Fernando Alonso weighs up McLaren future

McLaren Fernando Alons F1

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McLaren’s Fernando Alonso has thrown his future in Formula 1 into doubt by revealing he is tempted to make the switch to other forms of motorsport.

The Spaniard has been one of the most vocal drivers when protesting about the rules changes implemented in F1 over recent years, criticising the decision to force tyre suppliers Pirelli to produce a design which degrades quickly.

The rules regarding in-season testing and the limits imposed upon how hard the drivers can push their cars have also frustrated the double world champion, who claims the current cars are not much quicker than those used in feeder category GP2.

Alonso has welcomed the FIA’s decision to changes the rules in 2017 to make the cars five to six seconds a lap quicker, but that might not be enough to keep him in the sport.

The 33-year-old signed a three-year deal with McLaren following his move from Ferrari last year but has indicated he could try his hand at other forms of motorsport in the future.

“I love motorsport, all categories, and F1 is not as exciting as it was in the past – at least to me,” Alonso said.

Alonso’s switch to McLaren has gone far from smoothly, his Honda-powered car finding itself towards the back of the field more often than not this season.

However, there have been signs of improvement recently, with Alonso scoring points for the first time this year at the British Grand Prix.

Despite failing to finish qualifying for Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix due to a mechanical problem, Alonso feels his McLaren has the potential to make it back-to-back points finishes in Budapest.

“Definitely our best weekend in terms of how competitive we feel,” said the Spaniard. “It was a bit too optimistic to make Q3, but it’s not frustrating because we know what we are doing and we know the phase we have to go through this year.”

Ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix, Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton is 1/15 to win the Drivers’ Championship, with team mate Nico Rosberg 5.00.

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