Fernando Alonso's McLaren return and the 'pain' it caused

Fernando Alonso

Fernando Alonso's McLaren return and the 'pain' it caused

Fernando Alonso is now an Aston Martin driver

Originally written by Sam Cook. This version is a translation.

Tuesday 12 May 2026 17:00

Fernando Alonso's relationship with McLaren has been a tempestuous one and an F1 insider has revealed the 'pain' his 2015 return caused.

At the age of 44-years-old Alonso is still in pursuit of a third world title, this time with the Aston Martin-Honda project.

But this is not the only time that Alonso has worked with Honda. McLaren were using Honda engines back in 2015, and Alonso once again struggled there to make a real impact, with reliability issues and power output woes marring what was his second spell at the team.

Article continues under video

Alonso had previously joined McLaren off the back of his consecutive world championship titles in 2007, and was hoping to continue his successful spell with one of the most successful teams in F1 history.

Yet the Spaniard found that he wasn't the default number one driver at the team first time around, with rookie Lewis Hamilton matching him stride for stride in the battle for the 2007 world championship.

When Alonso rejoined McLaren in 2015, Dennis and Alonso were all smiles as they shook hands, representing how they had moved on from the past.

Now, F1 insider and close ally of Alonso's Antonio Lobato has revealed that he was hurt by the return of the Spaniard to the Woking-based outfit.

"The day he decided to leave McLaren in 2007 - which was the most controversial - I applauded it because I know what he suffered inside McLaren that year," Lobato told Senen Moran's YouTube channel.

"What hurt me was him going back to McLaren, and then afterwards it was also a torment - that hurt me. And the photo of him shaking hands with Ron Dennis, it opened my wounds, because at the time I was on Fernando’s side, that he should leave McLaren, but going back there again, to the same place, with the same guy - that bothered me.

"Maybe it wouldn’t have changed the story much either. Maybe he shouldn’t have left Ferrari, or he should have gone to Ferrari, he should have stayed, but history was written that way and we can’t change it."

Alonso's poor luck

Alonso joined McLaren for the second time after leaving Ferrari following five seasons at the Maranello-based outfit in which he was unable to secure a third world title.

But since then, Alonso has faced terrible luck when it has come to the career path he has chosen.

McLaren were disastrously uncompetitive second time around, resulting his retirement from the sport in 2018. After deciding to come back out of retirement in 2021, Alonso once again joined the Enstone-based outfit with whom he'd previously been successful, now branded as Alpine.

But Alpine were a shadow of the former Renault team that Alonso had won two world titles with, and he only added one podium across two seasons there.

Alonso therefore opted to join Aston Martin in 2023 and, while that partnership got off to a great start, he has spent much of 2024, 2025 and now 2026 scrambling around the midfield, and in fact even the midfield seems out of reach for the team in 2026.

Now 44 and with a contract that expires at the end of this year, the Spaniard has a choice to make as to whether he wants to help rebuild Aston Martin, or call it a day on his illustrious career.

F1 McLaren Aston Martin Fernando Alonso Ron Dennis