Fernando Alonso sets date and targets to decide 2020 schedule

Fernando Alonso

Alonso sets date and targets to decide 2020 schedule

Will he return to F1?

Matthew Scott

Saturday 6 April 2019 13:12

Fernando Alonso says he will begin to consider his plans for 202 in July, suggesting that he would prefer to focus on a single series next year, having embarked on numerous different disciplines in recent years as he has ramped up efforts to take out motorsport's 'Triple Crown'.

Having combined full campaigns in Formula 1 and the World Endurance Championship last year, Alonso has continued racing sports cars this year, and will return to the Brickyard in July to attempt the Indianapolis 500 for a second time – where victory would see him equal Graham Hill's unique feat of winning IndyCar's flagship race, the Monaco GP and Le Mans 24 Hours.

With the remaining races on the WEC calendar and Indy at the forefront of his thoughts, Alonso says he is yet to think about what he will be doing next year.

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"At the moment I am focusing on Spa, Indianapolis and Le Mans and until July I will not consider anything about the future," Alonso told Spanish media.

Alonso has always conceded that his decision to step away from F1 could be reversed if he were offered a top-level drive.

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And the two-time world champion hopes to return to a more consistent schedule next year.

"The idea is not to change around so many times, because you lose the perfection you need to succeed in a great specialty," said Alonso.

Both Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz made Q3 at the Bahrain Grand Prix as McLaren's MCL34 looks to have made decent progress, with Norris going on to score sixth place in Sakhir.

Although a vast improvement on the results Alonso was limited to at the tail-end of last year, he is yet to be convinced over a return to F1 with his former team.

"It's better to be in Q3 and to score points, but I do not feel like racing in F1 this year," said Alonso.

"Well, if Carlos wins two or three races before Abu Dhabi, maybe yes," he smiled.