Teknologi: August 15, 2018 at 05:06AM
McLaren has announced that Fernando Alonso will leave Formula 1 after the 2018 season, stopping short of confirming a full retirement from the sport. The Spaniard has spent 17 years racing in the top open-wheel formula, during which he has scored two world championships, 32 wins, 22 pole positions and 97 podiums.
"After 17 wonderful years in this amazing sport, it's time for me to make a change and move on," Alonso said. "I have enjoyed every single minute of those incredible seasons and I cannot thank enough the people who have contributed to make them all so special.
"There are still several grands prix to go this season, and I will take part in them with more commitment and passion than ever. I want to thank everyone at McLaren. My heart is with the team forever. I know they will come back stronger and better in the future and it could be the right moment for me to be back in the series; that would make me really happy."
After making his debut at Minardi in 2001, Alonso moved to Renault, first as a test driver, then as a full-time racer. During this period, he scored back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006, at the time making him the youngest ever world champion. He then headed to his first stint at McLaren in 2007, where he narrowly lost the title to Kimi Raikkonen by one point and was allegedly instrumental in the "Spygate" scandal.
This prompted Alonso's return to Renault the following year, during which he scored only one win at the controversial 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. He then spent four years at Ferrari from 2010 onwards, and again just lost out on the championship twice, this time to future Ferrari driver Sebastien Vettel. In 2015, Alonso left for McLaren during the team's ultimately ill-fated switch to Honda engines. Now with Renault power, he currently lies ninth in the championship with 44 points to his tally.
In recent years, Alonso has branched out to other forms of motorsport, as he sought to capture the Triple Crown of Motorsport – having already won the Monaco Grand Prix twice. He missed the GP last year to race in the Indianapolis 500 and led for 27 laps before retiring late in the race. This year, Alonso embarked on a full World Endurance Championship (WEC) campaign with Toyota, scoring the latter's first Le Mans win.
"There is a time for everyone to make a change and Fernando has decided the end of this season to be his," said McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown. "We respect his decision, even if we believe he is in the finest form of his career. Our open dialogue with Fernando has meant we could plan for this eventuality.
"While evaluating his future during the past months, Fernando's competitiveness has been undimmed. He has continued to perform at the highest level throughout, as we know he will do in the remaining nine races of this year's championship. I know that the entire team joins me in paying tribute to Fernando's enormous contribution to McLaren; he is a legend both for the championship and for the team."
The post Fernando Alonso to leave Formula 1 after 2018 season appeared first on Paul Tan's Automotive News.
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