Fernando Alonso set to continue in F1 with his 2015 plans almost finalised
Spaniard still widely expected to leave Ferrari at the end of the season to re-join McLaren and partner either Magnussen or Button
By Pete Gill
Last Updated: 12/10/14 3:28pm
Fernando Alonso has revealed his plans for 2015 are ‘set’ with the Spaniard dropping a strong hint that he will continue to drive in F1.
While Alonso, speaking in the wake of Sunday’s Russian GP, stopped short of disclosing his intentions, his admission that negotiations are close to being finalised would seemingly indicate that the 33-year-old has no intention of taking a one-year sabbatical.
Alonso, expected to be replaced at Ferrari by Sebastian Vettel following the World Champion’s decision to leave Red Bull, has sent the rumour-mill into overdrive in recent weeks by refusing to reveal his plans. Although the two-times World Champion is expected to return to McLaren ahead of their reunion with Honda, he has also been linked with Williams and Lotus amid suggestions he is seeking a one-year contract that would enable him to join Mercedes in 2016 in the event of a vacancy emerging at the Silver Arrows.
“My future is already set – or already set in my mind for some months. Now we are finalising everything, it is not a big thing,” Alonso told Sky Sports F1 in Sochi.
Asked when a decision on his future would be announced, Fernando replied: “You need to be patient, you need to wait a little bit. I cannot say anything until everything is completely done but it’s good and I will do the best for my future and the best for the future of Ferrari because it is the team that I love.
“When you know it you will say ‘it was so obvious you will do that'.”
Were Alonso to return to McLaren, for whom he drove in 2007, it remains to be seen whether he would replace Jenson Button or Kevin Magnussen. Although it’s anticipated that Alonso would partner the young Dane, McLaren chief Ron Dennis has repeatedly stressed that the team are seeking the ‘best possible line-up’.
After another excellent performance this weekend in Russia was rounded off by a fourth-placed finish, Button now boasts nearly twice as many points as his current team-mate in the Drivers’ Championship.
