McLaren Racing confirms that double World Champion Fernando Alonso will not race in Formula 1 in 2019. The Spaniard decided to retire from the sport after competing for 17 years and achieving great results with all the five teams that the raced for. It is unsure what future holds for the Spaniard but seeing him racing in Indy 500 next year or even a return to Formula One in 2021 are both viable options. “After 17 wonderful years in this amazing sport, it’s time for […]

DRIVERS – Fernando ALONSO (McLaren), Brendon HARTLEY (Toro Rosso), Sergio PEREZ (Force India), Carlos SAINZ (Renault) PRESS CONFERENCE Q: Brendon, you scored your first World Championship point in Baku, last time out, how good did that feel? Brendon HARTLEY: Yeah, it was maybe a bit of a relief, in a way because I’d had a couple of opportunities already and didn’t capitalise. Bahrain was the most obvious one where we had a very competitive car. So, it’s nice to finally get that first point. Had a […]

McLaren confirms ahead of the United States Grand Prix that Fernando Alonso will race for the team next season, alongside Belgian Stoffel Vandoorne. The Spaniard rejoined the team in 2015 when McLaren partnered with Honda on their return to the sport. “It’s fantastic to be able to continue my relationship with everybody at McLaren. It was always where my heart was telling me to stay, and I really feel at home here. This is a fantastic team, full of incredible people, with a warmth and friendliness that […]

McLaren Honda recorded its most competitive race of the season so far after scoring nine points during the Hungarian Grand Prix. Fernando Alonso drove a strong race to finish sixth; a performance that included a committed overtaking move around the outside of Carlos Sainz at Turn Two, and a crackling second stint on the Prime tyre, which concluded with him setting the overall fastest lap of the race, on lap 69. “We were probably looking at seventh or eighth position today, but with Ricciardo out […]

Fernando Alonso put on an unexpected show during qualifying on Saturday after driving a stoning lap in Q1 on slicks to be quickest of all by the hefty margin of 1.3 seconds. He nearly didn’t get his Q1 lap in – but, having crossed the line just in time, he made good his opportunity by totally nailing it.  The Spaniard missed Q3 due to heavy traffic but his brave Q1 performance in the rain was a nice surprise for both the fans and his team. “We made […]

  Valtteri Bottas, Daniel Ricciardo and Fernando Alonso will all start the British Grand Prix from a lower position than from wherever they will qualify on Saturday.  Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas received a five-place drop penalty due to an unscheduled gearbox change after Friday's practice sessions at Silverstone, just a week after his team-mate Lewis Hamilton endured the same fate. Stewards handed similar penalty to Daniel Ricciardo, whose Red Bull was also fitted a new gearbox on Friday as the previous one has not lasted the mandatory six […]

A hugely disappointing afternoon for the whole McLaren-Honda team after Fernando Alonso failed to start the Russian Grand Prix.  The Spaniard suffered an ERS software fault on the parade lap, and, despite attempting to restart it during the lap, he was unable to make it back to the pits and was left stranded on the circuit. “It’s tough, it’s frustrating – every weekend is the same", says Alonso. “My power unit didn’t have the usual power during the formation lap, so my engineer told me to […]

Fernando Alonso qualified 15th for the Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday as he was unable to fully capitalise on his track time. McLaren driver took the 15th spot in Q1, pushing him through to Q2, but an MGU-H issue on his flying lap meant he was unable to set a time during the second session. Alonso expectation for the race are quite limited and are mostly connected to the lack of calibration of the new power unit.  “Unfortunately, my lap in Q2 was good. I think until the […]

McLaren-Honda confirmed that Jenson Button will be racing for the team at the 2017 Monaco Grand Prix. The Brit returns to Formula 1 just few months after his retirement from the sport to replace Fernando Alonso, who will be missing the race due to other commitments. The Spaniard will compete with McLaren-Honda-Andretti over the weekend of the Indianapolis 500, which will take place on the same date (May 28th) as the Monaco Grand Prix. Alonso will return to Formula 1 duties from the Canadian Grand Prix onwards, and […]

It was a short-lived Chinese Grand Prix for the McLaren-Honda team at the Shanghai International Circuit as none of its drivers managed to finish the race due to reliability issues. Stoffel Vandoorne's car was affected by a fuel problem which forcing him to retire on lap 18, while Fernando Alonso's car suffered a driveshaft issue causing him to have to stop out on track on lap 34. The rain earlier in the day meant that the track was pretty damp for the start, both drivers consequently electing […]

Fernando Alonso used the summer break not only to relax but also to reflect on the first half of the season and the progress his team has made. He believes McLaren is getting stronger and stronger and because of that is looking forward to getting into the car again. The Spaniard thinks Spa-Francorchamps is the perfect venue to come to after the summer break and is confident McLaren can keep up to his rivals this weekend. "Spa is an incredible circuit that definitely deserves its […]

McLaren pair Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso remain confident that they can edge into the points-paying positions in Germany despite both being eliminated during Q2 on Saturday. Button recorded the 12th quickest time in the MP4-31 while Alonso drifted wide at Turn 12 and was left down in 14th spot, though will move up to 13th following a grid penalty for Carlos Sainz Jr. "12th position is reasonable, and it’s always nice to be in front of your team-mate, but we’re still not quite there […]