Alonso admits third F1 title is his priority
- Published on 08 Jan 2018 09:56
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- By: Fergal Walsh
Fernando Alonso says that winning a third Formula 1 world title remains his priority. The Spaniard last emerged victorious with a world championship back in 2006, securing his second title for Renault.
Alonso came close to two more titles in 2010 and 2012 but ultimately lost out to Sebastian Vettel. The last three years with McLaren-Honda have been painful for the 36-year-old, who hopes to return to the front of the grid this year now that McLaren has linked up with Renault.
Currently, he is at the Daytona International Speedway, testing for the upcoming Daytona 24 hour. He has also made no secret of his desire to win the 'Triple Crown of Motorsport' (Monaco Grand Prix, Indy 500 and 24 Hours of Le Mans).
But his priority remains a third title: "Of course I focus first and foremost on formula one and the goal of winning a third world title," he is quoted as saying in Daytona by Speed Week. "With the Renault power unit we should be able to get involved at the front again.
"However, I also have plans for classic events that do not overlap with the F1 calendar. This race (Daytona) is the first step in endurance racing and of course I hope I like it because Le Mans is another goal of mine. If Le Mans works out this year, it would be great and hopefully next year I could be back at the Indy 500."
However, he says he does not have his sights set on NASCAR. "Those cars require a unique driving style which can only be acquired through a lot of practice and I do not have that many free weekends," Alonso said. "But after the 24 hour here I'm sure I'll watch the Nascar race, but that will be my only step towards Nascar - watching on TV."
Fergal Walsh
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Replies (12)
Login to replycalle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Then you have a problem, because I dont see McLaren challenging Mercedes any time soon.
boudy
Posts: 1,168
Mercedes has just confirm that their 2018 is an new engine, just might be correct..
mbmwe36
Posts: 533
Never gonna happen. I don't think McLaren will be in the mix for at least the foreseeable future.
And he's nuked his bridges with just about everybody else that could be a contender.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
No, maybe after 2020, but as of now, I dont think McLaren has what it takes.
mbmwe36
Posts: 533
But by then he'll be pushing 40. And even by then, it's not a given. Although Brawn GP proved that sometimes everything lines up just perfect.
Barron
Posts: 625
Could you imagine Alonso in NASCAR? Why would anyone even think it’s a possibility?
Kean
Posts: 692
I think Fernando will retire with "only" two championships. However I really hope I'm wrong, years ago when I started watching F1 McLaren was my favorite team. During the years they've stumbled quite a bit, but there is still a special place in my heart for that team. I would love to see Alonso pull off the impossible and win in the McLaren before he retires. But next year I predict Hamilton will be more or less unchallenged for the over all win, but behind him I wouldn't be surprised to see a very tight battle between Vettel, Verstappen, Ricciardo and Bottas. Alonso could maybe manage to beat Räikkönen in the championship and end up 6th.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
I more less agree with you, but I sure hope it's a bad prediction. All it takes is for Red Bull and/or McLaren to have a mildly competitive car. Lewis disposed of Sebastian easily for obvious reasons, but drivers like Max, Ricciardo, Alonso, would definitely disturb Lewis. I can definitely see those guys playing mind games with Lewis, who has shown how fragile he can be to those things. Let's just hope
Kean
Posts: 692
@AJPENNYPACKER, I agree that neither Ver, Ric or Alo (or Ham for that matter) needs the best car to win, Vet does. Especially Alonso, in my opinion he is the best at getting the most out of an underperforming car. So if McLaren has a reasonably competitive car I think he'll be able to drag that car up to the front.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I disagree about Ham. He hasnt ever really won without being in the best car, and he can be very inconsistent. As for Alonso, he was also in the best car when he won, but I'd say he is likely the best driver on the grid. Ricciardo... Mostly he has won by picking up the scraps. I find him to be a good driver, but Im not sure if he'd be able to win a championship with the second best car. Verstappen... Maybe, only one way to find out. But the only two I could see winning a championship with the second best car is either Vettel or Alonso. And I dont exactly see Alonso in the second best car next season.
Barron
Posts: 625
Champions tend to have the best car and the obvious benchmark is the teammate. There have been plenty of comments that “my granny could win the WDC in a Mercedes” yet Bottas couldn’t. Rosberg did but in a year when he outhought rather than outdrove Hamilton. From experience of his carting days, I would fully expect Hamilton to be competitive in a mid field F1 car and it would be far more interesting to watch! You should also remember his trouncing of Alonso in his first year. I’m not particularly a Ham fan, but I don’t think we have ever seen him at his best and I’m not sure that will happen now with the new generation of F1 cars. I think the ‘hunger’ has gone.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Outthinking, outracing... Its all a part of what makes a good driver, and I include them all when I rank my drivers. The fact that Rosberg and Hamilton was pretty evenly matched, even when excluding retirements and reliability issues, proves to me that we either underrated Rosberg, or overrate Hamilton. I think we've seen Hamilton's best all along, but I definitely hope he will have a decent challenge this year.