SINGAPORE: Fernando Alonso said he needed time to look into McLaren’s new partnership with Renault before pledging his future, as he kept his options open despite their split with Honda.
Alonso repeatedly threatened to quit as McLaren struggled with their Honda engines, and their switch to Renault power next year is expected to convince him to stay.
But the two-time world champion, who has also dabbled in IndyCar, said he first wanted to study the new partnership, which was announced at the Singapore Grand Prix on Friday.
“I just received the news and now after Singapore, which is the first priority for me, I will try to know a little bit more about the project and about the Renault engine, about the expectations for next year,” Alonso said.
“Because obviously right now I don’t know anything. So after I consider that I will make decisions.”
The 36-year-old Spaniard said earlier in Singapore that he had offers both inside and outside of F1, and that he would make up his mind in the next few weeks.
Alonso, who won his world titles with the Renault team in 2005 and 2006, has a long-term goal of becoming only the second driver to complete the Triple Crown – winning the Monaco Grand Prix, Le Mans and the Indy500.
Securing his services is a major priority for McLaren, who are Formula One’s most successful British team but have not won a race since 2012.
“We’re going to turn our attention to Fernando now,” said McLaren executive director Zak Brown. “We’ve been speaking a lot … I think in the not-too-distant future we should be able to get something done.
“And that will be the last big piece of the puzzle.”
Switching to Renault might not be the catch-all solution for McLaren as, like Honda, the French engine-maker has also had its problems with F1’s complex hybrid technology.
“McLaren have gone from the fourth-worst engine to the third-worst engine,” commented Sky Sports analyst and ex-F1 driver Martin Brundle.
Alonso also sounded a note of caution when he said: “You never know if it’s a good move or a bad move for the team.
“But I think definitely if McLaren thought it was time to split with Honda and go for Renault, it’s because they have good information about next year.
“Hopefully that will put McLaren again in the places that we all feel that McLaren belongs.”
Alonso added that he felt “proud” of McLaren’s project with Honda, despite the fact it has failed to yield a single podium place in more than two-and-a-half seasons.
“We all felt that it was the perfect match, we all felt that this could be a great time for this partnership,” he said.
“Unfortunately, we tried our best and we didn’t succeed.”
Formula One: Alonso keeps McLaren waiting over new deal
Formula One: Alonso keeps McLaren waiting over new deal
Alcaraz powers into Indian Wells quarter-finals
- Alcaraz will next face 2021 champion Cameron Norrie, who earlier beat Australia’s Rinky Hijikata 6-4 6-2
World number one Carlos Alcaraz continued his dominant run at Indian Wells, beating Norway’s Casper Ruud 6-1 7-6(2) on Wednesday to reach the quarter-finals in the California desert.
The Spaniard relied on a near-flawless service game to seize control of the match, racing through the opening set in just 37 minutes after breaking Ruud’s serve three times.
Thirteenth-seeded Ruud raised his level in the second set and forced a tiebreak, hoping to push the match to a decider, but Alcaraz kept his foot on the gas to seal his 15th consecutive victory of the season to reach the quarter-finals for a fifth straight year.
“The conditions were difficult to be honest. Today the ball was tough to control but we both played great,” two-time champion Alcaraz said in his on-court interview.
“My first set was incredible I’m really happy of playing that kind of level, really happy to get through and hopefully I’ll play this level on the next round.”
Alcaraz will next face 2021 champion Cameron Norrie, who earlier beat Australia’s Rinky Hijikata 6-4 6-2, with the Spaniard looking to avenge a defeat to the Briton at last year’s Paris Masters.
SWIATEK, PEGULA THROUGH
World number two Iga Swiatek delivered a dominant 6-2 6-0 victory over Czech 13th seed Karolina Muchova, reeling off 10 consecutive games to secure her fifth win over the Czech, whom she also beat at the same stage of the tournament last year.
“I felt I was playing better and better, just great,” Swiatek said.
“I love playing here ... It’s a great place to play tennis, hopefully I can keep doing that until the end.”
Swiatek, chasing a third Indian Wells title, will face ninth seed Elina Svitolina in the quarter-finals after the Ukrainian advanced when Katerina Siniakova retired injured.
American fifth seed Jessica Pegula overcame Belinda Bencic 6-3 7-6(5) to secure her first victory in five meetings between the pair.
Pegula, coming off a dramatic comeback win over Jelena Ostapenko, took control as she clinched the opening set — her first ever against the Swiss — before edging a tightly contested tiebreak to close out the match.
Russian 11th seed Daniil Medvedev beat Alex Michelsen 6-2 6-4 in a commanding performance, needing just one hour and 27 minutes to dismantle the American and maintain his strong form after winning last month’s Dubai Open.
