Fernando Alonso, McLaren, Circuit de Catalunya, 2019

Alonso says F1 return “is not in the plan” despite McLaren test

2019 Bahrain Grand Prix

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Fernando Alonso says he is not considering a full-time return to Formula 1 despite agreeing to take part in next week’s Pirelli tyre test in Bahrain for McLaren.

Alonso will drive an F1 car for the first time since retiring from the sport at the end of last season. Since then he has raced in the World Endurance Championship and, earlier this week, tested Toyota’s Dakar rally-winning Hilux.

“Honestly I’m not missing too much at the moment because I’ve been very busy,” Alonso told RaceFans and other media in Bahrain. “Maybe if I’d been relaxing at home it would be different but I’ve been testing different things so not much time to miss anything.

“But it was this opportunity with the Pirelli test, we have a second car. We talked with the team in winter testing as well if there was any point or any benefit to the team if I was testing the car at one point in the season. And the team decided this was the best moment, not taking time to the race drivers to develop the car.”

Alonso isn’t completely ruling out a potential return but said he isn’t planning a comeback yet.

“As I said last year my idea is not to come back. I said last year bye-bye it was because I felt this chapter was already complete and I achieved in Formula 1 a lot more than what I dreamed of.

“I had great opportunities outside Formula 1 to do something unprecedented so that’s why I took the decision. Coming back is not in the plan. But if something happens and a great opportunity arrives I probably will consider. I don’t close doors one hundred percent to anything in the future.”

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2 comments on “Alonso says F1 return “is not in the plan” despite McLaren test”

  1. I think it was a Red Bull engineeer describing why he thought Alonso was the best. described him has having ‘a lot of spare capacity’. McLaren ought to make the most of it.

    Surely the journlists asking him about a comeback, know full well it wont happen unless McLaren suddenly build a top car.

  2. Hahaha ..why Im not surprised.

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