OUTGOING Formula 1 great Fernando Alonso has spoken publicly for the first time since he and his Toyota team-mates won the Silverstone 6-Hour race and then being disqualified within hours.
The twice-world champion, who announced this week that he would be retiring rom Formula 1 at the end of the current season, says he is 'fresh and motivated' to continue and is looking forward to this Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix.
After winning the Spa 6-Hour and Le Mans 24-Hour, team Toyota's No 8 car – driven by Alonso, France's Sebastien Buemi and Japan's Kazuki Nakajima – were already in the lead in the world championship standings and would have made it a hat-trick with Silverstone, having won all three WEC races to date.
And Toyota's No 7 car, driven by José María López, Kamui Kobayashi and Mike Conway, came second.
But today (Monday) brought a bitter blow for all six drivers when it was announced that both Toyotas had been disqualified.
According to race organisers, the front skid blocks on both vehicles deflected more than the rules allow – by nine millimetres against a 2,500N charge on either side for car 7, and by six millimetres to the right and eight to the left on car 8 against a charge of 200N.
Toyota appealed the decision, saying the over-deflecting was caused by the new kerbs on the Silverstone track impacting against and damaging the vehicles' front floor areas, but the team's plea was rejected.
It means Rebellion Racing's No 3 car, driven by Gustavo Menézes, Thomas Laurent and Mathias Beche, was awarded the so-called 'Tourist Trophy' after the event.
For Toyota No 8, this has upped the stakes considerably as only a two-point margin separates them from Rebellion Racing's No 3.
Toyota complains that its skid blocks on both cars were fine and passed the post-race testing following the Spa-Francorchamps 6-Hour – and, in fact, had been cleared after ever race since the beginning of the previous season.
But Alonso plans to give it his all in Belgium now Formula 1 is about to return after its summer holidays – and track-mates believe his departure before the 2019 season could well be an au revoir rather than an adiós.
Ex-team partner Jenson Button believes that if McLaren were able to offer Alonso a competitive car, he would return in a flash.
The Brit, who had been in the running for third place at Silverstone – or for victory, as it transpired later, with Toyota's disqualification – until his SMP Racing team had to retire after less than an hour on the track, thinks the Spaniard would 'definitely' be back in Formula 1 if the McLaren were 'quick and winning races'.
Button says racing drivers who retire tend to do so because they become 'bored [with] the travel and stress' and that if, on top of the efforts involved, the 'results aren't there', then 'there's no reason to be in it'.
“If the [McLaren] car is quick, I'm sure [Alonso]'d want to jump back in in 2020,” Button believes.
