driver is facing a tough few weeks of decisions, probably on the destiny of his career.

After a solid performance for McLaren-Honda in the Hungarian GP back at the end of July, everyone was sure that a extension of the McLaren-contract was only few weeks away. But now, after the Belgian GP everything looks different.

After more engine problems in Saturday’s Qualifying, everyone thought about points when the Spaniard was running P7 after a tremendously strong start. But again, a few laps into the race the Honda Powerunit showed the poor performance on the long straight.

Alonso got passed car by car on every lap and his radio messages were angrier then ever before. In the end he pulled the car into the garage, after he told the team that he had some engine problems.

The media reported after the race, that he pulled the car into the garage on purpose. Honda said on Monday, that they didn’t find any problems on the power unit. The suspicion gets stronger when you listen to the team radio, before he reported the engine problems – In that team radio Alonso asked engineer Mark Temple if there was any rain coming. After receiving a negation of his question, the Spaniard told the box “engine problem, engine problem”.

Options for Alonso look slim, after Ferrari extended the contracts of both drivers into 2018 for Räikkonen and until 2020 for Vettel, and the extension of Bottas’ Mercedes contract looks as good as safe. Renault’s team boss Cyris Abiteboul indicates that the french team, isn’t currently the right location for the two time world champion. “There is one thing, i don’t want: A frustrating Fernando in a Renault.”

Next to stay with McLaren, who are probably getting forced to hold the Honda engine in 2018, the spanish driver doesn’t have many options. “My market value was never higher”, he told the media after the race on sunday. “I will win next year, no matter where i am”, he told the media before the summer break.”

But what does he mean with that?

Sabbaticalyear from F1 – Going to Indycar?

If we piece the puzzle together, there is one realistic option that is available for Alonso. And this is the Indycar series. Why? Here are some points:

Winning car with Andretti

If Alonso will go to the indycar series, he will get the spare place on the Andretti team for sure – the team that he competed alongside McLaren in the indy500 with in May. Andretti is one of the best teams in the series and with Takuma Sato they have also the current Indy500 winner in the team. Honda also resolved the engine problems that stopped Alonso at this maiden race a few laps before the end – and differently to F1, they have the best engine.

Popularity in the USA

In the whole month of May, starting with his first test with the indycar, Alonso was getting more popular on every event. Hundreds of autographs and fans stood there cheering for the McLaren-Honda-Andretti team from the grandstands. The Spaniard admitted a few days after the race, that he enjoyed the warm welcome to the world of the Indycar series, because he got respect from every side, from the other teams, drivers, fans and media. “Thats different in F1” he said.

New try at the Indy500

With a full season of Indycar, Alonso could attend the Indy500 directly, and with a high chance again with McLaren. He could give the whole story another go – Something he could only try in some years again, if he stays in F1, because the Monaco GP will again collide with the Indy500 in 2018.

Most competitive driver

The Indy500 showed that Alonso is not only able to impress with an F1 car. The Spaniard in his current form in F1, could possibly let his driving skills shine, in a series where the drivers are most of the time more important than the cars.

The best option for McLaren

For McLaren this scenario would be also a good one providing that they are forced to stick with Honda in 2018. It would be much easier to look at 2018 and give Honda a last chance of building a stronger engine package, without the pressure of staying with Alonso. A driver replacement for one year could be Jenson Button, for example. Alonso stays with Andretti in the Honda family and could stay in touch with the woking based team.

F1-Comeback in 2019

The most important point is, that Alonso also has the opportunity to come back into F1, probably stronger than he is now. In 2018 he could also wait and see if Honda (if they will stay with McLaren) get their problems solved – if now, he could use other options. The contract from Lewis Hamilton expires at the end of 2018 and also Renaults goal is, to be fighting for victories and the championship in 2019. The two time world champion could see the whole evolution of the driver market from a relaxed point of view from the USA and decide than what he wants, without risking another year of driving in the midfield.

It will be another cracking decision at McLaren in the weeks to come. We will have to wait and see!

30th August 201731st August 2017

Warum Fernando Alonso 2018 in der Indycar Serie fahren könnte.

Fernando Alonso 2018 in der Indycar-Serie? Vor wenigen Wochen hielten wir das noch für verrückt. Nun könnte gerade das die letzte Möglichkeit für Alonso sein, in der F1 wieder an siegfähiges Material zu kommen.

Das Schicksal des zweimaligen Weltmeisters Fernando Alonso ist ungewiss. Glaubten viele nach dem Ungarn GP, dass der Verbleib vom Spanier bei McLaren nur noch Formsache sei, schwenkte das Pendel nach dem Belgien Wochenende in die andere Richtung und die Frustration des 36-jährigen Altmeisters erreichte ein neuen Höhepunkt, als er nach einem grandiosen Start reihenweise beim Rennen in den Ardennen überholt wurde.

Nachdem Ferrari beide Fahrer für 2018 bestätigte und die Vertragsverlängerung von Valterri Bottas nur noch Formsache ist, blitzt Alonso nun auch nach den neuesten Aussagen von Teamchef Cyril Abiteboul bei Renault ab. “Es gibt eine Sache, die ich nicht möchte: Einen frustrierten Fernando in einem Renault zu haben”.

Neben einem Verbleib bei McLaren, denen voraussichtlich 2018 nichts anderes übrig bleibt, als mit Motorenpartner Honda weiter zu machen, gehen Alonso gute Optionen in der F1 aus. “Ich hatte noch nie einen so hohen Marktwert”, zeigte sich der Spanier in Belgien entspannt. Die Außenstehenden fragen sich: Was meint er damit?

Sabbatical-Jahr in der Indycar Serie?

Alonso betonte immer wieder, dass er 2018 gewinnen würde, egal was passiert. Fügt man alle Puzzleteile zusammen, ist das realistische Bild neben einem McLaren Verbleib ein Jahr Auszeit in der Indycar Serie. Warum?

Siegfähiges Material bei Andretti.

Würde Alonso in die Indycar-Serie wechseln, würde er natürlich den freien Platz beim Andretti Team, mit dem er bei den Indy500 teilnahm, bekommen. Andretti ist einer der besten Teams in der Indycar Serie und mit Takuma Sato stellt der Amerikanische Rennstall von Rennsportlegende Mario Andretti auch den aktuellen Indy500 Sieger. Honda hat die Motorenprobleme, welche Alonso im Mai bei den Indy500 stoppten mittlerweile in den Griff bekommen und anders als in der Formel 1, hat man aktuell den wohl besten Motor.

Erneute Teilnahme am Indy500

Mit einer Indycar Saison würde Alonso auch direkt am Indy500 teilnehmen können, dann sogar wieder zusammen mit McLaren. Er könnte sein Ziel, dort zu gewinnen erneut versuchen.

Indy500 zeigte: Alonso ist konkurrenzfähig

Das Indy500 zeigte außerdem, dass Alonso nicht nur F1 fahren kann. Der Spanier würde in seiner aktuellen F1-Form in der Indycar-Serie möglicherweise noch besser zurecht kommen, als er es im Mai getan hatte.

F1-Comeback 2019

Der weitaus wichtigere Punkt ist aber, dass Alonso wohl sofort die Möglichkeit hätte, in die F1 zurückzukommen. 2018 könnte er abwarten ob Honda sich in der F1 doch noch mit McLaren fängt – Sollte das nicht der Fall sein hat er weitaus bessere Optionen als aktuell. Der Vertrag von Hamilton bei Mercedes läuft aus, während es Renaults Plan ist, 2019 Siege einzufahren und um die WM zu kämpfen. Der Spanier könnte sich in diesem Falll also entspannt aus den USA ansehen, wie sich die Lage auf dem Fahrermarkt entwickelt und dann die bestmöglichste Entscheidung treffen, ohne ein weiteres Jahr hinterherfahren zu riskieren.

Das Beste für McLaren

Doch auch für McLaren wäre dieses Szenario das Beste von allen, vorausgesetzt wenn man dazu gezwungen wird, 2018 Honda als Partner zu behalten. Man könnte Motorenpartner Honda nochmal eine letzte Chance geben, ohne voreilige Schlüsse zu ziehen. Als Pilot könnte man beispielsweise Jenson Button nochmal für ein Jahr aus der Rente holen.

Man darf gespannt sein, welche Entscheidung um den Spanier in den nächsten Wochen fallen wird. Fakt ist: Seine Optionen sind begrenzt.

11th August 2017

Fernando Alonso – A little column about the all time greatest

While the last race weekend on the Hungarian GP showed us again, why Fernando Alonso is still one of the best drivers on the grid, the Spaniard turned 36. A good reason for me to look at the driver and show what makes him so special.

I won’t lie: Fernando Alonso is my favourite F1 driver, and maybe some of the things that I’m about to say are not from a neutral point of view.

But the fact that he is my favourite driver was not always true. I didn’t cheer for him in his championship years, because i didn’t watch F1 (unfortunately) back in those days. So i will start with the time when I started watching F1, and this was at the middle of 2009.

As a Ferrari fan back in the days of 2009 and 2010, a dream came true when the Spaniard joined the Prancing Horse.

I remember many people who didn’t like him back in this time. Even many Ferrari fans were very critical about the decision, to take Kimi Räikkönen out and let Alonso drive there.

But Fernando showed the Tifosi and the world very soon why Ferrari was right to catch him. With the first win on his first race for the Italian team he was was the new star. But I think, with his win in Monza, Italy, in front of all the Tifosi, every Ferrari fan back then starting to cheering for him. He was the new star after Michael Schumacher and until today one of the most popular Ferrari drivers of all time.

I don’t want to rewrite the whole Ferrari story, because we all know how it’s gone back in then.

But i want to write something about 2012. For me the 2012 season was a very special one. I don’t know why, but what Alonso did then was magical. Let’s be real: the F2012 was a very poor car at the start of the season. But like today Fernando did everything possible to keep the title hopes for him and Ferrari alive.

With the win from nowhere in the rain in Sepang he showed again his brilliant driving skills in difficult conditions. And after Ferrari starting to understand the car and improved it with an massive update at the in-season tests in Mugello before the Spanish GP, Alonso was always there.

Especially his magic win at the European Grand Prix in Valencia, in front of his home crowd, was just mind blowing. Sure, the win wouldn’t would have been a win without the failures of Vettel’s Red Bull or Grosjean’s Lotus. But whoever saw the race live will know that Alonso’s moves starting from eleventh were brilliant. Overtaking several cars at the start, he moved his way through the field. The win at the end was just amazing and—for me—with Kimi Räikkönen and Michael Schumacher on the podium, it was the best race ever.

Unfortunately in Hungary, exactly five years ago, Ferrari started to drop back in pace. At this time Alonso lead the Drivers’ Championship by forty points from Mark Webber. The second half of the season after the summer break was a nightmare for every Ferrari fan and fans of the Spanish driver. Two pointless races in Belgium and Japan and a dominant Red Bull/Vettel combination made it possible to turn Alonso’s points lead into nothing.

We all know the dramatic season final in Sao Paulo 2012: Vettel’s crash on the start, the hope for all the Tifosi and then the disappointment of losing another title within two years.

We also all know how Alonso and Ferrari fell apart in 2014. And we all know how much worse his partnership with McLaren and Honda went.

But nevertheless, Alonso always showed his skills and his talent, the same as since his first year in F1 with Minardi. The difference between Fernando and the other top drivers on the grid, is the simple fact that he has never had a really poor year coming from him.

He has always been competitive. With the V10 engines, with the V8 engines and now with the V6 engines; with Michelin, with Bridgestone and with Pirelli tyres. With a bad car or a good car; in an F1 car or on an IndyCar. On a dry or on a wet track. He always shows his skills, and no matter what happens he is always there.

And I think his last three years with McLaren-Honda showed much more of the “human” Alonso. It reminds me how Michael Schumacher was getting much more popular in his Mercedes years, because he made the best of his situation back in the disappointing years.

And in the same way, Alonso has showed his patience in the last three years. I don’t know many people who don’t want to see him back on the top. When he came to the autograph session on my first live Grand Prix in Austria few weeks ago, the people went crazy—more than for any other driver.

For me it was a special moment to see my childhood idol next in front of me and it is still a little bit unreal. But that’s another story.

I’m more than certain that we will see Fernando Alonso at the top again someday. And I’m also sure that he will stay in Formula 1, fighting like a Samurai who will never surrender. As he said few months ago: he will not turn away from the F1 stage, without being competitive again.