Fernando Alonso leaving F1 at end of season

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  • jacksmar
    Full Member Status

    • Feb 2004
    • 3533

    Fernando Alonso leaving F1 at end of season

    (Reuters) - Double world champion Fernando Alonso will retire from Formula One at the end of the season, his team McLaren said in a statement on Tuesday. The 37-year-old Spaniard is competing in his 17th Formula One season and his fifth with McLaren, and has been widely tipped to race in the Indianapolis 500 next year as he attempts to win the 'Triple Crown of Motorsport'. Alonso, a double Monaco Grand Prix winner, won the Le Mans 24 Hours on his debut with Toyota in June this year and is ninth in the Formula One drivers' championship standings.


    Fernando Alonso leaving F1 at end of season

    (Reuters) - Double world champion Fernando Alonso will retire from Formula One at the end of the season, his team McLaren said in a statement on Tuesday.

    The 37-year-old Spaniard is competing in his 17th Formula One season and his fifth with McLaren, and has been widely tipped to race in the Indianapolis 500 next year as he attempts to win the 'Triple Crown of Motorsport'.

    Alonso, a double Monaco Grand Prix winner, won the Le Mans 24 Hours on his debut with Toyota in June this year and is ninth in the Formula One drivers' championship standings.

    "After 17 wonderful years in this amazing sport, it's time for me to make a change and move on," Alonso said.

    "There are still several grands prix to go this season, and I will take part in them with more commitment and passion than ever."

    McLaren worked with Andretti Autosport to field a car for Alonso for the 2017 Indy 500 where the Spaniard put himself in contention leading for 27 laps before suffering an engine failure with 21 laps remaining.

    McLaren has been exploring the possibility of working again with Andretti to field an IndyCar team to run the entire series next year or might consider putting together their own team.
    A NATION OF COWARDS - Jeffrey R. Snyder
  • jacksmar
    Full Member Status

    • Feb 2004
    • 3533

    #2
    The double world-champion just announced he's leaving F1. Now, it seems he's looking to race elsewhere


    Fernando Alonso Will Do an IndyCar Road Course Test


    Double F1 world-champion Fernando Alonso announced his retirement from the series yesterday, but he's not done racing. For starters, he'll stay with Toyota through next year's 24 Hours of Le Mans, completing the World Endurance Championship 2019-2020 super season. Now, it looks like IndyCar is a possibility, too: Marshall Pruett at Racer reports that Alonso is rumored to do an IndyCar road-course test next month.

    Alonso made his first foray into IndyCar last year via an Andretti Autosport-McLaren single-race partnership for the Indy 500. For his upcoming test, he'll be driving an Andretti Dallara DW-12 with Honda power and the new 2018 road-course aero package. Racer doesn't have confirmation of the date and location yet-multiple test dates have been held for Alonso-but it'll probably be at Barber Motorsports Park near Atlanta following the September 2nd IndyCar race in Portland.

    McLaren is aiming to enter the IndyCar series full-time next year through a partnership with an existing team. Andretti Autosport is the most likely candidate, though that's not a done deal, as McLaren and Honda (Andretti's engine supplier) don't have a great relationship. The Japanese company supplied McLaren's F1 team with engines that were notoriously unreliable and underpowered; as a result, McLaren ended that partnership for the 2018 season. If Alonso and McLaren were to go to IndyCar, they'd likely need Chevy power due to the McLaren-Honda rift.
    A NATION OF COWARDS - Jeffrey R. Snyder

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    • jacksmar
      Full Member Status

      • Feb 2004
      • 3533

      #3
      Fernando Alonso’s announcement on Tuesday that he was done with Formula 1 could be the biggest thing to happen to IndyCar racing since Nigel Mansell turned his back on F1 in 1993 to come to CART. I…






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      A NATION OF COWARDS - Jeffrey R. Snyder

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