Should Fred stay or should Fred go?

[Chuckjr]

A slow McLaren for quite some time leaves Alonso with a tough choice for next year and beyond.

A. Stay at McLaren knowing he will be in an uncompetitive car for years

B. Join Indycar in a winning car from day one, with opportunity to win the 500 and the Indycar championship for many years to come.

[johnny vee]

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/why- ... 9-1045886/

This article makes some pretty good points:

"This will also allow McLaren to keep Alonso on its books in the hope of bringing him back to F1 when its car is good enough to win. Alonso would be able to keep tabs on the team, certainly test the 2019 car and perhaps even turn up in some races to keep his hand in and monitor progress."

An IndyCar deal would also allow Alonso to see out the World Endurance Championship superseason with Toyota. The Sebring 12 Hours and Le Mans certainly won't clash as those weekends are left clear for IndyCar drivers, while the Spa round takes place on the first weekend of May, which will surely be a blank given that three weeks of action at Indianapolis follow.

That would give Alonso a second crack at ticking Le Mans off the bucket list should he not win it this weekend. And even if he won it, it could also allow him to take the World Endurance crown. He could end June next year a two-time Le Mans winner and the Indy 500 champion.

Given McLaren's focus will increasingly turn to 2021, when F1's rules are reset, perhaps he could even have a two-year run at Indy500

[Big Tea]

Not Alonso's fan, but everyone has to respect his driving ability. I would be slightly sad to see him go, but for the last few years he has only been passing time really.
If he has a good car it would be nice to see him compete, but lets face it, he and Mclaren have been running mid field and not even getting good TV coverage.

If he goes, he will have a car capable for fighting for wins (I suppose?) so if nothing else may 'freshen him up' for a return.
I do realise that the is a the top end of the driver age range, so may not come back, but what is he gaining or giving us at the moment?

There is talk of new (American) teams coming into F1 so it may even stand him in good stead with them.

What I am unsure of is if Alonso can ow would want to fit into a driving style where it (seems to me) to be about forward planning and the last few laps.
He seems to want to race all the time, not sneak up and jump last thing. (Indy fans, yes I realise this is probably a false impression and I do understand it is a 'long game' style race series)

[turbof1]

Same friendly warning here as in the Hamilton thread: Should the topic degrade into driver opinionated bickering, the topic will be closed without warning. If things stay respectful as they are now, there are no issues.

[mertol]

If he goes indy, he is winning the championship there.

[turbof1]

If he goes indy, he is winning the championship there.

With all the respect for Alonso's excellent racing qualities, but I doubt it. Indycar is extremely competitive. Almost everybody can win the championship.

[FrukostScones]

I think he should go back to Renault and end his carreer there in 2022.

[Vasconia]

Another year in McLaren while he has freedom to take part in certain important races(Indianápolis, Le Mans, etc).

[Chuckjr]

I think the impact he would have on Indycar would be profound. He would bring a HUGE audience they desperately need in that series. I really think he should go. Stop wasting years in a near backmarker and midfield car. What's the point? Go to a series that's competitive and where winning a race each weekend is possible. Racing in all the other series is just bonus round. I think he has a chance to really achieve some worthy career accolades in his life if he leaves. Staying he's just another car in a situation where he can't win.

[jjn9128]

With all the respect for Alonso's excellent racing qualities, but I doubt it. Indycar is extremely competitive. Almost everybody can win the championship.

This is true - the two engine manufacturers have varying strengths and weaknesses which upsets the results depending on the track - like the old tyre war in F1. Generally speaking the Honda seems to be drivable so good on the roads, while the Chevvy has better top end and has an advantage on the ovals.

Rossi/Power/Dixon/Wickens/Newgarden are all really strong - then there's Bourdais/Pageneud/Rahal/Hunter-Reay among others all capable of winning - he certainly wouldn't dominate. It can be a bit of a crap shoot sometimes with safety cars and strategy affecting results too - Rossi dominated at Long Beach, but hasn't had a win since (couple of top-3's and some low-mid teens). Power and Dixon just didn't get going until 5 races in. I wonder if he'd be happy with the changeability in the form...

That said I think Fernando will end up in Indycar at some point... but whether he feels he still has unfinished business in F1 is yet to be seen. I wonder if a full season in Indycar with guest appearances for Norris/Vandoorne would be on the cards if McLaren can design a car he wants to drive?! He's already committed to the WEC superseason though, that's a big workload.

[Jolle]

I think Alonso and McLaren both painted themselves a bit into a corner.

For Alonso there are in F1 not many open doors at the moment anymore and for McLaren a downward spiral like Williams in close. Remember, they really lost out when BMW left them and the top drivers (Montoya at the time) jumped ship. If McLaren would go with Vandoorne and Norris next year, they are in the same situation and it becomes even more difficult to attract more investments and sponsors.

This is also why the whole Indycar talks worry me a bit. At first it looks like a great idea.But if you look closer it's what businesses do when they find themselves in trouble, expand! and that always ends badly.

Brown knows that Alonso is at this moment his only way out of this mess. No sponsor, no factory backing. He needs exposure. Indycar is a fairly cheap way to make a buzz again but also distracting them from their main focus: F1. Of course it could work... but i doubt it.

And Indy car looks great, but it's not F1. It's almost a spec series with drivers who didn't make the F1 cut.

[GrayGreat]

Well, I think he will stay, or at least will not rush any decision because:

There is a (very?) slim chance that Hamilton will leave F1 at the end of this year (being discussed in another topic if he is motivated or not etc) as his contract is coming to an end, so there might be an opening at Mercedes. If Hamilton leaves, it will be between Alonso and Ricciardo for the Mercedes seat.

Second, if by any chance Ricciardo signs for Ferrari alongside Vettel, then Mercedes might pair Fernando with Hamilton at Mercedes (if he is still at Mercedes). The reason for Mercedes putting Fernando alongside Hamilton is, for Mercedes, WCC is more important than WDC. And it is very much possible that the Vettel + Ricciardo combo will not allow Hamilton + Bottas to win the WCC, both Vettel and Ricciardo are better than Bottas and with Ferrari becoming more and more competitive, it will be Ferrari who will run away with WCC. Will Ferrari sign Ricciardo or not is entirely another thing.

Also, apparently, Ricciardo is waiting for Hamilton's contract to be signed to make sure that there is no opening at Mercedes before re-signing with RedBull (does this mean Ferrari is not interested in Ricciardo or he is not in talks with Ferrari at all?)

I think Alonso will be watching everything pretty closely and will not rush any decision.

[Big Tea]

Well, I think he will stay, or at least will not rush any decision because:

There is a (very?) slim chance that Hamilton will leave F1 at the end of this year (being discussed in another topic if he is motivated or not etc) as his contract is coming to an end, so there might be an opening at Mercedes. If Hamilton leaves, it will be between Alonso and Ricciardo for the Mercedes seat.

Second, if by any chance Ricciardo signs for Ferrari alongside Vettel, then Mercedes might pair Fernando with Hamilton at Mercedes (if he is still at Mercedes). The reason for Mercedes putting Fernando alongside Hamilton is, for Mercedes, WCC is more important than WDC. And it is very much possible that the Vettel + Ricciardo combo will not allow Hamilton + Bottas to win the WCC, both Vettel and Ricciardo are better than Bottas and with Ferrari becoming more and more competitive, it will be Ferrari who will run away with WCC. Will Ferrari sign Ricciardo or not is entirely another thing.

Also, apparently, Ricciardo is waiting for Hamilton's contract to be signed to make sure that there is no opening at Mercedes before re-signing with RedBull (does this mean Ferrari is not interested in Ricciardo or he is not in talks with Ferrari at all?)

I think Alonso will be watching everything pretty closely and will not rush any decision.

I think if Hamilton did go, and Ricciardo was available it would be a straight swap.
I doubt RBR would consider Alonso. So the only sensible option would be to stay at Mclaren.
I also very much doubt any other team would allow him to chase his triple crown on their time.

As a 'out of left field' option, how about Alonso heading a bid for Force India? Or even possibly Williams if he wants to stay in F1 and drive for a while then manage.

[GrayGreat]

Well, I think he will stay, or at least will not rush any decision because:

There is a (very?) slim chance that Hamilton will leave F1 at the end of this year (being discussed in another topic if he is motivated or not etc) as his contract is coming to an end, so there might be an opening at Mercedes. If Hamilton leaves, it will be between Alonso and Ricciardo for the Mercedes seat.

Second, if by any chance Ricciardo signs for Ferrari alongside Vettel, then Mercedes might pair Fernando with Hamilton at Mercedes (if he is still at Mercedes). The reason for Mercedes putting Fernando alongside Hamilton is, for Mercedes, WCC is more important than WDC. And it is very much possible that the Vettel + Ricciardo combo will not allow Hamilton + Bottas to win the WCC, both Vettel and Ricciardo are better than Bottas and with Ferrari becoming more and more competitive, it will be Ferrari who will run away with WCC. Will Ferrari sign Ricciardo or not is entirely another thing.

Also, apparently, Ricciardo is waiting for Hamilton's contract to be signed to make sure that there is no opening at Mercedes before re-signing with RedBull (does this mean Ferrari is not interested in Ricciardo or he is not in talks with Ferrari at all?)

I think Alonso will be watching everything pretty closely and will not rush any decision.

I think if Hamilton did go, and Ricciardo was available it would be a straight swap.
I doubt RBR would consider Alonso. So the only sensible option would be to stay at Mclaren.
I also very much doubt any other team would allow him to chase his triple crown on their time.

As a 'out of left field' option, how about Alonso heading a bid for Force India? Or even possibly Williams if he wants to stay in F1 and drive for a while then manage.

With McLaren, even if not winning, at least he is driving for a big name. With FI or Williams, it is not the case so he will simply leave F1 rather than driving for those teams.

If no top seat becomes available for him, and he wants to stay in F1, then there is one more possibility. Keep driving for McLaren in F1 and Toyota in WEC. After winning Lemans this year, Toyota will be ready to leave WEC so maybe they will become an F1 engine supplier and make a works deal with McLaren (not before 2021 obviously) but Alonso will be 40+ (42?) by then.

[Sevach]

Alonso should grovel to Mercedes and Ferrari imo, he probably won't and this is looking like a melancholic end to a huge talent.