McLaren believe Renault deal will help them keep Alonso

2017 F1 season

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McLaren executive director Zak Brown is optimistic Fernando Alonso will extend his stay at the team now its switch to Renault engines has been confirmed.

“We’re going to turn our attention to Fernando now,” said Brown in Singapore. “We’ve been speaking a lot, he’s been waiting to see what technical solution we came up with.”

Singapore Grand Prix practice in pictures
“He won his two championships with Renault, he’s very happy with the racing team, we’re very happy with him. I think in the not-too-distant future we should be able to get something done.”

Brown said there wasn’t “a specific tipping point” which persuaded them to end their relationship with Honda but said “we knew we were in trouble in pre-season testing.”

“We needed to improve upon our 2016 results so we knew we were in trouble then. We spent quite a bit of time, most of it has been in the public domain, trying to find ways to get Honda competitive with us.”

“We ultimately couldn’t get there in the end but it’s great that they’re staying in the sport.”

McLaren has announced a three-year deal to use Renault power units from next year. Brown said it is “not a short-term fix.”

“At the end of the day no one knows yet what the engine rules [will be] in 2021 so I think it’s hard for anyone to look beyond 2020.”

“We’ve got a long-term partnership, Renault’s got a great history in the sport, won a lot of championships with Red Bull, won a lot of championships for themselves. So we’re very happy where we are, we think we’ll be very happy together.”

2017 F1 season

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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26 comments on “McLaren believe Renault deal will help them keep Alonso”

  1. I have the impression Zak worries more about keeping Alonso’s happiness than McLaren’s competitiveness

    One thing is tied to another, but are these the right decisions? Only time will tell, but looking at Renault’s, and Renault’s clients performances it does not appear so, at least not in the short term

    1. @johnmilk It’s not perfect by any means, however Renaults customers have scored 7 podiums including 1 win, that’s 7 more than McLaren-Honda!

      1. @ju88sy that is still far from keeping their driver happy. Which appears to be the main goal

        1. That’s the problem I see as well. I guess the question for Fernando is how happy will he be staying at McLaren knowing this will be their first year using the Renault engine, or will he be happier jumping ship to somewhere like Force India (the only seat I think he’d consider), who have done very well with the Mercedes engine?
          I believe that Red Bull Racing don’t use Renault’s hybrid system, they supply their own, which raises a question: How much experience has McLaren in building their own hybrid system? If they don’t have any experience then they will need to rely on the Renault hybrid system, meaning McLaren can expect to only be as competitive as Renault and not more competitive than them.

          1. Alonso wont be happy until he gets a dominant car for the *first* time in his career. I’m not sure why this is such a problem to the internet F1 fan/

        2. @johnmilk I hear what you are saying, and I think that at this point yes it is about retaining FA. Keeping him happy? I don’t know if anyone is under the illusion that Renault behind the Mac is going to keep anyone totally happy…but satisfied with regular top 10 points? Sure I think they’d take that. FA is one of their biggest (if not the biggest) assets right now at Mac. Plus if they retain him he is therefore not their competition somewhere else, not that he has many options for 2018 anyway.

          I predict a FA one year extension with Mac and then he’ll feel the market out ahead of 2019. Let’s see how McRenault does vs the other top Renault team RBR. Renault, as a supplier not just a works team, must be absolutely burning with desire to get up there with Merc and Ferrari, and do themselves, Mac, and RBR and F1 a huge service. They’ll be wanting to keep ‘their’ FA in a Renault car of whatever colour for as long as possible.

          1. @robbie as a fan of the man, do you thin satisfied will suffice?
            McLaren it is not in a position to worry about Alonso so being competition some place else. Pretty much any driver will be in a position to challenge them with midfield machinery. And that is where I think McLaren will be next year

          2. @johnmilk No for sure the situation is not ‘satisfying’ but it is a word I chose that is less than ‘happy.’ Midfield could very well be where they will be, but I’m just hopeful that the Mac chassis is that good, that Renault goes up a notch or two relative to Mercedes and Ferrari, and that the racing will be a little less processional, so that at least in the short term FA and Mac are much more ‘satisfied’ than they have been for the last 3 years. They won’t be expecting the world, such is the situation they’ve found themselves in with Honda underperforming way beyond what everyone could possibly have imagined. Even if the team says this is not just a short-term stop-gap measure, I think it is, and their expections will not be sky high.

      2. That was RBR… Mclaren could not even beat them before when they have the Mercedes engine, how do they come up with the idea that they can beat RBR when Redbull have 4 years experience in Renault V6. Best they could do is beat Renault F1

  2. I think their strategy is beyond 2021, until then they want to be back being seen as a “top team” with all the stuff that goes with it in terms of PR and sponsors. Becoming “a William” is probably a reality McLaren is keen to avoid, and for that they need more than RD claiming they have the best chassis.

    Coming ahead of the fight with RB next year would be great for McLaren in the sponsorhip hunt.

  3. Even more proof that in real terms, Alonso truly runs F1.

  4. Alonso will do an Alonso and will announce that he’s leaving the team at the end of the year. If all this was done to keep him happy instead of McL insterest… well done Mr. Brown, well done. Alonso keeps saying that he will win next year wherever he drives and there won’t be many chances for him being McL the third costumer of Renault. Unless he goes to Indycar, Formula E, or his own go kart track I PERSONALLY don’t see he achieving his desire.

    1. I hope that the future events probes me terribly wrong and confirms that I’ve no idea about F1

      1. probes me terribly wrong

        @monosodico are you sure there mate?

        1. I really hope so Juan Leche. I’m getting tired of the lack of hope every race weekend and I can’t wake up one day and say “it’s ok, now I’m a Sauber fan (or any other team bar Mercedes & Ferrari)

          1. @monosodico check out the meaning of the verb probe. Hint: think about aliens

            Btw, don’t if that is a try at my real name, if it is you’re wrong

        2. oh! sorry, now I realize that I have a mistake! no probes, no aliens and no search in dark places! proVes it is and no it is not a try at your name. Sorry if was just a harmless joke since your name seems to be Portuguese and your user name in english so..I added spanish (my language), sorry once again

          1. @monosodico ahah no worries, I had quite the laugh when I saw your comment.

            Signed: Jean Lait

    2. @monosodico Why would this be about Alonso. If McLaren produces a good car they wont have any problem signing a competent driver should he leave. If not they can always get Romain to whine in their car instead, Alonso is just full of himself.

      1. lol + 1 Grosjean never disappoint us

  5. Man, I really rate Fernando Alonso very highly as a driver, but the man seems to be a walking controversy magnet. It’s like he has this magical destabilizing aura that surrounds him. I think at this point it’s clear why Mercedes won’t sign him. I’m betting on those Honda engines to come good just in time for Toro Rosso too… McLaren will have bent over backwards to keep Alonso for nothing… and typically, Alonso will bad mouth them on the way out the door. Based on history, it’s the safer bet. Renault is probably his last refuge in F1… I can’t see many of the big teams thinking his speed is worth the baggage.

    1. Any examples of ‘his bad mouthing’ and ‘baggage’ ? Alonso has never once had a dominant car BTW. Tell us why he shouldn’t aspire to have one!

      1. Are you kidding? Examples of his bad mouthing??? Alonso bad mouthed Ron Dennis & McLaren for several years. At one point he said they were the worst F1 team and said on many occasions he’d never drive for them again. His last season at Ferrari was littered with the sort of outbursts we’re treated to each weekend now that he’s back in that team he’d never drive for again. And since he’s been back at McLaren he’s taken plenty of jabs at Ferrari, most famous of which (IMO) was labeling them a perennial runner up, saying he’d never have a chance at another championship if he stayed there. But he’s shut up about Ferrari now that the Honda engine has given him more than enough to complain about. Incidentally, Vettel seems to be having a pretty good run at the Scuderia this year… and although technically not bad mouthing, nobody complains on the radio about other drivers, race control & the stewards, or their own team’s decisions quite as vociferously as Alonso. Vettel maybe runs him close…
        Baggage? The well known role he played in the McLaren/Ferrari Spygate sage (as well as his willingness to threaten extortion in order to secure preferential treatment) could be considered as such. Especially when you consider it in light of his involvement in the Crashgate controversy at Renault, & his continued association with one of the masterminds of said controversy (Flavio Briatore).
        Also, Alonso not having a “dominant” car is largely Alonso’s fault. He’s one of the few drivers on the grid who (up until he signed for McLaren this second time around) had his pick of which team he could race for. He has loads of backing from Santander, & prodigious talent. He’s gone where he’s wanted to go, until recently. And despite not having a “dominant” car, he was still in the hunt until the very end for at least two seasons in the red car. Right until the last race. That’s WCC capable machinery.

  6. Alonso to Renault and Sainz subloaned to Macca?

    That’s what I’d do if I was Ghosn.

    1. That would have been the smart move.Alonso is just not worth the money , McLaren need to clean the slate an dump Alonso. Sainz should be driving for them .

  7. People talk about how its all about Alonso to make him stay.

    If it was Hamilton, Vettel or Verstappen, the same thing would be happening. You need world-class drivers leading the pack (on track) and world-class machinery backing it up (Off track). You can’t have one or the other. Look at Fast drivers in slow cars….. Senna (Late Mclaren Vs Renault). Schumacher in Mercedes, Hamilton in Mclaren, or even the opposite with slow drivers in fast cars, Kimi at Ferrari, Irvine at Ferrari, Webber at Red Bull. Fast drivers, slow cars, or Slow drivers, fast cars, neither formula wins championships, especially in this era of F1.. Maybe pre 2000 there could have been.

    If Alonso goes, regardless if Honda stayed, or Renualt, or Ferrari, or Mercedes… who would lead on track for Mclaren? Shock return with Hamilton? or one of the RedBull drivers? Without them, or if Alonso leaves, Mclaren will be in big trouble.

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