Fernando Alonso Says Mclaren Will Be His Final Team In Formula 1

Fernando Alonso says McLaren will be his final team in Formula 1 but the Spaniard has admitted 2017 could be his last year in the sport.  The former world champion's three-year contract with McLaren expires at the end of next year and Alonso admits he does not yet know what his future holds after 2017 - even if he doesn't envisage driving for another team.

He said “Right now, to be honest, McLaren-Honda is for me the only challenger of Mercedes in terms of fighting for the world championship and stopping the domination of the Mercedes team in the recent years. But with the big change on the regulations and the future of Formula 1, let's see what happens. I'm not young anymore so I really hope to win with McLaren-Honda. We are getting closer and closer and we will see after 2017 if I stay with McLaren or I stop in Formula 1. I don't think I will switch teams anymore”

Alonso has been a regular critic of the sport's regulations in recent years and last week labelled the confusion over the new qualifying format sad. However, he believes moves to make cars faster and more dynamic from 2017 could prove the turning point for the sport and could tempt him to prolong his F1 career.

He said “First, I will see if I really enjoy driving next year's cars and how Formula 1 is evolving in the regulation. Then, if I keep enjoying and I see the possibility of being world champion, you can [not] tell me that I will not extend the contract and I will keep chasing this third world championship. But this is thinking too long term at the moment. We didn't start 2016 so let's concentrate on”.