Fernando Alonso would have McLaren blessing to race for F1 rival
Alonso remains a McLaren ambassador but that wouldn't stop him racing for a rival in F1 2020 if he wanted a comeback, says Zak Brown
Friday 12 July 2019 16:46, UK
Zak Brown says McLaren would have no qualms with Fernando Alonso returning to F1 with a rival team, having already confirmed their existing line-up will remain in place for next season.
McLaren's early decision to retain the impressive pairing of Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris for 2020 means that should Alonso, who stepped away from racing in F1 at the end of last year, desire a swift return to the world championship it will not be with the team he last drove for and retains links with.
"Fernando remains an ambassador of McLaren," said Brown, McLaren's chief executive, at the British GP.
"We've got a great relationship with him and speak with him about some racing programmes in the future that are not Formula 1-related.
"But we're happy for him if he wants to get back into Formula 1, because we don't have a seat available, to go race for another team. We'd very much support him in that if that's what he wants to do."
Alonso has not yet definitively ruled out a return to F1 in future, but neither has he indicated any plans to do so for 2020.
The two-time world champion, who turns 38 at the end of July, has instead used his first season outside of F1 in 19 years to broaden his racing activities.
Last month, Alonso and his Toyota team-mates won the Le Mans 24 Hours for the second successive year and clinched the wider World Endurance Championship title. It represented Alonso's first motorsport title since 2006.
The Spaniard has also won the prestigious Daytona 24 Hours this year, and tested a Dakar Rally car. However, his return to the Indy 500 in May with McLaren ended in huge disappointment when they failed to qualify.
With McLaren's youthful pairing of Sainz and Norris catching the eye since the start of the season and now confirmed for 2020, Alonso has again been loosely linked to Red Bull, and even a return to Ferrari, should either leading team make changes to their line-ups.
As it stands, Alonso has not confirmed his next racing activities for 2020 having quit the WEC.
F1 2019 heads to Silverstone for the big event of the motorsport summer. Join Sky Sports F1 for extensive coverage across the weekend - the race starts at 2.10pm. Find out more here to watch all the season live.
