Will Alonso leave F1 ...

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Back to the original question of this thread - No. Alonso will stay in F1.

 

What's the point of this argument? Many drivers have said Indycar is more open than F1 from the perspective of drivers being teammates. I don't know why you started this argument of debating whether personal setup = sharing, who cares?

 

All arguments aside. After qualifying for Indy, he looked to be enjoying himself. Happiest he's looked in a long time.

 

He's been driving a Mac Honda POS for 2 1/3 years. He should look happy.

Here is the absolute TRUTH

If Alonso was winning in the McLaren NONE of this would have happened and Alonso would be even happier. Honda has wasted 3 of his most important years that he will never get back.

 

I agree completely. 3 wasted years.

 

I'm sure LewHam loves Honda for it, though!

 

After Qualy 7th in Spain he must be thinking things are getting a little bit better,so unless he gets another offer to drive in 2018 (unlikely) he will most likely sign up for another year @$40 mio + Indy 500/Le mans24...and hope that Honda finally pulls something out of the hat,meanwhile hoping a slot miraculously appears at Ferrari or Mercedes.

He want's Ferrari again?:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RS2nfeN4DEw

'Signed sealed delivered i'm yours!'

 

Again . . . he'll stay in F1. He may not stay with McLaren. However, from what I've heard from within the walls at Torrence, CA, this whole Indy 500 thing was predicated on Fred staying at Honda.

 

I don't think he will leave F1 but will definitely leave McLaren...

Robb

 

If he wins on Sunday he might go for being the big fish....

 

With Gil de Ferran, his mentor for the Indy 500. Looks like Alonso is really enjoying it...
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Could it be that McLaren and Honda allowed him to race Indy, in return for his agreement to stay with McLaren-Honda next year? Of course, that assumes that McLaren will stay with Honda. Or, did McLaren let him race Indy in return for his commitment to stay with McLaren next year, so that McLaren could cement the deal for Mercedes PUs?

 

I doubt it. I wouldn't be surprised if he runs the 500 again though.

 

No one will care if Alonso returns next year. No one.

It's big news because Alonso is quitting Monaco to go to Indy. Doing it a second year is "old news"

My guess is a lot of F1 teams are not happy about this. Its a slap at Monaco and there may be other drivers who want the same deal. To me, if someone tries this again next year Liberty might actually come down with sanctions to avoid it, requiring all drivers to compete in every F1 race unless they quit or are fired.

This is good for Indy but aside from being a story about Alonso, its not good for F1. And, F1 always wins.

 

A slap at Monaco? Pffft . . . Monaco is still Monaco. The publicity machine works both ways and both F1 and IndyCar will benefit from this experiment.

 

Sure it's a slap at Monaco. It says Indy is more important than racing there. Like--- literally!

What possible benefit is this to F1? That there are good drivers there that can race at Indy? Like we didn't know that? Hello... Nigel Mansell. Sato. Montoya.

This is great for:

McLaren
Honda
Alonso
Andretti Racing
ABC sports
Racing media / blogs / websites etc
The Indy racing league
Indy ticket sales


and that's about it

IF there had been a switch of an Indy driver in Alonso's seat, I could see some benefit to F1 -- especially if it were an American. But putting a retired Button in the seat looks like you are just there for an exhibition, not a real race.

 

You misunderstand me.

THIS one isn't. But if it's a TREND then it would be.

My point is that I think Liberty will stop it next year if it happens at all. I still think any team would want the possibility of F1 championship points rather than just giving up.

If Alonso was winning at McLaren none of this would have happened. I'm guessing that McLaren wishes it never happens again.

 

Liberty should leave that decision to the teams and not interfere in internal politics.

If a team is happy to release a driver for one race, and replace him with another, what has that to do with Liberty?

 

I agree. I think there's enough incentive for the teams that Liberty doesn't have to worry about their stars routinely skipping races.

 

Agreed.
But most importantly, it shows who is running the show at McLaren.

I don't see Magnussen or Kvyat getting the permission from their respective teams to do this.

 

The Stars aligned for Alonso

1) McLaren has already tossed in the towel this year
2) McLaren and Honda were willing to pay for their best driver to enter
3) McLaren and Honda need "something positive" to talk about
4) Button is there to fill the seat easily
5) They most likely won't lose any points in the switch

It's a big win for Indy, for McLaren, for Alonso and Honda as well as the racing media. But it's not something you can really repeat. And if you do, you will not get the same PR results.

 

Over 100 extra international media in Indianapolis this weekend. The other drivers jokingly referred to themselves as "The Other 32." Deep crowds following him everywhere and in front of his garage. Just hoping for a safe race and a reliable engine, Fernando will handle the rest.