'We need to convince Alonso it's worth staying'

McLaren CEO Zak Brown is confident that Fernando Alonso will be driving with the team in the 2019 season, but admitted that they must work hard to convince the Spaniard that they are progressing in the right direction to merit his commitment.

McLaren suffered a miserable qualifying session at Circuit Paul Ricard on Saturday, with both Alonso and team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne being eliminated after Q1 in 16th and 18th place respectively.

After the highs of winning in Le Mans last week, Alonso cut a frustrated figure and, coupled with the reliability issues that meant he did not finish in either Monaco or Canada, leading to speculation that he could cut ties with F1.

But Brown remains confident that, given the close relationship he has with the driver, he can convince him to stay for another year, though the team will have to prove to him that they can become more competitive.

He said: "Fernando’s very happy at the world of McLaren.

“He’s yet to make a decision. We have a very good relationship with him, he’s been with us now for quite a long time and it depends ultimately on what and where we race and how our Formula 1 car’s developing.

“I’m optimistic Fernando will stay in the family, in the Formula 1 car. As long as he feels we can make a step forward I think it’s something he’d like to continue to do.”

Not a good day for us in this qualifying. A lot to recover tomorrow and that’s what we will try to do ?? #mclaren #france #14 #f1 https://t.co/A9Z9Q2pasa — Fernando Alonso (@alo_oficial) June 23, 2018

Alonso has made no secret of his desire to complete motorsport's triple crown of Monaco Grand Prix, Le Mans and the Indy 500, with the latter the only one left on his list.