Fernando Alonso F1 return ruled out by McLaren

Fernando Alonso

Alonso F1 return ruled out by McLaren

The Spaniard will need to look elsewhere for 2021

Martin Macdonald

Tuesday 25 February 2020 15:24

McLaren boss Zak Brown confirmed without doubt that Fernando Alonso will not be returning to the team for the 2021 F1 season, as he remains happy with the current pairing of Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris.

With Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne behind the wheel of their uncompetitive car in 2018, McLaren opted to shake things up after the conclusion of that season, with Sainz and Norris coming in to replace the aforementioned pair, while Andreas Seidl was recruited as new team principal.

The changes worked like a charm, as they established themselves as ‘best of the rest’ team behind Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull.

Therefore, Brown doesn’t want to curb the continued progress by bringing Alonso back.

“No. We are in a different place now,” he said when asked if the team would consider a return for the two-time world champion.

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“That’s not a reflection on him, we have two great young drivers [Sainz and Norris] who are really fast that are working well together.

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“The fans like them and we have a rhythm now and would not want to disturb that. It’s where we are. I am happy with our racing team.

“They are the stars of the sport but everyone is quite relaxed around them. It is a really good environment, I wouldn’t want to disturb that part of the magic that is making everything come together.”

Brown remains a fan of Alonso, however, and reserved praise for the performances of the Spaniard even when the team were uncompetitive on the grid.

“Every single lap he was impressive, he gave his all,” he said.

“But there is a point where it is time for change. I don’t look back and see him in any way as part of the issues we were having. It was much more the environment in the team.”

Alonso initially left F1 in 2018 to pursue his dream of winning the motorsport ‘Triple Crown’ which includes victories at the Monaco Grand Prix, Le Mans, and the Indy 500.