McLaren boss Brown hints at SENSATIONAL Alonso return with 'any day' claim

McLaren have one of the most exciting driver lineups on the grid – but CEO Zak Brown has not shied away from his admiration for Fernando Alonso.

The Woking-based squad have had a dramatic improvement in recent months, going from a team stuck at the back of the grid to fighting for regular podiums and challenging for race wins.

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Lando Norris enjoyed his best season to date in 2023, finishing sixth in the championship with 205 points and seven podiums.

Team-mate Oscar Piastri won the Rookie of the Year award for his performances last season, finishing ninth in the standings and achieving his first win in F1 in the Sprint race in Qatar.

Brown: I'd have Alonso drive our car any day

Both Norris and Piastri have long-term contracts with McLaren and serve as an exciting partnership, but team boss Brown has had high praise for Alonso.

The Spaniard, who recently committed his future to Aston Martin in a multi-year-deal, has had two separate spells at McLaren, first in 2007 after winning his two world titles with Renault and then again from 2015 until his brief retirement from F1 in 2018.

Speaking on the Drive to Wynn Podcast, Brown labelled the ‘impressive’ Alonso as someone he’d be happy to have at the team.

When asked by host and former race driver Justin Bell how hard it is for the oldest drivers such as Alonso and Lewis Hamilton to perform at this level, he responded: “I think it’s definitely not easy but you see it in other sports and it only happens with the legends.

“They have a work ethic second to none, they’ve got a focus, a mindset. I mean Fernando is so impressive.

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“He’s not slowing down at all, his racecraft is awesome and I know Fernando well, he doesn’t care about anything other than racing.

“So, I think what maybe some of these quote older guys kind of lose their way is because they start getting focused on things outside of racing.

“Fernando just cares about racing and I think as long as he does that like the Tom Brady’s of the world, the Scott Dixon’s, they can kind of defy what everyone else does because they have a focus and a talent that allows them to go later into their career than most.

“So, it’s not going to work for everyone but it’s certainly working for Fernando Alonso, I’d have him drive our car any day.”

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