McLaren director: Alonso is a 'formidable asset'

McLaren executive director Zak Brown has insisted that Fernando Alonso would be a 'formidable asset' to any team in Formula One and claimed that allowing the Spaniard to follow his ambition of claiming the motorsport 'triple crown' will only benefit the team.

Alonso has not won the driver's world championship for 10 years now but is still considered to be one of the best drivers in the history of the sport. Last year he expressed a desire to win motorsport's 'triple crown' which includes victories at the Monaco Grand Prix, Le Mans 24 Hours, and the Indianapolis 500.

Last week, he made his endurance racing debut at Daytona and it was confirmed a few days ago that he will be competing at Le Mans in 2018 and 2019 for Toyota.

Alonso intends to compete in other motorsport disciplines in addition to his Formula One duties, and Brown insists that Alonso is too important a driver for the team to request that he just sticks to F1.

“It’s no secret that Fernando has wanted to contest the Le Mans 24 Hours,” said the McLaren executive director.

“And I think everybody within our organisation appreciates that a motivated, hungry and happy world-class driver such as Fernando is a formidable asset for any team in F1.

“Last year, we came to the joint decision to go racing with Fernando at the Indy 500 rather than at the Monaco Grand Prix. But we’ve always said that we would consider each opportunity on a case-by-case basis, and we both know that, in 2018, our core priority is success in Formula 1.

“Like Fernando, at McLaren we’re racers at heart, and our team is built on a brave heritage of competing and succeeding in different forms of the sport.

“Equally important is the confidence that nothing detracts from our number one goal of Formula 1. After proper evaluation, we are satisfied that this campaign does not do that, and that McLaren’s best interests prevail.”