MOTORSPORT ace Fernando Alonso may continue with McLaren in 2019 – as a test-driver, according to a German magazine.
The twice-world champion from Oviedo, Asturias, who is set to give up his Formula 1 career at the end of this year after a long run of non-competitive cars that have prevented him from winning any races, is expected to forge ahead with his new-found passion for IndyCar.
Dovetailing the Toyota World Endurance Championship (WEC) with Formula 1 – with team McLaren's blessing – Alonso, 37, was mainly aiming to win the Le Mans 24-Hour race, which he did earlier this year on the first attempt.
With a double Monaco Grand Prix win in Formula 1, Alonso only needs to net the Indianapolis 500 to complete the so-called motorsport 'Triple Crown' – so far only achieved by one other racing driver in history, the UK's Graham Hill.
He attempted this last year, but engine failure a few laps from the end, after he had been in the lead for most of the race, forced him to retire.
The Spaniard, whom McLaren has replaced with compatriot Carlos Sainz Junior, had opted to leave Formula 1 after years of under-performing cars and poor results, saying he had 'bigger fish to fry', and it was assumed he would dedicate himself 100% to IndyCar.
But the motorsport magazine Auto Motor und Sport claims Alonso and McLaren are in contact with a view to the former continuing as a test-driver.
“It appears that McLaren is discussing plans to keep Alonso as a test-driver. This would sit well with the former world champion since, that way, the ball would remain in his court: at any moment he could return to Formula 1 if it looked attractive enough to him,” the report says.
Whilst not confirmed, this peripheral role would make sense: the British scuderia would benefit from Alonso's extensive experience, and the racing driver himself would retain one foot in the Formula 1 door whilst expanding on his IndyCar career.
This said, Alonso could have trouble fitting it all in – the IndyCar season, and the remaining WEC events, take place all over the world, whilst to be a McLaren test-driver he would need to spend a lot of time at the team's base in Woking, Surrey.
Although if he focuses purely on an Indianapolis 500 victory and the 'Triple Crown', he may be able to focus more on helping McLaren develop competitive cars.
Alonso has hinted several times – and his Formula 1 colleagues also believe – that he would return to the Grand Prix scene if he was guaranteed a car that would perform to his level.
Recently, British world champion Lewis Hamilton admitted Alonso had been his 'biggest and best rival' and one of the 'greatest drivers' he had ever raced against – and Hamilton's rivals have included seven-times champion Formula 1 legend Michael Schumacher.
